Westminster rough sleepers - lowest ever level » Housing » 24dash.com

The number of rough sleepers in central London has fallen to the lowest level ever recorded, according to the latest official figures.

Westminster City Council’s latest street count, which is independently verified and follows strict protocols from the government, shows the number of rough sleepers has decreased by more than 20% - from 89 to 69 since March this year.

Street counts are a snap shot of rough sleeping on a particular night and also help to identify long-term trends. This is the fourth count in a row that has shown a decline in numbers of rough sleepers in Westminster.

In the last year, the council has helped 750 people off the streets and into accommodation.

Cllr Philippa Roe, Westminster City Council's Cabinet Member for Housing, said: "This is a historical low, which shows that our strategy is working.

"What is key to our approach is that we work very hard to prevent vulnerable people from becoming entrenched rough sleepers in the first place. Our strategy is to get people off the street as quickly as possible and into accommodation, where they can start to get their lives back on track.

"We also provide a full package of package of primary care, mental health, substance misuse, housing assessment and employment advice services to help each individual make a complete recovery and reach their full potential.

"We are pleased with these figures but we will continue to further reduce the rough sleeping population by focusing our resources on those who are hardest to reach."

St Mungo's, London's largest charity for homeless people which works in partnership with the council, has welcomed the fall in rough sleepers.

Adam Rees, St Mungo's Group Manager of Community Services, said: "St Mungo's is very pleased with and proud of the low rough sleeper count achieved in Westminster in September.

"This is the result of excellent partnership work across all the agencies involved and the commitment and sheer hard work of both staff and clients.

"We recognise, however, that the work does not stop here.

"With the systems now in place to manage the flow onto the streets, we want to devote our time, effort and expertise to those individuals we have not yet reached; particularly those that have a range of needs and have endured lengthy periods of homelessness."

Historically Westminster has had the highest number of rough sleepers in the country because of its central London location.

Three years ago, Westminster became the first local authority in the country to move the core part of its outreach services for homeless people from the streets into buildings.

This new approach has meant that outreach workers are now based at day and night centres with extended operating hours, where rapid and assertive needs-led assessment and support planning takes place.

Westminster has also ensured that dedicated street workers are available to assess vulnerable rough sleepers who can still be met on the streets, and a specialist mental health team continues to carry out assessments on the streets.