Although rough sleeping is showing a rise across the country, the city of Nottingham is doing its best to control the problem.
Official figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) showed a 14% spike in the number of people sleeping on the streets.
However, in Nottingham, statistics remain unchanged – with nine people sleeping rough on an average night.
Framework is a specialist charity that has been offering a street outreach service since 1997 and helps hundreds of people every year.
The charity offers solutions for people sleeping rough and, in many cases, help them access Framework accommodation.
227 sleeping rough
Between April 1 and December 31 2014, Framework’s Street Outreach Team found 227 individuals sleeping rough in the city.
The majority of these cases were resolved immediately, but some were found indicating more serious problems for the team to overcome.
Framework Outreach Manager, Jason Marriott, said: “Whilst nine people sleeping rough is still nine too many, we are working very hard to keep a lid on the problem of rough sleeping in Nottingham, and are very proud of the help we have given to people at a desperate time in their lives.
We know that if we were unable to carry on this work the level of rough sleeping in the city would increase significantly, as more people arrived on the streets and fewer people left.
He also outlined the grave dangers of sleeping rough, but claimed that many people may not see them thanks to the hard work of numerous organisations such as the City Council, police and various community groups.
Image: Framework’s Street Outreach Team at work
The outreach team visit known rough sleeping areas in the early hours of the morning as it’s the best time for finding people sleeping on the street.
The team also works alongside Queen’s Medical Centre to make sure that homeless people discharged from hospital have a safe place to sleep.
Despite its good work in the city, Framework has expressed its concerns surrounding the number of people sleeping rough in the north of Nottinghamshire and is calling for an urgent dialogue with local authorities to combat the issue.
If you see anybody who may be sleeping rough, call Framework’s Rough Sleepers 24-hour hotline on 0800 066 5356. People who are sleeping rough can also contact this number for any assistance.
For more information, visit http://www.frameworkha.org.
