Rotherham Council has launched a survey to help shape the future of the borough’s Homelessness Prevention and Rough Sleeper Strategy and is calling on residents to get involved and have their say.
The strategy is a plan of action with the aim of preventing homelessness and ending rough sleeping in Rotherham and ensuring people get the help and support they need. The survey will give local people the opportunity to shape how this is achieved.
The Council has been delivering against the commitments in its Homelessness Strategy over the past three years, focusing on six key aims including; supporting people with complex needs, increasing support for young people and ensuring there is sufficient decent emergency accommodation.
This consultation will refresh the strategy and set out the key priorities for 2023-26 with the aim of the survey to identify what is important to residents and help find solutions on how to end rough sleeping for good.
The Council would like people’s view on:
- increasing early homelessness prevention
- increasing access to more affordable housing
- where homelessness cannot be prevented, ensuring people’s experience is as brief as possible
- proactively ending rough sleeping and begging
- help more people access support
The survey will only take a few minutes to complete, responses are anonymous and residents have until 21 September 2022 to take part and share their views on what and how the Council should deliver.
Rotherham Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Amy Brookes, said: “Homelessness does not just refer to those who are experiencing rough sleeping. There are various housing circumstances for individuals and families that lead to homelessness.
“We want to consult with as many people as possible who live and work in the borough and those who have experienced homelessness in Rotherham so we can produce a strategy that emphasizes preventative work and action that will have lasting and positive impact in the borough.”
You can take part in the homelessness strategy consultation by visiting www.rotherham.gov.uk/consultations
Following the consultation, the updated strategy will be published early 2023.
If you are currently homeless or worried about losing your home you can contact the Homelessness Team online. Alternatively, you can call them on 01709 336009, Monday- Friday between 8.30am and 5pm. If you have nowhere to stay outside of these times you can contact the out of hours service on 07748 143170.
More information about homelessness can be found from the Councils website.