ROUGH SLEEPING has increased by two-thirds in the West Midlands since 2010, according to new figures.
Crisis have released updated figures which show a 62 per cent increase since 2010 with nearly 300 people sleeping outside on any given night.
Many local authorities have prioritised homelessness on the back of what many have referred to as a national ‘homeless crisis’.
According to other figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), there are currently 4751 rough sleepers in the UK – this has risen 15 per cent in a year.
However, these figures are thought to be considerably more severe by many UK experts.
Many charities, including crisis, have called for urgent action from government and the charity claims to have outlined the solutions needed to end the current crisis.
The government’s official annual street count found that on a given night last year 295 people were recorded sleeping rough in the West Midlands.
In Coventry, there are 0.6 people rough sleeping per 10,000 people. In Warwick there are 3.4 and in Stratford, 3.1.
Crisis has warned the true number of rough sleepers is likely far greater, as its own research finds more than 8,000 people were currently sleeping rough across England. This is predicted to rise to 15,000 by 2026, if nothing changes.
This is on top of an additional 9,000 homeless people sleeping in tents, cars, trains and buses.
The figure also doesn’t take into account the hidden homeless who are forced to live in hotel rooms, bed and breakfasts or ‘sofa-surf’ in order to find temporary accommodation.
While the charity welcomes the government’s commitment to halve rough sleeping by 2022 and end it by 2027, it is urging it to take immediate action through its Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Taskforce.
Worryingly, those sleeping without a roof over their head are almost 17 times more likely to have been victims of violence and 15 times more likely to have suffered verbal abuse compared to the general public, according to previous Crisis research.
Crisis has also published an evidence review undertaken by Cardiff University and Heriot-Watt University for the first time revealing the best evidence from here and around the world on what works to end rough sleeping.
The charity endorses a housing-led approach focusing on specialist support and providing shelter.
Chief executive of Crisis Jon Sparkes said: “It is truly a catastrophe that in a country as prosperous as this, more and more people are finding themselves forced to sleep in dangerous and freezing conditions, when we have evidence to show how the situation could be turned around.
“Today’s report makes it only too clear that unless we take action as a society, the problem is only going to keep getting worse with every year that passes.
“Rough sleeping ruins lives, leaving people vulnerable to violence and abuse, and taking a dreadful toll on mental and physical health.
“While we warmly welcome the government’s pledges to tackle rough sleeping, including a Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Taskforce, now that we know the solutions to end rough sleeping for good we’re calling on the Government to take swift action to tackle the problem and fix it once and for all.”
