Published on Thursday 02 March 2023
While the national Rough Sleeping Snapshot survey in England for autumn 2022 found 64 people sleeping rough in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in November, a further bi-monthly count carried out by local street outreach teams identified a substantially lower figure of 20 people in February 2023.
This 69% reduction is reflective of the Homelessness Partnership BCP’s commitment to ending rough sleeping across the area, with multiple initiatives successfully delivering new accommodation backed by wrap-around care to enable people to live independent, fulfilled lives.
Cllr Hazel Allen, Lead Member for Homelessness, said: "SWEP activations in December and January helped to bring more than 100 people into safe accommodation. Significantly, 53% of all people helped during sub-zero temperatures have remained in accommodation after SWEP was deactivated. This is a fantastic result and everyone who worked so hard to protect those at risk should be proud of their achievements.
"In addition, two new Rough Sleeping Initiative-funded services opened this month, providing 14 additional places in safe accommodation for people who have been rough sleeping. Along with wider partnership work, including the Multi-Disciplinary Team which strives to find long-term solutions for people who have been rough sleeping, services are working tirelessly to end rough sleeping across the conurbation," Cllr Allen added.
The ongoing roll-out of the government’s Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme (RSAP) has also provided around 60 homes in the BCP area for people with a history of rough sleeping, further helping to reduce the number of people on the streets.
BCP Council was an Early Adopter of the new rough sleeping framework, working with four other local authorities, the Centre for Homelessness Impact (CHI) and the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).
The aim, set out in the government’s recent Ending Rough Sleeping For Good strategy, is to introduce a national, data-led approach that will measure progress towards ending rough sleeping. In the BCP area, this approach will help to identify and monitor homelessness trends and progress, while identifying gaps and areas for improvement.
Andrew Teale, St Mungo’s manager of the BCP Outreach Team, said: "Rough sleeping is traumatic and dangerous, and seeing the snapshot figures rise so dramatically in recent months in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole is heart breaking. Our outreach team is out seven days a week supporting people who are rough sleeping into accommodation, but the cost-of-living crisis is being felt across the area and housing is becoming more and more unaffordable.
"Since the count, which took place in November, we have had an extremely cold winter and as a result have been able to help a large number of those people into emergency accommodation as part of our severe weather response.
"Whilst the current number of people rough sleeping in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole is less than half of what it was in November, the focus now needs to be on supporting them into longer term accommodation so they can move away from homelessness for good. "