Letter to editors on homelessness and rough sleepers
Dear Editor,
Your article on Richard Gere’s film on homelessness (3/3/16) draws attention to an increasing problem not just in Camden, but across London.
In 2009/10, the last year of the Labour Government there were 3613 people sleeping rough in London, according to homelessness charity St Mungo’s. Under the Conservatives, by 2014 /15 this had more than doubled to 7,581 homeless people on our streets.
This stark statistic, which actually represents many thousands of our fellow human beings in dire straits especially in this cold weather, is underpinned by their individual accounts of the way that they have been forced to live rough, often due to circumstances for which they are not in any way personally responsible.
The extent of street homelessness is undoubtedly set to get worse, due to the Conservatives’ heartless and draconian housing policies, which betray their hostility to social housing that is genuinely affordable.
London needs a Mayor and Assembly with the compassion and policies to address this growing crisis, despite the best efforts of the Government to make things worse not better.
Andrew Dismore AM
Labour London Assembly member for Barnet and Camden
