30 April 2024

Comments from Jo Carter, Glass Door Homeless Charity’s CEO, were featured in an article in the Big Issue following the latest figures from the Greater London Authority’s Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN).

The CHAIN report showed a 33% increase in the number of people seen sleeping rough by outreach teams between January and March 2024 when compared to same period last year.

Here's what the article included:

"Jo Carter, chief executive of Glass Door Homeless Charity, said there was a “massive and incredibly worrying rise in demand” for their emergency shelters over the winter.

The charity saw 1,568 people register for a place as temperatures plummeted between November 2023 and April this year, up 70% on the previous year. In total, Glass Door saw 542 people stay in shelters over the winter.

Carter said the latest Chain figures are yet more evidence the government’s target of ending rough sleeping by 2024 is not going to be achieved.

"The government committed to ending rough sleeping by 2024, this commitment will not be met and instead the latest Chain data shows that we are seeing that yet, again, the number of people having to sleep rough across London is growing,” said Carter."

The cost of living crisis and housing crisis combined create a situation where people cannot find anywhere they can afford in London. Sky-high private rents, a shortage of social housing and Section 21 evictions have left far too many people in impossible situations. We call on the government to take urgent action to address these issues so that rough sleeping can finally be eliminated.

You can read the full article here: https://www.bigissue.com/news/housing/rough-sleeping-london-2024-sadiq-khan-mayor-election/