Last year, Barnet Council secured 190k to tackle rough sleeping in the area. Barnet Homes was able to fund a dedicated Rough Sleepers co-ordinator role with this cash injection.

Now, alongside Barnet Council, Barnet Homes is now further demonstrating its commitment to tackling homelessness by launching a new partnership Homelessness Forum.

The Barnet Homelessness Forum Partnership event also involved local agencies whose main mission it is to reduce homelessness/rough sleepers in Barnet.  Shelter’s Head of Consultancy Harinder Birring, Homeless Link’s Innovation and Good Practice Manager Julie Cook and Joe Lee, Homeless Action in Barnet’s (HAB) Chief Executive were all in attendance.

Chair of the Housing Committee, Councillor Gabriel Rozenberg also attended to show his support for this new initiative:

Councillor Rozenberg said: “I welcome the new Homelessness Forum for Barnet. It will bring together contributions from the council, from Barnet Homes, from key local partners such as Homeless Action in Barnet and Homeless Link, and from the national homelessness charity, Shelter. We all have one mission, which is to reduce homelessness in Barnet. Homelessness is not a simple problem and the best way to tackle it effectively is for us all to work together.”

Joe Lee added that there more people approaching HAB and there was definitely a need for agencies with an interest in reducing homelessness in Barnet. Everyone agreed that partnership working to address homelessness/Rough Sleeping is more important than ever.

The aims of the forum are aligned with those of Barnet Council’s Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy:

  1. Preventing homelessness
  2. Reducing the use of temporary accommodation and securing accommodation for people who are, or may become homeless
  3. Establishing effective partnerships, working arrangements and support to those who are or used to be homeless, to improve their resilience and reduce the risk of them from becoming homeless again
  4. Supporting rough sleepers to address their housing and other needs.

If you are an agency/organisation in Barnet with an interest in reducing homelessness and would like to attend the next Barnet Homelessness Forum, please contact Michael.woodland@barnethomes.org

 More about Barnet Council’s Homelessness and Rough Sleepinjg strategy can be found here.