Homelessness in Medway
AW
by Alan Wells
7 Apr 2019
Many residents have highlighted the increase in rough sleeping in our town centres and other forms of homelessness.
John Castle, Prospective Liberal Democrat Candidate for River Ward states - "Liberal Democrats have been campaigning for the restoration of a dedicated Mental Health Unit in the Medway towns. Not only would it be able to provide emergency psychiatric services, freeing up police resources, it could also accommodate a wider support structure to help people get the housing they require".
The government's Homelessness Reduction Act came into force in May 2018 with the aim of forcing local authorities to take steps to prevent households at risk from falling into homelessness. In Medway, the Liberal Democrats would like to see help given to those affected with the impact of spiralling rents, welfare cuts and a total lack of social housing.
The failure to build sufficient homes is affecting Kent as much as anywhere else. Medway needs to see a rise in affordable homes to buy and rent being built, but not just here in the Medway towns but across the country, as well to alleviate the affects of welfare cuts and the freezing of housing benefit. The failure to supply sufficient levels of social housing over a long period of time means that the most vulnerable people need help and support to get housed.
The Liberal Democrats Conference passed a motion calling for the Government to ensure everyone has a right to affordable, safe and secure homes in England and reiterated the Liberal Democrats commitment to build 300,000 homes a year over the next decade, and called for better environmental standards for housing across the UK.