The UK government has revealed its plan to tackle homelessness with a £100m strategy.
The government plans to offer support those who are addicts and have mental health issues in order to “turn their lives around”.
Housing Secretary James Brokenshire has stated that he is determined to tackle this issue and make it a “thing of the past” by the year 2027.
“There are significant sums of money being focused and targeted… Half of that has already been committed to homelessness and rough sleeping… The other remaining half of this is money that’s new to rough sleeping and homelessness, reflecting and recognising the priorities and importance of taxes,” he said.
However, the Labour party has stated that not enough money is being invested for this plan to go through.
Over the past seven years, the rate of homelessness has risen significantly and it has been estimated that approximately 4,750 people slept on the streets per night in England last year.
Charities have remarked that this plan would be a step in the right direction, however it is will not completely fix the situation.
The devised strategy plans to focus on offering support to those who could potentially become homeless.
The government plans to spend around £30 million on help regarding the mental well-being of the homeless and about £50 million towards housing.
Seven homelessness charities have helped advise the government on how to tackle the issue and have stated that it would be of significant help in eradicating rough sleeping by 2027. However, they also mentioned that they should also “set out bold, cross-departmental plans to tackle the root causes of all forms of homelessness and prevent it from happening in the first place”.
The Prime Minister Theresa May stated:
“We recognise this is a complex issue, as well as ensuring people have somewhere to live, we have to deal with underlying problems and ultimately help people turn their lives around.”
