Homelessness is a blight upon this country. That the fifth richest country is the world still has people sleeping rough on the streets should shame us all. The launch of the Homelessness Foundation by David Cameron last week is proof that the Conservatives are serious about tackling this issue. It is proof that, as I discussed last week, the Conservatives are now the true party of social justice, we are putting the issue at the top of the political agenda and making clear that extreme poverty is not acceptable in a largely successful liberal democracy such as ours.
Despite coming to office on a promise to deal with the problem of homelessness, this Government has done next to nothing to tackle the real human tragedy that homelessness represents. The 130,000 children waking up on Christmas day without a roof over their head was double the figure in 1997. Crisis estimate that there are around 380,000 single homeless people in Great Britain.
There is no quick and easy solution to homelessness. However, there are real things that can and should be done. The underlying causes of homelessness need to be tackled and prioritised by an incoming Government. A huge number of homeless people are battling addiction or mental health problems. Proper rehabilitation services should be made available for those battling against addiction to drugs or alcohol. Mental health services need to be improved, it is no longer good enough to view mental health treatment as a Cinderella service and fail to resource it properly. The issue of empty homes should be grasped. In 2006, there were over 600,000 empty homes in England – an unacceptable situation when so many people suffer the indignity of not even having a roof over their head. The voluntary and community sector need to be worked with to produce a lasting solution to the problem. More joined up working between the voluntary, health and housing sectors is necessary to create a real solution to this problem. This is why the involvement of the voluntary sector in the Homelessness Foundation is quite so encouraging.
Homelessness is a sad and striking visual symbol of the social failure of an economically successful nation. A progressive Conservative government needs to do all in its power to deal with homelessness and its underlying causes. The Homelessness Foundation is a striking signal of intent that we intend to do just that.
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