John Penrose has welcomed new Government cash to tackle homelessness. A letter to John from the Communities Secretary, James Brokenshire MP, says over £74,000 will be given to North Somerset forspecialist support to help rough sleepers turn their lives around. This is on top of the £25,000 pledged by the Town Council to support Weston’s Night Shelter.
John said, “Weston’s Night Shelter does vital work providing shelter for homeless people. But we’ve also got to address the really difficult and varying underlying problems that put people on the streets in the first place, like addiction, mental illness or a relationship breaking down. Fixing those problems means tailored, individual help to get lives back on track, which is exactly what this cash is supposed to do. I’m delighted Ministers have listened to what I and many other people have been saying about this for a while. It won’t fix everything in one go, but it’s an absolutely essential step in the right direction.”
Notes To Editors
In August 2018, the government unveiled its Rough Sleeping Strategy, which set out the next steps towards achieving the aim of supporting everyone off the streets and into a home and to end rough sleeping for good by 2027.
John was invited to open Weston’s Night Shelter in December 2018: https://www.thewestonmercury.co.uk/news/weston-night-assessment-centre-officially-opens-1-5800934