£1m to fight homelessness

£1m to fight homelessness

£1m to fight homelessness

The Welsh assembly has allocated close to £1 million to help local authorities fight homelessness.

The new funds are part of the new Homelessness Grant Programme, which is designed to help local authorities offer better temporary housing for the homeless, instead of bed and breakfast accommodation.

“I am concerned that many families and vulnerable young people find themselves staying in bed and breakfast accommodation where they often have no cooking facilities, limited space and no access to communal areas,” said Edwina Hart, minister for social justice and regeneration.

“Of course there will be emergencies where using this type of housing is unavoidable but, in general, we should be trying harder to provide more suitable accommodation for the homeless people in our care.”

Over the next two years £959,000 has been allocated to fund 26 schemes in 19 local authorities across Wales.