A homelessness charity has praised Bedford Borough Council for its progress in tackling homelessness.
JustUs Homelessness Advocacy told the Bedford Independent that the Borough Council deserved “huge credit” for the improvements around the discharge of its statutory duties.
This comes in response to the latest figures, which show that the number of people sleeping rough across the Borough has decreased rapidly, with only two residents recorded rough sleeping in 2021.
Everyone In
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bedford Borough Council has deployed an ‘Everyone In’ approach to tackling homelessness and rough sleeping, whilst investing in purchasing more temporary accommodation and providing help and support for some of the most vulnerable residents.
At last week’s Budget and Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee, attendees heard that anyone found to be sleeping rough is offered temporary accommodation and support.
Mayor Dave Hodgson said: “The Council have been providing help and support for some of the most vulnerable and this is having a real impact.
“I’ve seen how beneficial a temporary room for the night can be to someone. It’s important that we continue to work with those who have been rough sleeping to ensure they are able to move into more permanent accommodation and receive the support they need.”
Last year Roger’s Court was opened providing 20 units of temporary accommodation and 24-hour on-site support. Most recently, the Council has secured £900,000 of government funding to provide a further 10 units of accommodation.Read: Rogers Court opens its doors to Bedford rough sleepers this week
The Council is also working with Bedford Homeless Partnership to identify residents who may be at risk of sleeping rough, and are currently sofa surfing, remaining in abusive households or staying with friends and family to offer additional help and support.
Mike Hyden, of the charity, JustUs Homelessness Advocay, said: “Numbers in statutory temporary accommodation in Bedford have increased at least seven-fold to over 400 households since austerity policies were brought in, and this increase has been most noticeable since 2017.”
He said that many will be individuals who would otherwise be sleeping rough.
“As well as the ‘Everyone In’ initiative, the council deserves huge credit for the improvements around the discharge of its statutory homelessness duties, which I would argue are the cornerstone of actually ending homelessness,” said Mike.
“Through our work we come into contact with numerous other councils and Bedford Borough Council’s improvements in this regard stand out markedly in comparison.”
Mayor Dave said: “Our Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy brings together our successes in providing temporary accommodation and support for some of our most vulnerable residents.
“As the cost of living crisis worsens, it is important that we continue to support these people and others who may be in this position in the future.”
