Homeless deaths ‘tragic and shameful’, says mayor
The rising number of homeless people dying on the streets of Birmingham is ‘tragic and shameful’, mayor Andy Street has said.
This week it was revealed that homeless people in the city are dying at nearly twice the national rate, with 23 deaths in 2018 alone.
The number of deaths was up from 18 in 2017, and was the highest number since comparable records began in 2013.
The figures mainly include people sleeping rough at or around the time of death, but also include those using emergency accommodation such as homeless shelters and direct access hostels.
Across England and Wales, there were an estimated 726 deaths of homeless people in England and Wales in 2018.
The number of deaths was up significantly from an estimated 597 deaths in 2017, and is the highest number since comparable figures began in 2013.
One of mayor Andy Street’s headline pledges during the 2017 election was to tackle homelessness in the region, with a homelessness taskforce established to help "design out homelessness".
But, despite also setting up the country’s first Housing First initiative, the number of people left homeless on the streets of the West Midlands has continued to rise.
And the mayor says that, while the figures are ‘disappointing’, he has no intention of ‘giving up’ on his goal.
“Any death of a homeless person in the West Midlands is tragic and shameful,” he said.
“The West Midlands Combined Authority and its homelessness taskforce is taking practical steps to address and design out homelessness, such as the introduction of Change into Action and Housing First.
“The latter has seen more than 90 rough sleepers across the West Midlands move into dedicated accommodation, compared to far fewer numbers in Manchester and Liverpool – the other two national pilot areas.
“I have also personally lobbied the government to make changes to the Local Housing Allowance, which is undoubtedly fuelling homelessness in the region.
“But, despite the best efforts of everyone across the West Midlands, homelessness has proven to be incredibly complex and difficult to tackle, which is extremely disappointing.
“However I have no intention of giving up, and I am determined to continue to lead the region’s efforts to bring down homelessness in the West Midlands.”
