Aim to abolish rough sleeping in the city by 2022
CITY bosses have set out an aim to abolish street homelessness in Coventry by 2022.
A public donation system will also launch in December so residents can donate money which homelessness organisations can apply for on behalf of rough sleepers.
Plans have been included as part of a new Rough Sleeping Strategy 2019-24, which has been devised by the authority in partnership with homelessness agencies.
The council’s head of housing Jim Crawshaw admitted the vision for zero rough sleepers was “extremely ambitious”, but would be achieved through partnership working, adding: “That isn’t going to be something which is going to be easy to achieve.
“But as a city it is something that we want to strive towards, ensuring nobody has the need to sleep rough on the streets of Coventry, and that’s our absolute aim.”
However, a council scrutiny board on Thursday, November 14, was told not all rough sleepers accept change so it can be difficult getting some into accommodation.
Council commissioning manager for housing and homelessness Sophie Hall admitted some may be “scared” to seek help or are reluctant to due to past experiences.
Mr Crawshaw added: “Some people do not want that assistance at this moment in time.
“We have a guy in Coventry
who has been sleeping rough for a number of years. “Yesterday an outreach worker was convinced he would accept accommodation but he didn’t, so we will go back out tomorrow and the next day and we will keep building that relationship and at some point he will say ‘yes, you can find me a bed.’”
Existing services such as Steps for Change - a collaboration between the council and agencies - are currently in place to support rough sleepers. A homelessness forum also takes place in the city, involving more than 50 attendees from homelessness agencies and the council.
The number of rough sleepers in Coventry is a growing problem, with official figures showing a 316 per cent rise from six in 2014 to 25 in 2018. But deputy cabinet member for housing Cllr David Welsh warned not all in the city centre who appeared to be rough sleepers were as some live in accommodation.
He added the council strategy would also use enforcement action to tackle “aggressive begging”.
The new strategy will go to cabinet in December for approval.
Grant funding runs out in March 2021, Mr Crawshaw said, but discussions with the government indicate the next settlement would “likely to include an increase in money”. As part of the combined authority’s Housing First pilot, the council has also received funding to support up to 109 rough sleepers over the next two years.