Report by Lola Johnson.
HOMELESSNESS in Coventry is only going to get worse despite efforts to eliminate it, a professional expert has predicted.
The worrying concerns come from Mike Fowler, chief executive of city-based homelessness organisation Coventry Cyrenians.
In May, the government set up the Rough Sleeping and Homelessness Reduction Taskforce, as we have reported.
Using the Housing First scheme – successfully piloted in Finland – homelessness figures would be halved by 2022, it claimed.
By 2027, the government aims to have eliminated homelessness completely in cities including Coventry – backed by West Midlands mayor Andy Street – and across the country.
But Mr Fowler, a professional dealing with homelessness over decades, told the Coventry Observer in a revealing interview: “Homelessness is not just about having a home. If the government can’t deal with all its challenges, they can’t solve homelessness.’
‘A number of homeless people have a history of – and are currently battling – mental health problems, health problems and addictions. They also battle with alcohol abuse and drug abuse.”
Coventry Cyrenians provides more supported accommodation for homeless people in Coventry than any other organisation.
Mr Fowler – who has worked in the housing industry for over 40 years – is sceptical that the mayor and West Midlands Combined Authority can successfully eliminate homelessness by 2027.
He said: ‘It is all speculative. The government is struggling to come to terms with what’s happening. National organisations too.
“Economic studies suggest that the economy will get worse after Brexit. What we’ve seen traditionally is that when there is a downturn in the economy, there is an increase in homelessness. It is inevitable, because people lose their jobs and are unable to pay their mortgage or rent.”
According to the WMCA, the Housing First project will ‘offer individuals safe, secure accommodation, alongside intensive support to help them recover from complex health issues, such as substance abuse and mental health difficulties.’
‘Unfortunately,’ says Mr. Fowler, “the government has cut money from addiction services, welfare services, mental health services and the NHS.”
Moreover, there is a lack of co-ordination between governmental agencies in the UK.
“In Finland, where the Housing First scheme has been a success, housing, social care, mental health and medical health are integrated into one government agency. In Britain, these departments are all independent of one another.
‘We had a guest who had about six or seven issues in his life. We couldn’t address his accommodation issues without addressing his other issues.
“With budget cuts, none of them wanted to take responsibility for him. It was hard to get mental health services as demand was high. We were passed around from one service to another. It was a big loss.
“Transporting the Scandinavian approach to the UK will not work, especially when combined with the economic pressures the country is facing.
“On the other hand, attempting to change the British central government system is a whole different challenge,” he said.
Official estimates nationally show rough sleepers have more than doubled since 2010.
The government estimates 307,000 people in Britain are currently homeless, or living in inadequate, temporary accommodation.
“The current Conservative government is hugely opportunistic in their sudden interest to eliminate homelessness,” Mr. Fowler continues.
“Homeless people on the street are a visible impact of austerity. Street homelessness is becoming such an obvious embarrassment, it could cause them the next election.
“Even if they manage to scale back homelessness by half, it doesn’t take figures back to where it was when they came into power,” Mr. Fowler concluded.
“The government doesn’t have all the answers. But people want solutions.”
The government has claimed austerity is coming to an end after years of deficit reduction under the 2010 coalition government and now the Conservatives.
