The Role of Rough Sleepers Initiatives and Rough Sleepers Unit - Essay Example

The role of Rough Sleepers Initiatives and Rough Sleepers Unit Homelessness is a sociological problem that manifests itself in various ways at different times and in different societies.  Both context of place and individual circumstances influence people’s thinking about the situation and thus, the western countries may view it differently as compared to the developing countries. However, homelessness can generally refer to the condition in which a person lacks a fixed and night time residence; having a primary residence in a public or private institution that accommodates individuals intended to be institutionalized; or living in a public or private place designed to provide temporary living accommodations.  According to Romeeero & Margolis (2005), western countries equate homelessness with sleeping rough, living out in the open, in structures like benders or tents due to unavoidable social circumstances, or as a result of an individual choice or caprice. The Rough Sleeper Initiative was developed to help in eradicating the rough sleeping. This paper will focus on the role of the Rough Sleepers Unit and then discuss the policy goals of the Rough Sleepers Initiative. In 1990, there was a growing population of visibly homeless individuals sleeping on the streets of England (Cloke, Milbourne & Widdowfield 2002). The street homelessness became a major concern for the government and thus putting efforts aimed to tackle the problem. Rough sleeping was identified as one of the first social issues by the Social Exclusion Unit (SEU) which was established in December 1997 to examine various specified issues which potentially cut across a number of government departments. The Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI) was one of the programmes launched that sought to end the need for anyone sleeping rough. It brought together the key agencies in the local authorities, voluntary sector and government departments in providing accommodation, resettlement, outreach and other support services for individuals sleeping rough (Holmes 2006). According to Hombs (2011), the Rough Sleepers Unit was established in April 1999 in the Social Exclusion Unit to tackle the rough sleeping issues. It was led by Louise Casey and it aimed to reduce the number of individuals sleeping rough to as near as possible and by at least two third by 2002. With considerable allocation of resources by the government, the Rough Sleeping Unit launched their ‘coming in from the cold’ strategy with detailed plans which enabled it to meet this target. According to Balchin, & Rhoden (2002), RSU had already met the target by December 2001. The RSU coordinates the various project funds by extending the philosophy of strategic, multiagency working to the homeless arena through a single budget.  However, there was a big challenge as to whether the resources to support the rough sleepers would continue in the long run or not. The need to work with the ‘hidden homeless’ was also highlighted as another challenge. The government gave Rough Sleepers Unit a clear remit of focusing its resources and energies in offering help to the rough sleepers, particularly to those that the previous initiatives didn’t succeed in helping. The ‘coming in from the cold’ strategy by the Rough Sleepers Unit delivers a joined-up approach that builds on the excellent work that the government, local authorities and voluntary sector had begun, promoting a constructive partnership approach aimed to tackle rough sleeping and its causes, and developing focus efforts that give key organisations new tools of working (Hombs 2011). These enhance a better dealing with the problem of rough sleeping. With the strategy, the government believed that by 21st century, they were able to eliminate the street sleeping and of most valuable, to give them help and specialist support in providing them with a lasting solution (King & IEA, 2006). The role of the of Rough Sleepers Unit include not only accommodation services, but also drug and alcohol services, educational resources and even employment opportunities for the homelessness. In contrast to the measures aimed to tackle rough sleeping, the Rough Sleepers Unit focuses also on the preventive measures- at least to respond to the government’s concern of reducing rough sleeping. This aims at benefiting both those people living in the urban and in the rural areas. The progressive development of the role of Rough Sleepers Unit include extending priority need to people who are vulnerable to homelessness as a result of fleeing harassment or domestic violence, or due to institutionalised background; providing support for those who leave prison-the Blocking the fast track from prison to rough sleeping report by RSU in 2000 showed the need to offer pre-release housing advice to short term offenders who might be vulnerable to rough sleeping (Romero & Margolis 2005). In addition, they also offer support for the servicemen and servicewomen who leave the armed forces. The RSU funds the English Churches Housing Group to run Single Person’s Accommodation for the Ex-Services (SPACES) project based in Catterick (O'Connell 2003). However, the overall long term objective of the strategy is to recognize the complexity of the need to respond to and offer rough sleepers the options that acknowledge their frequently and atypical chaotic lifestyles. The main objective of Rough Sleepers Unit therefore is to offer services that will ensure rough sleeping is never a preferred option. The rough sleeper initiative have been the government funded attempts aimed to provide hostels and shelters for rough sleepers as well as providing them with healthcare and accommodation advice. It was originally developed in 1990 to respond to the growing numbers of people who were sleeping rough in London after the consulting various voluntary organizations (Burrows & Quilgars 1997). The RSI initiatives programmes included the provision of temporary and permanent accommodation, development of new emergency hostel places and offering advice and outreach services to the homeless people. The aim of RSI was to eliminate the number of rough sleepers on the streets of London. According to Cloke, Milbourne & Widdowfield (2002), the initial strategy focused on the process of assisting the rough sleepers move from the streets to some form of shelter through regular contact by voluntary sector and resettlement workers funded by the initiatives. The initiatives intended to resolve what was thought to be a temporary crisis. King & IEA (2006) however points out that successful reviews and evaluations of the initial initiatives resulted into the extension of the RSI to resolve the ongoing homelessness problem. The resources provided by the initiatives were exclusively meant to deal with street homelessness in a smaller geographical region of central London even though it was evident that rooflessness had cut across the rest of the United Kingdom. The implementation and constant review of the RSI in London led to the advocacy organizations lobbying for similar resources to deal with the problem in other parts of the UK. According to Cloke, Milbourne & Widdowfield ( 2002) the policy goals of RSI include tackling of the root causes of rough sleeping whereby they aim to understand the reasons for rough sleeping and look into ways that help to prevent it from happening. Secondly, they pursue strategies that help the rough sleepers off the streets by doing everything in their powers to persuade them to come for help. Thirdly, they majorly focus on helping those are most in need. The RSI targets to help those individuals who are least able to assist themselves. Fourthly they are committed to help the most vulnerable-those rough sleepers who have been on the streets for many years and have difficulties in coming out. Such individuals require specialist support and help for them to succeed. Fifthly, they also aim to integrate the rough sleepers in the community so that they become active members. The initiatives therefore implements pragmatic and innovative approaches that build self esteem for the rough sleepers, brings on talents and help them to be ready for occupation and work away from the streets. Lastly, they ought to be realistic in whatever they offer to those who are capable to support themselves. The resources they offer should not aim at providing a fast track permanent housing for able and healthy individuals but rather help those who are most vulnerable (Fitzpatrick 2008). In implementing the above policy goals, the Rough Sleepers Initiatives should be imaginative enough to address the rough sleepers’ needs in addition to offering them accommodation. Anderson (2007) argues that their role focuses on looking more discerningly into the rough sleepers needs and creating flexible options for those individuals who come out of the streets. They offer bed spaces to the most in need and are unable to find their own solutions and ensure that those who move to permanent accommodation are ready to live independently. In addition, they address to the particular needs of the rough sleepers with mental health and substance abuse problems. In assisting them, the RSI fund specialist workers who help the rough sleepers in all stages from their move off the streets to tenancy sustainment. For the severe mentally ill rough sleepers, the RSI work together with NHS Executive and other health partners to ensure that they get treatment and help that they need (O’Connell, 2003). Their major concern for the RSI is to provide services to the rough sleepers when they need them most. Their strategies focus on effective methods of helping people come inside and assist them solve the underlying causes of their problems. They also aim at providing meaningful opportunities that helps the individuals develop life skills and self esteem necessary in sustaining a lifestyle away from the streets. According to Anderson (2007), resettlement alone cannot be enough to mainstream these individuals in the society. More is needed to help them develop their skills, build their self esteem and reconnect into the society away from the streets. A daytime occupation can help the individuals return into a settled lifestyle. The role of RSI lies in offering appropriate education, training which will eventually provide the individuals with employment opportunities that will assist them in their later life. Individuals suffering from substance abuse and mental illness are rehabilitated to cope with normal life. They focus on improvement incentives that provide the people’s specific needs and services that which are different from those that sustain street lifestyle. The RSI have put in place various measures that prevent rough sleeping in ensuring a sustainable and lasting solution to the problem. They have focused both on the immediate measures as well as preventive measures to reduce and prevent individuals from entering into the streets. They mainly target those individuals who are particularly vulnerable to the rough sleeping to ensure they are properly supported and equipped into an independent living. Rough sleeping has been a sharp end to social exclusion which affects a relatively smaller percentage of the population. The Rough Sleepers Initiatives have been developed to meet the target of reducing rough sleeping in England to figures near zero. The Rough Sleepers Unit developed in 1999 worked to reduce the rough sleeping by two thirds by 2002 of which they were able to achieve by December 2001 through the strategy of ‘coming in from the cold’. Greater support is necessary by the government, local authorities and the public in ensuring the efforts of eliminating rough sleeping is successful. The Rough Sleepers Initiatives have worked in ensuring there are realistic and lasting changes in delivering the rough sleepers are out off the streets and thus creating differences in their lives. They have gone further to train the former rough sleeper to gain the knowledge and skills which can offer them employment opportunities and in turn they will be able to increase their self esteem and be able to sustain their live independently. Their strategies have also focused on preventive measures that help in stopping tomorrow’s rough sleepers. List of references Anderson I 2007, Tackling Street Homelessness in Scotland: The Evolution and Impact of the Rough Sleepers Initiative, Journal of Social Issues 63 (3), 623–640. Balchin, PN & Rhoden N 2002, Housing policy: An introduction, Routledge, London. Burrows, R & Quilgars D 1997, Homelessness and social policy, Routledge, Canada. Cloke, PJ, Milbourne, P & Widdowfield R 2002, Rural homelessness: Issues, experiences and policy responses, The Policy Press, Bristol Fitzpatrick S 2008, The future of social housing, Turnaround Publisher Services Limited, London. Holmes C 2006, A new vision for housing, Taylor & Francis, New York, NY Hombs ME 2011, Modern Homelessness: A Reference Handbook, ABC-CLIO, California. King, P & IEA 2006, Choice and the end of social housing, IEA, Great Britain O'Connell ME 2003, Responding to homelessness: An overview of US and UK policy interventions, Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology 13(2), 158–170 Romero, M & Margolis E 2005, The Blackwell companion to social inequalities, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK. Read More