Next week, Cabinet members will be asked to approve our refreshed Homeless Prevention and Rough Sleeping Strategy, setting out our ambitions over the next five years.
Developed alongside key partners, the strategy explores how we can work together to prevent homelessness in the first place and make sure residents get the support they need.
Building on what we’ve achieved over the last five years, the strategy also covers how we can help those who are homeless or sleeping rough to build a better future.
We’ve made some great progress over the lifetime of the last strategy in supporting those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Some highlights include:
- Embedding a preventative approach at the heart of our work.
- Strengthening our relationships with housing providers.
- Providing more tailored support for frequent rough sleepers.
- Developing the Barnsley Homeless Alliance, which brings together key partners across Barnsley who can help us achieve our ambitions.
- Creating our Housing Led Support Team, offering safe, stable accommodation to help those sleeping rough develop new skills and turn things around.
Our new strategy will help us respond to new issues facing our communities, including the cost of living crisis and a lack of affordable housing options for residents.
A key focus will be on making sure families get the support they need sooner, offering better ways forward for those who may face homelessness now and in the future.
The vision behind our strategy is working in partnership to end homelessness in Barnsley. This highlights the need to work together to prevent homelessness and make sure people in our communities get the right support at the right time.
We worked with a wide range of partners to develop our new strategy, including colleagues in our Homeless Alliance. This helped us to focus on five key priorities for the strategy:
- Preventing homelessness and early intervention, including for young people.
- Supporting those with complex needs and reducing the cycle of homelessness.
- Improving access to housing, especially in the private rented sector.
- Reducing the use and cost of temporary accommodation.
- Developing a system-wide approach to housing and health.
We’ve also made sure our priorities align with other key council strategies, helping us to achieve our Barnsley 2030 objectives.
Councillor Wendy Cain, Cabinet Spokesperson for Public Health and Communities, said: “We know that homelessness isn’t something we can tackle alone, which is why I’m delighted to see working together at the heart of this new strategy.
“Refreshing the strategy will help us to respond to the challenges currently facing our communities, including supporting families struggling with the cost of living crisis. This is an area where, locally and nationally, we’re seeing people need more support and we want to make sure we can help them earlier before they reach crisis.
“I would like to thank our colleagues and partners for their continued commitment to supporting our communities and tackling homelessness.”
The Homeless Prevention and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2023-28 will be complemented by an all-new action plan, setting out how we will work together to achieve our priorities.
We’re always working closely with people experiencing rough sleeping or homelessness to provide them with the help and support they need.
You can help us to help them by letting us know when you come across someone sleeping rough, begging or facing difficult situations on the streets. Please reach out to our team by:
- Calling 01226 773870
- Emailing adviceservices@barnsley.gov.uk
- Reporting it through streelink.org.uk or their app
- Calling 999 if someone needs urgent medical help
If you’re worried about becoming homeless, please get in touch with our team who will be able to offer you advice and support. You can find out more about the support available on our homeless and housing advice webpage.
