Between October and December 2017 there were 2630 people seen sleeping rough this is a 7% decrease from the same period last year.

 

	No. Rough Sleepers	Change from last period	Change on same period last year
Total	2630	-1%	-7%

 

Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive at Crisis, said:  “While it’s good to see that in certain areas of London the number of rough sleepers is going down, no one should be forced to sleep on the streets, let alone 2630, especially when we know how rough sleeping can be ended. 

“For far too long, the combination of welfare cuts, rising housing costs, and a lack of affordable housing have been pushing more and more people to the brink of homelessness. Behind these stark figures are thousands of desperate people sleeping in doorways, bin shelters, stations and parks, leaving them extremely vulnerable to violence and abuse, and taking a dreadful toll on their physical and mental health.

“No one should have to live like this. It’s time for the Mayor of London to deliver a stronger London-wide strategy to end rough sleeping once and for all, and to prevent it from happening in the first place. This includes making sure councils have the resource they need to help any person facing homelessness who comes to them for help; providing rough sleepers with swift access to housing – whether through private renting or schemes like Housing First; and with the tailored support they need to leave homelessness behind for good. In one of the world’s most prosperous and innovative cities, nothing less will do.”

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

About CHAIN The figures present information about people seen rough sleeping by outreach teams in London in October-December 2017. Information is derived from the 'Combined Homelessness and Information Network' (CHAIN). They show new rough sleepers account for 43% of all those recorded, intermittent rough sleepers account for around two fifths (44%) of all those recorded in the period, and a seventh (15%) of those recorded during the period were living on the streets.

FULL FIGURES: https://files.datapress.com/london/dataset/chain-reports/2018-01-31T17:04:06.60/2017-18%20Quarterly%20Reports.zip