Increase in Initiatives to Tackle Homelessness

Homelessness is a real issue in Croydon, which shows no signs of letting up, especially with the rising property costs.  From the ‘rough sleepers’ to the ‘sofa surfers’, there are numerous members of our community who don’t have a roof over their head that they can call their own.

With this is mind, it’s great to see the various initiatives that are launching or are already in place to tackle the issue of homelessness in the borough. 

I was recently made aware of a newly launched project, Housing First, through an article on the Evening Standard’s website.  Housing First aims to “reduce homelessness in Croydon by providing homes as a starting point rather than end goal to support, and recruiting people who live and work in the area to go out and help rough sleepers.” 

Lee Buss, director of operations at Evolve Housing, says: “Housing First, [to] put it simply, works on the principle that to end chronic rough sleeping, you provide a home.  The support is not conditional on accessing the accommodation.”

Another new initiative that has been launched in the last few months to tackle homelessness is FairBnB, which was born out of the Croydon Opportunity and Fairness Commission.  The intention of FairBnB is to prevent homelessness before it happens, helping “struggling families [to] get back on their feet by matching those who don’t have a roof over their head with generous homeowners who have the space to put them up.”

FairBnB prevents those who are experiencing financial difficulty from having to possibly be placed in a B&B that is miles away from their home or children’s schools. Hosts will not only be preventing homelessness and helping individuals through a tough period in their life, but they will also be paid. 

It’s great that more and more is being done to tackle homelessness, but there is still a ton of work to do.  As a community, it is up to us to band together and do as much as we can, because although the rising property prices may stay the same, we can certainly make a change.  So why not give some of your time and volunteer to help those sleeping rough, or if you’ve got a spare room or two in your home, sign up to become a FairBnB host?