From strategy to impact: Partnering to end homelessness

Joint statement from Wycombe Homeless Connection and Aylesbury Homeless Action Group as the UK government releases plan to end homelessness

We welcome the government’s publication of a new homelessness strategy. For too long it has felt as though a coordinated national approach to tackling homelessness had been forgotten, as we have seen the number of people sleeping rough on our streets, in cars, in temporary accommodation, or moving from sofa to sofa continue to rise.

The strategy sets out a coordinated approach to prevent and reduce homelessness, including tackling the root causes, supporting those at higher risk, helping people stay in their homes, improving temporary accommodation, and ensuring long-term recovery so homelessness is rare, brief, and never repeated.

These priorities mirror the work we are already doing in our communities and reflect the strategies our charities have long followed to support people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, including our commitment to making homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring.

We are also encouraged by the commitment to bring government departments together to address homelessness in a unified way rather than working against one another. We supported the national campaign led by Homeless Link, the national membership charity that represents and strengthens frontline homelessness services like ours across England. Earlier this year we joined their call for a cross government approach and handed in letters to a number of departments urging them to make this commitment, so it is good to see it reflected in the plan.

Importantly, we received a letter today addressed to voluntary organisations like ours from Alison McGovern MP, Minister of State for Local Government and Homelessness. One part that particularly resonated with us stated:

"... we need the support of organisations across the country, such as yours, who are rooted in communities and make a daily impact on people experiencing or at risk of homelessness".

While it is positive to see steps being taken by government to address this serious issue, we also welcome this recognition of the dedication shown by our volunteers, staff teams, and our communities at large, without whom none of our homelessness prevention and support work would happen.

No one has instructed us to do this work. Our charities exist because the people who founded them, those who work and volunteer with us, and those who support us practically and financially care deeply about the right to housing and the harm homelessness causes, and choose to act.

We stand ready to play our role in any positive and evidence based effort to reduce homelessness across Buckinghamshire, but we know that we have never waited for permission to get on with helping people. With the help of hundreds of volunteers and supporters, our charities are working towards making this winter one that will not cause harm to anyone who is homeless in our communities.

In the coming days, we will study the strategy in detail to understand its full implications, including any funding that may be made available to the charity sector, which is facing its toughest fundraising environment while needing to support more people in more complex ways. As always, we believe the true measure of the strategy’s value will be its results: fewer people losing their homes, and where homelessness does occur, ensuring it causes as little harm as possible.

We hope and pray that many lives will be changed for the better through this plan.

How you can help end homelessness

Give to our Christmas appeal

Volunteer at our winter night shelter