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HELP team help launch Waverley's new homelessness strategy

Our HELP team provided a valuable input at the launch of Waverley Council's new strategy for tackling homelessness.

The launch was attended by people who have been helped when faced with homelessness, together with Waverley councillors and representatives from voluntary, health and housing services. The helplessness people feel when made homeless was demonstrated by presentation by young people from Step by Step's Homelessness Education Liaison Project (HELP). During the presentation, a volunteer from the audience was blindfolded with red tape and his hands were tied up, illustrating the frustration and powerlessness experienced by homeless people.

The new strategy outlines the progress that has been made in services for the homeless in the borough since the first Strategy in 2003. It underlines the importance of joint working with key partners such as Citizens Advice Waverley, social services, health, housing associations etc and also highlights the areas that still need improvement.

Councillor Richard Gates, Waverley's leader and portfolio holder for housing, said: "Despite the relative affluence of an area like Waverley, the threat of being without a home is an unpleasant reality for far more people than we might realise. While the number of people living in temporary accommodation in Waverley has gone down significantly in the last few years, there are still families and individuals in the borough who do not have a permanent home or whose home is under threat. There is still much to do to support these people."

The Prevention of Homelessness Strategy lists 38 key areas of work that address homelessness in Waverley. They include the importance of educating young people about the realities of sleeping rough or having no fixed address when, for example, a young person leaves home after family relationships breakdown. To help address this issue Step by Step visits local schools with some of the young people their projects have helped, to explain to other young people the realities of what it is really like to be homeless.

The event highlighted that the best outcomes for homeless people are achieved through organisations and people working in partnership and co-operation.

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