New strategy to reduce homelessness
Royal Borough: Those sleeping rough to be supported via a new council action plan
Homelessness in the borough will be tackled using a fresh strategy to reduce the number of people on the streets, the council says.
The ‘Homelessness and
Rough Sleeping Strategy’ will guide the council’s approach to support those who are or may become homeless, and was approved at a cabinet meeting last month.
The council says that the refreshed strategy has taken account of the latest data and changes to national guidance.
Its five key priorities include ‘reducing the number of people
becoming homeless’, and ‘supporting people into goodquality accommodation’.
An updated action plan sets out how the priorities in the strategy will be achieved, and these will be refreshed and updated each year. The Royal Borough says it has been developed through a review of homelessness statistics, trends and issues, and analysis of best practice from across the country.
Voluntary organisations such as Driven Forward, The Salvation Army and the Windsor Homeless Project, housing providers such as Radian and Housing Solutions, and Thames Valley Police, have been consulted as partners.
Cllr Ross McWilliams (Con, Cox Green), cabinet member for housing, communications and youth engagement, said: “We continue to take a collaborative approach to tackling homelessness and rough sleeping, working closely with partners from the statutory and voluntary sectors.
“There has been a huge change in our approach to providing housing support.
“The service has seen massive improvements and we now have strong foundations upon which to build an ambitious service that puts residents at the heart of what we do.”