Reading is a busy, successful and generous town, so it’s really no surprise that tackling rough sleeping is a challenge here. It also means Reading can attract people who sleep rough locally and who have no connection to the town, but that’s far from unique to Reading. The same problems are faced by other busy towns and cities.
That’s why it was so encouraging to see this reality acknowledged by Government with the news that Reading – along with several other areas around the country who face the highest rough sleeping pressures – have been handed extra money to further enhance services which help tackle and prevent homelessness and which support people sleeping rough in the town.
When you walk through part of town and see people sleeping rough over the cold winter months, it can be difficult to understand why people would choose to do this rather than take up offers of beds for the night. Rough sleeping is a really complex issue for many individuals however, so we know it’s not that simple.
The Council works alongside charity partner St Mungo’s to deliver a rapid Severe Weather Emergency Planning (SWEP) response during extreme weathers to protect the most vulnerable from the elements. This includes offers of accommodation for the night over the winter months when temperatures fall below a set level.
We additionally commission essential services from our town’s incredible community and voluntary sector to accommodate and support people sleeping rough. Our partners include The Salvation Army, Reading YMCA and Launchpad Reading. In fact, more than 250 bed spaces are offered across the Council’s Homelessness Support Services to help single people and couples who are found rough sleeping, or at risk of rough sleeping. These are in addition to beds offered during a SWEP response.
The additional funding brings the overall Government grant to tackle homelessness and support people sleeping rough in Reading to over £2 million this year, which is a significant improvement to previous years.
It was also refreshing to see a Government take into account the practicalities of local councils receiving large grants such as this one. We have known about this extra funding for some weeks now, which has enabled us to plan, ahead of winter, where the funding can be best directed to make the biggest impact. Now that the additional money has been made public, we can work with our community, voluntary and charity sector partners to create a comprehensive plan of action for the winter months ahead of us, whilst we acknowledge the high demand and need is unlikely to go away any time soon.
And as the cold temperatures approach, a reminder to all residents that they have an important role to play in looking after the most vulnerable. If you see someone bedded down who you are worried about, please go to www.thestreetlink.org.uk to send an alert to our local Rough Sleeping Outreach Service so that the teams can visit them and offer accommodation, or any other support they may need.
You can read more about what the Council does to support people sleeping rough at www.reading.gov.uk/roughsleeping.
By Cllr Liz Terry
