Agreement Reached by Leeds Senior Council on Homelessness Strategy

Leeds City Council Unveils Revised Homelessness Strategy

Senior Leeds City Councillors have approved a revised homelessness and rough sleeping strategy, aiming to prevent homelessness and reduce instances of repeat homelessness in the city.

The strategy, developed through collaboration between Leeds councillors and partners, outlines four key ambitions. These include universal prevention, targeted prevention, delivering intervention and recovery, and delivering an integrated approach to the local authorities housing support model.

Councillor Jessica Lennox, executive member for housing at Leeds City Council, expressed her dedication to tackling homelessness and rough sleeping. She highlighted the importance of being proactive in ensuring everyone has access to clear information and support around housing options before becoming homeless.

Universal prevention aims to ensure accessible information of housing options across the city, while targeted prevention sets out the council's goal to identify people who are at a higher risk of facing homelessness.

The Leeds City Council has a strong track record in tackling homelessness, as indicated by their successes and the new strategy. In the past year, demand for homelessness support from the council has increased, with around 6,500 households making an enquiry. However, the council is aware that more work needs to be done.

Cllr Lennox expressed pride in the good work being done in Leeds Housing Options and the service provided by the council. She acknowledged the significant role of strong city-wide partnerships in the successful delivery of the strategy.

One of the tools that have allowed over 2,500 people to access self-help is an online tool called 'Advice Aid'. The strategy also aims to develop the local authorities housing support model to ensure the right mix of housing options are available to support people on the brink of homelessness.

The strategy emphasizes the importance of strong city partnership for delivering intervention and recovery. Cllr Lennox expressed a commitment to ensuring the council meets its ambitions set out in the strategy over the next five years.

The Leeds City Council's new strategy reinforces their ambition to help as many people off the streets as possible. In 80% of the cases, the council has been able to deliver a preferred outcome, which is higher than the national average of 54%.

However, the search results did not provide specific information about which organizations contributed to the development and delivery of the new strategy against homelessness and homeless shelters in Leeds.

Cllr Lennox acknowledged the significant role of these organizations and expressed her commitment to working closely with them to ensure vulnerable people remain at the forefront during financial turmoil and major housing shortages. The council is working to ensure these vulnerable people are not left behind in the city's progress.