Rough Sleeping

London is facing a homelessness crisis. Sleeping on the streets is a dangerous and traumatising experience, and people who sleep rough will experience multiple health conditions, such as mental health problems and substance misuse. 

We are at the forefront of delivering services in response to the Government’s new Rough Sleeping Initiative, which aims to end rough sleeping by 2027. We work with a number of London boroughs, providing emergency accommodation and supporting rough sleepers to find longer term solutions to their housing needs.   

These services include cold weather shelters, Housing First services, Navigator services and Rapid Re-housing services. Over the past year we have supported a total of 393 people in our cold weather shelters in North London and Redbridge.  

We also work in partnership with Redbridge Borough Council to provide the Redbridge Street Outreach Team, which supports rough sleepers into shelters, Private Rented Sector (PRS) accommodation, Housing First accommodation or our hostel pathway, depending on their needs. We aim to locate and assess clients within 24-48 hours, and, where possible, access accommodation to assist clients off the streets and break the cycle of street homelessness.  In addition, our Redbridge Navigator Service works with clients facing multiple disadvantages and who are rough sleeping or in precarious housing situations.   

SHP was among the first agencies in the UK to pioneer the Housing First model, having piloted it in Camden in 2013, and it has since become an integral part of our approach. Today we deliver Housing First services in Islington, Camden, Newham and Redbridge. 

Many rough sleepers face multiple disadvantage, experiencing several overlapping problems at the same time, such as mental ill health, homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction, offending and family breakdown. People with these needs tend to fall through the gaps between services because no one takes overall responsibility for helping them to break the cycle they are in. For the last six years we have led the Big Lottery-funded Fulfilling Lives in Camden and Islington (FLIC), a system change project focused on the needs of people who face multiple exclusion, including having spent long periods rough sleeping. 

Many of the more than 400 adults in our hostels have a history of rough sleeping. Our hostel support workers are committed to providing a stable and secure environment as they work with clients to address their needs, with the ultimate aim of breaking the cycle of rough sleeping and supporting them to move on and live independently.