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Kent homelessness charity Porchlight has today launched a county-wide campaign asking members of the public to ‘Change a Future’ by letting its outreach team know about the location of rough sleepers.
The charity conducts regular early morning street outreach sessions across the county to locate and engage with rough sleepers but hopes that extra intelligence from the public will mean they can find even more vulnerable people.
The campaign received high-level support today from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, who visited one of the charity’s accommodation projects to meet the team behind the rough sleeper service.
The Archbishop of Canterbury signs a
hostel resident’s Bible during the visit
Gill Bryant, Strategic Manager for the service said: “Often members of the public such as those out jogging or people in certain jobs, for example taxi drivers, will find themselves out at unusual hours and often in secluded locations. This means they are likely to spot people who are sleeping rough or perhaps the evidence of make-shift shelters.”
Porchlight is asking anyone that comes across someone they feel needs the charity’s help to either call the 24 hour helpline on 0800 567 7699 or complete a form online. After the details have been passed on, Porchlight’s rough sleeper support team, one of the largest in the UK, will try to locate the person on the next outreach session.
Gill said that this information is now vital to the charity’s work: “The ability of the general public to give us accurate information about rough sleepers is crucial to us being able to get people off the streets and into long-term accommodation. It is particularly useful to us in large rural areas where rough sleepers tend to be very well hidden. The public really does have the power to change a person’s future for the better. When we know, we can help.”
Figures release by the National Housing Federation recently showed a 25% increase in the last year of people accepted as homeless in rural areas nationwide. This is compared to an 11% increase for urban areas. Porchlight has also expressed concern recently over increasing numbers of homeless people due to cuts in benefits and a reduction in availability of private-rented accommodation.
Change a Future Campaign video
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Notes:
1. Current statistics: People our outreach team are aware of that are believed to be sleeping rough tonight (25/02/2011) by local authority area:
Ashford – 2
Canterbury – 17
Dover – 13
Shepway – 14
Thanet – 6
Swale – 2
Tunbridge Wells – 3
Tonbridge & Malling – 7
Gravesham – 11
Dartford – 5
Maidstone – 15
Sevenoaks – 1
Total – 96
2. National Housing Federation statistics
3. A pilot of the campaign was carried out at the end of 2010 in Shepway, Ashford, Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells.
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