Wisbech couple homeless for six years make government pledge to tackle homelessness
They're calling on the next government to make a change
Last updated 1st Jul 2024
A Wisbech couple who lived in a tent for five years are calling for the next government to make life easier for the homeless.
Jo Johnson and Jenny Edwards were also put into temporary accommodation before being rehomed last year after more than six years without a permanent home.
It comes as political parties make their pledges to what they'd do to tackle homelessness if they won the upcoming general election in less than two weeks' time.
'Roof over your head'
"Certainly pressure on rental agencies to make it easier to rent property for people who don't have six months of rent (payments) in advance or have years worth of references," Jo said.
"Otherwise, people go into a hostel or hotel and it's temporary; there's no way people can find somewhere permanent to live."
Jenny said: "There's not enough houses; there's plenty empty and if authorities started to rent out the property they've got, it would be a lot better.
"More hostels are needed if people aren't going to rent, just so you've got a roof over your head and somewhere to store your stuff."
More funding called for
St Mungo's a leading homelessness charity in the UK, has called for more financial backing from the next government to support homeless charities and support services.
The charity, which supports more than 3,000 people a night, said key government funding for homelessness services such as the Rough Sleeping Initiative.){:target=_blank} is due to end in April 2025.
And there are priorities that St Mungo's wants the next government to focus on in its first 100 days in charge, such as:
• Extend and uplift funding to tackle rough sleeping and homelessness
• Protect renters from homelessness
• Reform practices to prevent homelessness from government institutions
• Align benefits to help people into housing and remove disincentives to work
• Support an integrated approach to homelessness, addressing unmet health needs
• Boost the delivery of affordable and social housing for the long term
"It's more how the money is spent than how much is thrown at the problem," Jo said.
"I think the money's being spent in the wrong way; too much emphasis on temporary solutions and not enough on housing people in the long-term."
"The problem is the homeless have to be so aggressive to get anything," Jenny added.
"We managed because we were sensible; a lot of people don't know where to go, don't know what to do, they think being in town's the safest place to be but it's not."