The United Kingdom Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, will write personally to councils across England on Armistice Day, November 11, asking them to develop specific plans to provide accommodation for military veterans sleeping rough ahead of Christmas.
The initiative is aimed at ensuring that no former member of the armed forces is left sleeping on the streets, with the Prime Minister urging national and local governments to work together to provide housing and specialist support for homeless veterans.
Online on Monday retrieved these details from a press release published on the UK Home Office website on November 7.
There, it noted that Burnham will ask councils to use part of the government’s homelessness funding to develop specific plans for tackling homelessness among former military personnel, working with local organisations and charities supporting them.
The government is also “allocating £8.7m to eight organisations across the United Kingdom under its Reducing Veteran Homelessness Programme to provide targeted housing, employment and health support for veterans with complex needs, including health challenges and addiction.”
The organisations receiving a share of the funding include “Veteran Housing Scotland, Launchpad, Alabare, The Riverside Group, Wigan Council, RBVE, SSAFA, The Armed Forces Charity, and Tom Harrison House.”
Announcing the initiative, Burnham said, “No one who has served our country should be left to sleep rough on our streets. It is a simple principle and, from now on, I am setting it as an operating principle for the whole of government, national and local.”
He added, “People who stepped forward prepared to put their lives on the line for the rest of us should never lack a roof over their head.
“When they need help, the country owes them more than warm words. It owes them a bed every night, a proper plan and someone in their corner from day one.”
The Prime Minister said councils already working with charities supporting former members of the armed forces could expand their efforts with the new funding.
“Many councils are already doing a great job working with charities supporting the ex-forces community. With this new funding, they can take that to the next level and end the need for any veteran to sleep rough on any night,” he said.
He also urged veterans sleeping rough and people supporting them to contact a UK-wide helpline on 0800 9520774 for immediate assistance with accommodation and other specialist support.
According to the statement, the helpline has already supported more than 1,250 veterans into housing.
The initiative is part of the Prime Minister’s commitment to ending rough sleeping, “backed by an additional £874m, bringing the government’s overall funding for tackling homelessness to a record £4.4bn.”