Figures released today by the Government show that street homelessness remains an issue here in Suffolk.
Despite the recent “Everyone In” policy announcement during the first COVID-19, the Rough Sleeping Snapshot figures show that 2,688 people were estimated to be sleeping rough on a single night in autumn 2020 in England.
40 of these were in Suffolk, with every local authority in the county reporting people sleeping rough in their area. This does not include people in night-shelters or hostels.
Clare Staddon, CEO of Emmaus Suffolk, believes the stats released today do not paint the full picture of homelessness in the region.
“One person sleeping on our streets is one too many, so we are saddened to see that 2,688 people were found to be rough sleeping across England. We do have concerns that the real figure is higher than these estimates show.
“This survey only takes into account those people who were seen sleeping rough on just one evening. But we know that many homeless people are hidden from view, choosing to find somewhere out of sight to bed down due to fears for their safety. Others choose not to sleep at night as this is when they feel most at risk so may have been missed in this count.
These concerns were echoed in research released in January 2021 when officials working on the Everyone In scheme used the Rough Sleeper snapshot from 2019 to estimate the support needed. This research found that 4,266 people were sleeping rough around the UK, but between the end of March when the scheme was launched and November 2020, auditors said that in fact 33,139 people participated in the scheme.
The team at Emmaus Suffolk is also concerned the number of people sleeping rough will rise as a result of the economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people whose jobs have been affected by the pandemic are still being supported by the furlough scheme, and evictions are currently banned. Both these schemes are set to end later this year, with homelessness predicted to rise as a result.
If you spot someone sleeping on the streets please contact Street Link by visiting www.streetlink.org.uk or call 0300 500 0914 to send an alert. If you If you think the person you are concerned about is in immediate danger or needs urgent care, please call 999.