It’s the next step of a groundbreaking plan aimed at ending homelessness in London.
The results of the Health and Homelessness Summit and the whole of community response were announced to the media on Tuesday and included some plans that will make major changes to assistance offered to people without a place to live.
The event had more than a dozen speakers. Leaders in homelessness, policing, healthcare and development pledged their support for the plan.
“You first need to start with a compelling vision and an agreement on what direction we’re actually rowing in,” said Scott Courtice, Executive Director at the London Intercommunity Health Centre. “That’s sometimes the hardest. Now it’s in the nitty gritty detail work. It’s going to require significant leadership for us to really just keep the people we’re trying to save at the centre of it.”
Organizers of the summit say more than 200 people experiencing homelessness have died in London since the beginning of 2020.
During his portion of the presentation, Courtice outlined plans for 12-15 hubs around the city that will have 24/7 access for people who are homeless to visit when they need to. Each hub will serve roughly 20-30 people.
Here's the values they've outlined for this plan.
"We need to be transparent about the situation on the ground"
"Data is going to be critical for that" pic.twitter.com/xtbi6xqaZQ
— Craig Needles (@NeedlesOnNews) February 21, 2023
They’re also hoping to create 100 units of supportive housing immediately, and a total of 600 over the next three years.
That will involve funding from the City of London being redirected from other homeless services, something Mayor Josh Morgan thinks will be possible.
“In the next couple of days there will be a report that will detail the information for council,” Morgan told London News Today. “There will be a number of recommendations that we can consider on the actions we’ll take.”
“As well as the possibility of reorganizing some of the money we have existing within the housing and homelessness fund under this banner to support some of the work that’s being done here,” he added.
Other cash for the plan will come from a major donation from a wealthy London family.
London has seen many plans aimed at reducing or eliminating poverty, but people involved say this one is unique.
“There’s never been an experience with this diverse range of stakeholders who all have invested interest in making our community a better, safer place,” said Brian Lester, the soon to be retired executive director of the Regional HIV/AIDS Connection. “Everyone in London is experiencing this crisis. We’re all impacted by this.”
