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Number of rough sleepers in North East Lincolnshire rises

Number of rough sleepers in North East Lincolnshire rises

The number of rough sleepers in North East Lincolnshire has risen despite figures across England falling.

On the night of the data collection in autumn 2021 there were 10 rough sleepers recorded in North East Lincolnshire, an increase from seven in the previous year.

However, this number could be much a higher as a single night of collecting data does not accurately represent an entire year.

Sleepers may also bed down at different times or find alternative accommodation for the night, meaning the figures do not provide a fully reliable insight.

The figures, published by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, state that across England 2,440 people were estimated to be sleeping rough on a single night in autumn 2021.

That was down by 9% from 2,690 in 2020, and down from the peak of 4,750 in 2017. However, that is still 38% higher than the 1,770 counted nationally in autumn 2010.

The government currently has the goal of ending rough sleeping by 2024, a target which is seeming less and less likely.

Rick Henderson, CEO at Homeless Link, the national membership charity for frontline homelessness organisations in England, which independently verifies the figures, said: “Everyone deserves a safe place to live and the support they need to maintain it. So, after nearly a decade of continual rises, a fourth year on year decrease in the number of people sleeping rough on any given night is something to celebrate.

“The hard work of homeless services on the front-line, in partnership with government and local authorities, has shown us that rough sleeping is not inevitable, that we can dream of one day living in a society where it has all but been eradicated.

“But 2,400 people are still sleeping rough on any given night, with this figure 38% higher than the total in 2010.

“These are real lives, stories of people let down by a system that should protect them. It could be someone who lost their job during the pandemic or a young person who’s recently left the care system, terrified and alone. It could be a woman fleeing an abusive partner or someone evicted from a private tenancy through no fault of their own.”

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