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Joining the International Mayors Council on Homelessness will let us learn from global cities
We are honoured to share our learnings from the Homewards initiative with an international audience, writes Tom Hunt, leader of Sheffield City Council
Cllr Tom Hunt is the leader of Sheffield City Council
Here in Sheffield, our aim is to end homelessness – and we are now part of a global group of cities working to make that happen.
The sight of people sleeping rough and stories of families living in temporary accommodation have, sadly, become familiar in recent years. But there is nothing inevitable about homelessness. It can be tackled, and in Sheffield we are developing innovative ways to prevent people from becoming homeless.
Around the world, cities and local authorities are at the forefront of finding solutions to end homelessness. Sheffield has now joined the International Mayors Council on Homelessness to join the global effort.
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The global initiative includes mayors and leaders from Chicago, London, Paris, São Paulo and Helsinki, among others. Sheffield is one of only four British cities chosen to take part. Alongside the mayor of London, I join leaders and mayors from Lambeth, Greater Manchester and Glasgow at the table.
We were invited to join because of our involvement in the Homewards initiative, the five-year programme founded by Prince William to demonstrate that, together, it is possible to end homelessness. I am proud that Sheffield is one of six locations in the UK to be part of this.
“Alongside 63 other organisations and individuals, Sheffield City Council is part of the coalition with healthcare providers, mental health services, our city’s two universities, local businesses and grassroots community organisations”
Working with the Royal Foundation, the Homewards Sheffield Coalition was formed over the past year. Alongside 63 other organisations and individuals, Sheffield City Council is part of the coalition with healthcare providers, mental health services, our city’s two universities, local businesses and grassroots community organisations. Crucially, the coalition has significant representation from those with lived experience of homelessness.
When Prince William attended a Homewards event in Burngreave in Sheffield last year, it was a powerful and moving experience to hear people who have experienced homelessness telling him about their lives. Their experiences are central to our work to tackle homelessness.
The collaborative approach is already working. The Sheffield coalition has been working with landlords who pledged to make an initial 33 three and four-bedroom properties available for families on the brink of, or experiencing, homelessness. These are much-needed homes that will make a vital difference for families in our city.
Last month, Homewards celebrated its first anniversary – looking back at 12 months of hard work, including a successful roundtable event right here in Sheffield attended by the Prince of Wales in March. Our work is only just getting started, but now we will share it even further.
Sheffield and Lambeth are the first Homewards locations to join the International Mayors Council to share the initiative’s learnings with a global audience. Homewards Sheffield will focus efforts, with much-needed financial backing, on getting people the help they need before they lose their homes.
To put it simply, a critical factor to ending homelessness is to stop people becoming homeless in the first place. So Homewards Sheffield will focus on families experiencing ‘hidden’ homelessness, including those who are living in temporary accommodation such as hostels, hotels and shelters.
“We are ready to play our part so that we have great neighbourhoods that people are happy to call home, and that more of us have the safe, secure, quality places to live that we deserve”
It will also address the fact that a disproportionate number of people from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds are becoming homeless in Sheffield. Our early work focuses on diverse communities and areas with high levels of deprivation. Our programme will aim to reach families before they are at risk of losing their home.
But we also know that we need more homes. That is why increasing the number of new homes in our city is a priority for me and the council. And it is why we are taking action to make this happen.
Over the next 15 years, we are committed to providing 36,000 new homes to meet the needs of a growing population. This includes 1,000 new council homes that we will bring forward over the next five years. We are also working hard with housing associations to drive up the provision of affordable housing.
The new UK government is committed to building 1.5 million new homes across the UK in the next five years. We are ready to play our part so that we have great neighbourhoods that people are happy to call home, and that more of us have the safe, secure, quality places to live that we deserve.
Sheffield is the fourth-largest city in England and we are global, green and growing. Our goal is to end homelessness in our city – making it rare, brief and unrepeated.
We stand ready to work with cities around the world to learn, share best practice and ensure everyone has a safe, secure home.
Tom Hunt, leader, Sheffield City Council
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