“Care to Count” drive to identify rough sleepers in Telford
A multi agency drive to identify people in Telford and Wrekin who are sleeping rough is taking place today.
Care To Count is in its third year and is part of a three year borough-wide strategy to tackle homelessness.
It is an imaginative way of dedicating one 24 hour period to connecting with people so far unknown to the authorities who are rough sleeping.
The ongoing commitment to identify and provide for those rough sleeping in the borough sees a partnership of organisations coming together to assess the current level of rough sleeping.
Telford & Wrekin Council is supporting Care To Count this year in partnership with the Salvation Army KIP Project, Maninplace, YMCA ad Stay. Care To Count is an intelligence gathering exercise and outreach day.
Councillor Charles Smith, Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet member for Housing, said: “Much has been done over the last few years to reduce the necessity to rough sleep.
“However there are still a number of people who are homeless and having to resort to rough sleeping.
“We are wanting to understand who they are, what drives them to have to resort to rough sleeping and why they are not accessing the services created and what their feelings are to the way they are responded to in that situation.
“Rough sleeping is inherently dangerous and exposes people to potential health deterioration. To try and avoid anyone having to rough sleep, we need the help of everyone working and living in Telford and Wrekin to identify and ultimately provide for rough sleepers.”
