Established 2005 Registered Charity No. 1110656

Scottish Charity Register No. SC043760

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London's 15 per cent rise in homeless

September 26 2009
Some of the affected "may find that services they were using have been withdrawn as all agencies face funding problems”, warns charity CEO The number of homeless people living in London has jumped 15 per cent in the last year, figures compiled on the government's behalf by Broadway have revealed. This year's annual CHAIN figures show 3,472 people were recorded sleeping rough in the capital, up from 3,017 the year before. Only around 60 per cent of those without a permanent shelter were UK nationals, as the proportion of rough sleepers heralding from parts of East Europe rose from 11 to 14 per cent. Following several years of small increases, the latest figures suggest more people have become homeless through losing work and suffering relationship breakdowns amid the recession. Out of the total, 2.012 people were first-time rough sleepers, 1,138 of whom were only counted sleeping out once. Some 902 people were found to be without a shelter in a minimum of two consecutive years, while 558 were "returners”, people who are driven back to the streets after having successfully moved on. Colin Glover, the chief executive of The Connection at St Martin's, explained that some had been caught up in the economic situation but warned that others "may find that services they were using and support they were getting have been withdrawn as all agencies face funding problems”. The charity has seen a record 25% increase in the number of homeless at its day centre, from 200 to 250 a day. The figures have raised concerns about the government's ability to achieve the ambitious goal of ending rough sleeping in the capital by 2012. St Mungo's, London's largest homelessness charity, claimed the target is unlikely to be reached unless more is done to break the link between mental heath and homelessness. A spokesperson for the charity told The Pavement: "We must not let an upward trend continue. We need to ensure new arrivals on the street, returners and people who have been sleeping rough for some years, who often have very complex needs, each get the help appropriate to their situation."
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