We’ve seen people who have been sleeping rough for months, even years, access help for the first time. Recent statistics from the Greater London Authority show a 33% increase in the numbers of people rough sleeping in London between April and June this year, compared with the same period last year. Of the 4,227 individuals identified by outreach teams as sleeping on the streets of the capital, 63% – 2,680 – were sleeping rough for the first time. Councils are no longer being told by government that they must get everyone sleeping rough off the streets. People sleeping rough and living on our streets was part of the old normal.

Source: The Guardian August 12, 2020 06:00 UTC