Fewer than one in four homeless people housed by the government’s Everyone In scheme have moved into permanent accommodation, according to the BBC figures.
The government initiative provided over 37,000 rough sleepers with a place to stay during the COVID 19 pandemic. But housing charity Shelter warned many were still in temporary homes or may even be back on the streets.
The government has said they will “build on the progress made” by the scheme by providing over £750m this year to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.
Shelter submitted Freedom of Information requests to every local authority in England to find out what had happened to those helped by Everyone In, which was launched in March 2020 as the pandemic hit the country.
The data – shared with the BBC – showed more than three quarters of those initially accommodated, around 29,000 people, were in emergency or temporary accommodation, had reconnected with friends or family, or were likely to have returned to the streets.
The charity warned the gains from the “watershed” scheme were at risk of being “squandered” if the government does not ensure accommodation becomes permanent.
Shelter has called on the government to provide ongoing, dedicated funding to local authorities to ensure its commitment to end rough sleeping can be met, along with more rough sleeping support and a “new generation” of social homes.
The government has also launched a Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme, which it said would fund 6,000 long-term move-on homes for rough sleepers by the end of the parliamentary term.
The Koolesh Shah Family Foundation are proud to support homeless charities around the country aiding those looking for shelter.