COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

The number of families being placed in emergency housing in the city has also soared - leading the issue to be raised in Parliament by a Coventry MP

The number of homeless people being housed in Coventry’s bed and breakfasts, hostels and other emergency housing is at the highest level on record.

The latest figures reveal that 282 homeless households were living in temporary accommodation in our city at the end of March this year.

That’s more than doubled from 121 households at the end of March last year, and is more than 70 times as high as it was in 2006, when the number stood at just four.

It is the highest number ever seen in Coventry , suggesting the council is struggling to find stable housing for homeless people in their area.

Homelessness itself is on the rise in Coventry, and is again at the highest level on record.

In total, 964 households across our city were accepted as being statutorily homeless in 2017-18 - up from 638 homeless households the year before, and 560 in 2015-16.

Statutory homelessness means the council has to, by law, help them find somewhere to live.

A statutorily homeless household will have been found to be eligible for assistance from the council because they are unintentionally homeless and fall within a priority need group.

These include households with dependent children, pregnant women and people who are vulnerable in some way, for example because of mental illness or physical disability.

Homelessness is different to rough sleeping.

While a rough sleeper is literally sleeping on the street, someone who is homeless may have a roof over their heads but no accommodation where they have a legal right to stay.

The latest data shows the scale of the problem keeps on growing in Coventry.

Just a few months ago, figures released in January showed there were 278 families being put up in temporary housing by Coventry City Council in December 2017.

A massive 210 of those were families with children.

A statutorily homeless household will have been found to be eligible for assistance from the council because they are unintentionally homeless and fall within a priority need group.

These include households with dependent children, pregnant women and people who are vulnerable in some way, for example because of mental illness or physical disability.

Homelessness in Coventry will get worse despite scheme to eliminate it, warns expert



HOMELESSNESS in Coventry is only going to get worse despite efforts to eliminate it, a professional expert has predicted.

The worrying concerns come from Mike Fowler, chief executive of city-based homelessness organisation Coventry Cyrenians.

In May, the government set up the Rough Sleeping and Homelessness Reduction Taskforce, as we have reported.

Using the Housing First scheme – successfully piloted in Finland – homelessness figures would be halved by 2022, it claimed.

By 2027, the government aims to have eliminated homelessness completely in cities including Coventry – backed by West Midlands mayor Andy Street – and across the country.

But Mr Fowler, a professional dealing with homelessness over decades, told the Coventry Observer in a revealing interview: “Homelessness is not just about having a home. If the government can’t deal with all its challenges, they can’t solve homelessness.’

‘A number of homeless people have a history of – and are currently battling – mental health problems, health problems and addictions. They also battle with alcohol abuse and drug abuse.”

Number of homeless children in Coventry increases by eight times in five years

THE number of homeless children in Coventry has increased by about eight times in five years.

New analysis shows there are nearly 600 children set to spend Christmas in temporary accommodation in the city.

This number has risen from only 78 in the first part of 2013, according to figures from national homelessness charity, Shelter.

As we reported, the number of families (including pregnant couples) becoming homeless in the city has more than tripled in the last three years, latest council figures show.

There were 150 registered homeless families in 2014/15, a figure which has now risen to 484.

There are nearly 150 homeless families in the city with more than three children, 41 with more than four and 31 with more than five.

A set of figures on the issue was published by Labour MP Liam Byrne as part of his ‘Winter of Compassion’ fundraising campaign.

The Birmingham Hodge Hill MP said: “Unacceptable numbers of children will wake up on Christmas morning crammed into B&Bs and hostels.

“While they may have a roof over their heads, these children do not have a home."