New figures show the number of people sleeping rough on the streets of Liverpool have remained broadly stable.
Independently verified Government figures released 27th February, show 17 people were sleeping on the city centre streets in November 2019 (13th, date annual rough sleeper count).
The count acts as a snapshot on one night and provides a
comparison year-on-year, and shows a rise of two on the 15 found in 2018 and
compares with 33 identified in 2017, meaning the city has broadly maintained
its success in reducing numbers.
Liverpool City Council and its partners have launched a number of
initiatives in the last few years, including the Always Room Inside campaign,
to ensure that no-one in the city needs to sleep on the streets.
The council spends £11.3 million in total on preventing and tackling issues related to homeless and has 768 units of temporary accommodation available.
For people with complex needs and rough sleepers, there is a day
hub provided by the Whitechapel Centre, while the council operates one of the
few all-year round night shelters in the country, Labre House.
Together, they act as a gateway to a range of council and partner
agency services, including health and wellbeing support, housing services,
money and debt advice and drugs and alcohol misuse services.
The city council also funds a team of outreach workers who engage
with those sleeping rough in the city on a daily basis to assess their needs
and to encourage them to come inside and accept the range of support services
available.
Figures from October 2019 show Labre House housed 268 people for
at least one night during the course of the month, and the average number of
people using the centre each night was 85. The outreach team encouraged 74
rough sleepers to come inside and accept help.
If you have concerns about someone sleeping rough in Liverpool, you can call the Always Room Inside helpline: 0300 123 2041.
