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A new ambition for all hostels to provide access to support,
training and employment within the next three years to help end
persistent rough sleeping, was announced today by Housing Minister Iain
Wright. The Minister published an action plan to reduce rough sleeping
to as close to zero as possible, with new measures to help those who
have remained entrenched on the streets.
He announced a new aspiration for hostels to provide access to training
and employment opportunities, supported by the £160 million the
Government has put in place to refurbish hostels and improve their
services by 2011. The Minister invited stakeholders involved in rough
sleeping to join in the discussion on a package of measures to underpin
the strategy, including:
* A renewed
drive to identify and engage with the most persistent rough sleepers to
get them off the streets and into a more stable environment, minimising
the risk of falling back into old routines and old patterns of
dependency. Groups such as older drinkers have historically been harder
to reach and new models may be needed to get them in off the streets,
such as personalised support.
*
Universal access to skills programmes in hostels to develop an
individual's talents and boost their confidence in stepping up and out
of insecurity and dependency. The Government's £160 million investment
in projects to reduce rough sleeping also includes an academy in
London, which will provide former rough sleepers with opportunities to
develop skills in areas of employment as diverse as restaurant
management to cookery skills.
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