Campaigners are calling on the government to scale up Housing First projects in rural areas in a bid to tackle rising homelessness outside cities.
English Rural Housing Association, Porchlight and Commonweal Housing made the call for action after reporting a 40% rise in rural homelessness in the space of five years.
Housing First sees rough sleepers given a home alongside the support they need to stay off the streets. The approach has been credited with having a big impact on rough sleeping with particular success in Finland.
There are scores of Housing First projects across the country while the government has backed long-running pilots in Liverpool, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands.
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A new report assessed the feasibility of a project in East Kent and found that just eight to 12 Housing First homes across Ashford, Dover, Folkestone and Hythe and Swale could make a dent in homelessness with the model acting as a blueprint for other rural areas.
Martin Collett, chief executive of English Rural, said: “Rural homelessness is a hidden crisis that demands urgent action. The current approach of expecting people in rural areas to travel long distances to access support in towns and cities simply isn’t working. Housing First offers a proven solution that can be tailored to rural realities, providing both stable housing and flexible support where people need it.