Don't turn away

The measure of a society is how it treats its most vulnerable. When I first came to London as a backpacker from New Zealand in the 1980s, I instantly fell in love with this great city. But I was shocked at the number of homeless people.

“Rough sleeping rates are soaring again.”

Twenty-five years on, I would like to think the work we have all done has made a difference. But the battle is far from won. Rough sleeping rates are soaring again - there has been a 30% increase in the last year alone.

It is not just homelessness. Qualifying for mainstream social services has become harder, meaning an increasing number of people with mental health, substance misuse and low-level learning disabilities who need support are not getting it.

Look Ahead and organisations like us support these people. Our services save the government millions of pounds by preventing people ending up in more expensive options, such as hospital, registered care or prison.   

The unprecedented cuts to support and social care budgets over the last few years has seen vast numbers of these preventative support services closed. Specialist providers such as Look Ahead have had to adapt. But the people that Look Ahead has always supported are not so nimble. Their needs remain the same. Organisations like ours need to be able to both provide preventative non-statutory support services that fill such a vital gap in service provision, and work with commissioners to help them meet their statutory duties.  But we can only do this if local authorities continue to fund these services. They can only do so with central government support.

This is without doubt an immensely difficult time for our sector. If we are not careful, we could wind the clock back 25 years. Now is not the time to turn the other way.

Chris Hampson, chief executive, Look Ahead