Homelessness organisations travel from far and wide for summit in Leamington

Last Thursday (March 16) a summit was held at Leamington Town Hall.

Those attending all shared a common focus; to find practical solutions for the homeless, to investigate the issues they face and to work together to resolve them.

The summit was organised and chaired by Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western.

Local organisations such as Helping Hands, LWS Night Shelter and P3 attended the event along with national charities such as Crisis and Shelter.

Matt Western MP said: “I was pleased to organise and chair the housing and homelessness summit which brought together many organisations working hard on the issue of homelessness in our local area.

“Representatives from national homelessness organisations such as Crisis and Shelter travelled all the way from London and other parts of the country specifically to attend the meeting.

“I am delighted that Warwick District Council and Warwickshire County Council supported the initiative so we are not working in isolation.

“The summit allowed us to share our ideas about finding practical solutions for those suffering from homelessness in our community.

“Many positive ideas and suggestions were shared, including the need for housing first policies, innovative addiction treatments and the use of modular housing.

“Homelessness locally has doubled since 2015, and Warwick District is now the worst in the West Midlands for rough sleeping.

“We can and should be more ambitious in trying to end homelessness all together ahead of the national target of 2027.

“It is important to work together to address the causes and symptoms of homelessness by providing bespoke and holistic treatment services, as well as fulfilling our duty to provide social, council and affordable housing.

“I welcome the new funding being made available by Warwickshire County Council and it is an important step that must be maintained in future.

“Many organisations spoke of the impact of budget cuts on the services they provided, and delivered stark reminders of how rough sleeping has increased by 169 per cent since 2010.

“This demonstrates how vital it is we take concrete and positive action now, and I look forward to working with homelessness charities and local authorities in future to end homelessness and rough sleeping.”