HOMELESS BEING FAILED BY LACK OF MOVE-ON ACCOMMODATION, SAYS SALVATION ARMY

HOMELESS BEING FAILED BY LACK OF MOVE-ON ACCOMMODATION, SAYS SALVATION ARMYODPM SELECT COMMITTEE REPORT INTO HOMELESSNESS IS PUBLISHED

The Salvation Army has welcomed the publication of the ODPM select committee report on homelessness today, particularly its focus on the lack of move-on accommodation.

The Salvation Army, one of the largest providers of accommodation and services for homeless people in the UK with 50 residential centres, has always identified the lack of move-on accommodation as one of the key stumbling blocks to the successful reintegration of homeless people into the community.

The committee highlighted The Salvation Army' s view that many hostel residents become deeply unhappy at their inability to move on, particularly those that have made great efforts to recover from substance misuse problems but are unable to leave an environment where those problems are all too present.

"We are pleased to see that the lack of move-on accommodation has been identified as a key issue, but the question is what is the Government prepared to do in response?" says Major Ian Harris, head of Salvation Army social work. "We effectively have 'bed-blocking' in some of our centres where clients are ready to leave but unable to find accommodation to move to, and therefore take up a valuable space that could be made available to someone still on the streets."

Another key concern highlighted in the submission by The Salvation Army is the provision of services for homeless people with multiple needs – for instance people suffering from mental illness or from a drug or alcohol addiction, or in some cases both.

In 2003, among its own clients, The Salvation Army has found that 61% of clients have an alcohol dependency and 54% have problems with Class A drugs. Data has also shown that one in four of all clients have significant mental health problems. The Salvation Army runs six substance misuse treatment centres for clients with alcohol and drug addictions, but these can cater only for a fraction of the number of people requiring specialist support.

"The lack of dual diagnosis and multiple needs provision remains a severe issue," says Nigel Parrington, Chief Executive of The Salvation Army Housing Association (SAHA). "Clients still often find themselves passed from one agency to the next, which shows that greater co-ordination needs to take place."
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The Salvation Army works in partnership with SAHA, which provides housing primarily to single homeless people, with a strong emphasis on empowering them to gain and sustain their independence.

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Media enquiries
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The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is an international Christian church working in 109 countries worldwide. As a registered charity, The Salvation Army demonstrates its Christian principles through social welfare provision and is one of the largest, most diverse providers of social welfare in the world.
Website: www.salvationarmy.org.uk