Surrey Heath Borough Council is poised to consider a comprehensive strategy designed to provide solutions for those experiencing homelessness.
The strategy, which will be discussed at the upcoming Executive meeting on 23 July, aims to promote healthier and more inclusive communities through collaborative work with voluntary sector partners to prevent and relieve homelessness.
Cllr Alan Ashbery, Surrey Heath Borough Council Portfolio Holder for Homes, Planning & Enforcement, emphasized the importance of addressing homelessness and its impact on the community: “It’s so important that we take homelessness and the impact it has on our communities seriously.
“The support and actions mentioned in this strategy are absolutely vital to providing a better society for the people of Surrey Heath.
“If you think you can support us in this mission to help those who need it most – please get in touch. We can do this, but we need to work together.”
The strategy outlines the council’s approach to preventing and relieving homelessness and rough sleeping, identifying key objectives, and including an action plan to achieve them.
This initiative supports the Council’s Strategy 2024-28 to promote healthier and more inclusive communities by collaborating with and supporting voluntary sector partners who work with homeless households, ensuring that services delivered recognise and champion equity and inclusion.
The development of a Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy, along with providing advice and support to prevent and relieve homelessness, is a statutory duty under the Homelessness Act 2002. The Council has successfully secured external grant funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, (formally Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities), Surrey County Council, and the Better Care Fund to support these efforts.
For more details about the Executive meeting agenda on 23 July 2024, and to read more about the discussions, please visit Surrey Heath Borough Council’s website: https://surreyheath.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=127&MId=4354