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PM, First Ministers and Housing Ministers urge action on ending homelessness at Crisis’ 50th anniversary conference

20.04.2017

The Prime Minister and First Ministers of Scotland and Wales pledged to work with national homelessness charity Crisis in its 50th year as it builds its plan to end homelessness for good.

The pledges were broadcast at Crisis’ 2017 England conference titled Ending Homelessness: What needs to change, Thursday, April 20, at London’s Royal College of Physicians.

Hundreds of delegates gathered to hear speeches from Housing Minister Sajid Javid, Shadow Housing Minister Andy Slaughter MP and sponsor of the Homelessness Reduction Bill Bob Blackman MP, who all pledged to support Crisis’ aim to put itself out of business by resolving to end homelessness.


Bob Blackman, MP for Harrow East
Sponsor of the Homelessness Reduction Bill speaking at the Crisis London Conference 2017

Research predicting the future of homelessness was presented by Professor Suzanne Fitzpatrick and Professor Glen Bramley, both of Heriot-Watt University while founder of Pathways to Housing Sam Tsemberis, described how he developed and introduced the Housing First programme in Canada and the US.

Throughout its 50th year, Crisis will be working towards a national plan to end the most acute forms of homelessness once and for all. The charity aims to bring together everything needed to make this happen, including consultations in all three nations and a large scale programme of research. It also calls on the public to join its #EverybodyIn campaign and show their support for ending homelessness.

Theresa May said:

“No one should be forced to sleep on our streets, and this Government is determined to end homelessness in all its forms. Solving homelessness is about much more than putting a roof over someone’s head. It is about stopping people from becoming homeless in the first place, and that’s why we are putting prevention at the heart of our approach. This Government will continue to work closely with Crisis, and we all have a common goal: Crisis passionately believes, as I do, that homelessness is a problem that can be solved.


Prime Minister, Theresa May delivering a video message during the London 2017 Conference

Nicola Sturgeon said:

“Tackling all forms of homelessness must be a priority for any government. Here in Scotland we have made real progress in preventing homelessness, and we now have some of the strongest rights for homeless people in the world. But we know there’s still a lot more to do. Of course, none of this can be achieved by government alone, and we rely on the dedication and expertise of charities like Crisis. Together we’ve made a huge amount of progress, and my pledge to you is that we will continue to work closely in the years and decades ahead.

Carwyn Jones said:

“Homelessness is wholly unacceptable in the 21st century. To have nowhere safe to call home and to be forced to sleep on the street is a lonely, frightening ordeal, which no one should ever go through. The Welsh Government is determined to end rough sleeping and all forms of homelessness. I welcome the opportunity to work with Crisis to improve the quality and availability of housing for homeless people and to help get rough sleepers into safe, stable accommodation.

Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive of Crisis, said:

“We want a future where we’re no longer needed, where no one has to suffer homelessness because they can’t find a place to live. As we’ve seen, the political will is there, and over the coming year we’ll be bringing together the people, evidence and resources to help make our vision a reality.”

Keep up to date with all of our 50th anniversary work by following us on Twitter @Crisis_UK and join our campaign to get #EverybodyIn

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