"At the moment we're stuck in managing a crisis and it's not working" were some of Rick Henderson's words yesterday at Homeless Link's Parliamentary Reception at the House of Lords that I had the privilege of attending. And he's right, waiting for and responding to crisis doesn't make sense! It costs more money, leads to less positive outcomes, and allows lives to be ruined.
Homeless Link were calling the government to break the cycle of homelessness by focussing on prevention, ring fencing (long term) funding, working in a more joined up way across the government, and being trauma informed.
Rushanara A. affirmed the government's commitment to reduce rough sleeping and take a more preventative approach, as well as listening more to the voices of those who have personally experienced homelessness. All of this is music to my ears and mirrors the aims and ambitions of Connection Support's Prevention First strategy.
It was an honour to be in the room with many people from the sector who were all representing the lives and unique stories of all of our clients, volunteers and staff members. And I'm extremely grateful for some of our local MPs, including Callum Anderson and Laura Kyrke-Smith for demonstrating their commitment to their homeless and vulnerably housed constituents by attending the event.
I'm also grateful to have attended alongside a number of inspirational colleagues including Hannah Asquith, James Boultbee and Nicci Marzec. I'm excited to keep working alongside these, and other, great people while we seek an end to homelessness.
