Theresa May pledges £20m to tackle rough sleeping and praises Centrepoint homeless helpline appeal
Theresa May gave the Standard’s Christmas Appeal a ringing endorsement today, saying it would help to save young people from “the injustice of rough sleeping”.
She also announced £20 million for projects to tackle the misery of people sleeping out in the capital.
“Homelessness is a tragedy for all of us — especially for those affected, all the more so because it can happen at any time and for a wide variety of reasons,” the Prime Minister said on a visit to Thames Reach Employment Academy in Camberwell.
She saluted readers and donors whose gifts have raised more than £1 million for the Young & Homeless Helpline being launched by Prince William to get emergency help quickly to young people in danger of being forced to sleep out.
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“The early intervention and advice that the Young & Homeless Helpline can provide will help turn young lives around and save people from the injustice of rough sleeping,” she said.
“The Standard’s appeal is doing vital work to raise funds and awareness of the problem. I salute all the Evening Standard readers and patrons who have taken part in this year’s appeal.
“Christmas generosity, together with the work of government, can make a real difference to vulnerable young people on the verge of sleeping rough.”
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Mrs May and Communities Secretary Sajid Javid met staff and clients at the academy, where they announced winning bids from a £50 million government funding pot for homeless schemes.
Among schemes that won funding are North London Housing Partnership, which gets £917,500 for helping people to get their lives on track - including aid with addictions and jobs.
Another £10 million goes to schemes aimed at those at imminent risk of having to sleep rough - including £414,000 towards the No First Night Out drive by City of London, Tower Hamlets and Hackney councils.
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Some £2 million goes to new social impact bonds devised to fund help for a smaller number of people with the most complex needs, including mental health issues and poor education.
Mr Javid said: “Thames Reach’s work to tackle homelessness shows the wide range of services the most vulnerable people in our society often need. Its efforts are proof of the real difference that can be made when charities, councils and volunteers work together.”
On her visit, Mrs May met former rough sleepers being trained with new skills to help turn their lives around.
She watched trainees paint a nursery as part of a six-week course to become full-time decorators with qualifications and references.
Thames Reach chief executive Jeremy Swain said: “This place is all about getting people into work. Our strong view is that the best way of avoiding homelessness in the future is to help people get the skills to move into a job.”
Up to 2,000 people get support each month at the centre — which offers help, advice and training for a range of problems, not just homelessness.
Peter Cheasman, 53, one of the trainees Mrs May met, spent three months on the streets earlier this year and said the scheme had turned his life around.
"I had no job, no home and no prospects and I was told by my caseworker I would just have to sleep rough," he explained. "I was walking the streets for three months."
The former tyre fitter's life was derailed when he received a speeding fine and denied being at fault. He ended up being prosecuted for perverting the course of justice, which he denied, and served three months.
"Now I'm in accommodation and I am finishing the course, which I really enjoyed, and looking forward to getting a job as a painter and decorator. For me it is a fresh start and it is brilliant."
Before leaving the centre, created from a former workhouse, Mrs May said it showed how early intervention could transform lives of people in danger of sleeping out.
"I was very impressed with what I saw here," she said. "The Standard campaign is very good because we need to put prevention at the heart of what we do in dealing with homelessness. That's exactly what I have seen at Thames Reach, working with people to give them the skills they need to get on in the workplace."