Is this an end to rough sleeping for good?

Jez Bushnell considers Andy Burnham’s first major promise as prime minister.

Like many of you, I watched the new prime minister’s first speech on the steps of Downing Street with interest. As someone working for The Salvation Army to campaign against homelessness, there was one key line from Andy Burnham that I couldn’t ignore:

‘I will soon go through that door behind me and issue my first instruction: to end rough sleeping in our country.

Quite a statement.

Rough sleeping absolutely should be a priority – it is currently at record high levels in England, and anyone from the Army’s Homelessness Services will tell you about the horrific impact that sleeping rough can have on someone’s physical and mental wellbeing.

At The Salvation Army, we believe everyone is made in the image of God (see Genesis 1:26) and therefore deserves to be treated with dignity. A place to rest your head is surely part of that dignity?

Behind the prime minister’s statement are some welcome commitments around funding and housing. The government has provided an additional £340 million to secure 1,200 homes and intensive support for at least 3,000 people. And this is just the first stage of a wider five-year programme.

These are promising numbers and certainly give the impression that this commitment is not just about saying the right words but about backing them up with hard evidence.

But questions do remain.

Money and housing alone will not deliver the end to rough sleeping that we all desire. There are still legislative barriers that prevent many rough sleepers from getting vital emergency accommodation – read our report about priority need for more information.

Rough sleeping also represents just one of many forms of homelessness. Will the prime minister be committing to ending the other types of homelessness in our society?

And then there’s the fundamental truth that, just because a prime minister commits to doing something, that doesn’t necessarily mean it will happen. We have heard politicians promise to end rough sleeping before, to no avail. After all, commitment and delivery are two very different things.

This is why it is so important that we grasp this opportunity and make this time different.

Rough sleeping and homelessness are not inevitable. Territorial Leaders Commissioners Jenine and Paul Main have written a letter to the new prime minister from The Salvation Army to emphasise this. We’re calling for access to support when it’s needed, and vital wrap-around support services to break the cycle of homelessness.

Together we can fight to deliver lasting change to improve the lives of some of the most marginalised and vulnerable people in our society. To treat them with dignity, including a place to rest their heads.

Reflect and respond

• Join our campaign to end homelessness for good. Write to your local elected politician.
• Pray for politicians and ‘all those in authority’ (1 Timothy 2:2) for wisdom and compassion in their decisions.