"We can do the job" - Turning Tides Chief Executive on ending rough sleeping
John Holmstrom spoke to Greatest Hits Radio ahead of a Commons debate this afternoon
Fix the housing crisis, support local councils, and put prevention measures in place to end rough sleeping.
Those are some of the points John Holmstrom hopes are brought up during this afternoon's debate on ending rough sleeping in the House of Commons.
The Chief Executive of West Sussex-based homeless charity Turning Tides said: "People sleep rough because of shortage of housing, and unless they get the housing strategy right and create sufficient homes then we will have rough sleeping.
"Support local councils...it's been a great exercise getting people into temporary accommodation (during the pandemic) but unless the councils can fund the cost of their temporary accommodation and the support, it will start to unravel.
"We need the support because new cases are flowing through"
"In West Sussex, there's nearly 1,000 people in temporary accommodation and we work with around 900 clients a year, so the numbers are big.
"The third thing is, what is the prevention going to be? So that we avoid rough sleeping. That means better advice, better support, but we need the policies to give those who do prevention the tools to make a difference.
"In the world of rough sleeping, a lot of our clients have mental health and addiction issues. So it's not just about the housing, it's about getting all bits of the system, particularly mental health and the health system, to provide that wrap around support.
"We can do the job. We've shown how we've reduced rough sleeping over the last 18 months, it's been remarkable!"
The Government has committed to ending rough sleeping by 2024.
A recent report by the Kerslake Commission on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping concluded that if that is to happen, the increased investment in homelessness services during the pandemic must continue.
According to the report, that would work out as an additional £82 million a year on top of the Government's previous spending commitment.