Rough sleeping requires more than housing, say support workers

Support workers in Harlow say ending rough sleeping requires far more than housing alone, as the government pledges £442 million to tackle the crisis. Frontline staff warn that people with complex needs require intensive mental health and social support to prevent returning to the streets.

Bill Lewis describes life on the streets as lonely, destitute and tough. That experience informs his scepticism about whether the government will succeed in its stated goal of ending rough sleeping.

"I doubt that's going to happen,"

he reflects.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has launched a

"national drive"

to stop people living in tents or shop doorways, with plans to offer them

"a route off the streets by Christmas."

Ministers have pledged extra support beyond housing. But frontline workers say it may not be sufficient.

"It's not just a housing issue,"

Lewis says.

"Getting everybody off the street – great, it's fine – but the problems don't end there."

From the streets to outreach work

Lewis, then 34, became homeless at the end of October 2017 and was living in a tent in gardens near St Paul's church in Harlow, Essex, during severe winter snowstorms. He attributes his homelessness partly to cocaine use, which he employed to sustain himself through night shifts working as a picker-packer in a warehouse.

"I was using the cocaine to get me through the shift and then I wasn't sleeping during the day. It was just this cycle – my life was a mess, it really was."

Amid fallen brown leaves and a long log in a wooded area, is a grubby, mud-stained sleeping bag, which is on the right, and what appears to be three items of dark clothing scattered on the left. The image is framed by green foliage to the top and sides. — There was evidence of rough sleeping in woods just outside Harlow town centre

With support from Streets2Homes, a charity working with homeless people in Harlow, he briefly left the streets by mid-December. However, on New Year's Eve he relapsed and spent the following three months struggling with addiction. He returned to rough sleeping between March and July 2018, moving his tent regularly to avoid detection.

An old-looking sign attached to the side of a building. It is yellow text on a blue background. The sign says "Welcome to St Paul's the town centre church – putting faith in Harlow". There are also two logos based on crosses and contact details for the church. — Lewis says he lived in a tent in gardens near St Paul's church in Harlow

Lewis, now 43, credits the charity and his faith for keeping him off the streets and drug-free. He now works for Streets2Homes as an outreach project worker, supporting others experiencing homelessness.

Why housing alone is insufficient

Lewis and his colleagues are encountering increasing numbers of people with severe and complex needs. He emphasises that these individuals require

"the right kind of accommodation"

combined with

"ongoing, intensive support."

Without such comprehensive provision, he warns,

"within six months, they're going to be failing their tenancy and back on the streets again."

"So it's all very well and good saying 'yeah we're going to get all these people off the streets' – and you know I'd love to see that – but what's next after that?"

Kerrie Eastman, who has managed Streets2Homes since 2010 and previously worked in the probation service, oversees support for rough sleepers in the town. When she spoke to BBC Politics East, her team was monitoring 31 people sleeping rough.

Kerrie Eastman looking down the lens, while pulling a box labelled "boxers and pants" off a shelf in a storeroom. She is standing in front of shelves that are holding other boxes, marked with labels including "trousers and jeans" and "hats". Kerrie has light blond hair, tied back, and she is wearing a short-sleeved black dress, with a long chain around her neck. — Kerrie Eastman says the number of rough sleepers in Harlow has been "creeping up"

"They're the ones that are actually sleeping under the stars – not sofa surfing or in caravans or anything, they're actually rough sleeping,"

she explains. That figure represents a

"high number, even for us"

and

"has been creeping up."

According to Streets2Homes data, the average nightly number of rough sleepers in Harlow in the 12 months to the end of July 2026 was 30% higher than the previous year.

The housing affordability crisis in Harlow

Eastman identifies the cost of living crisis and the gap between local housing allowance and actual rents as key drivers of rough sleeping in the area. The local housing allowance in Harlow stands at £451.34 per month for private shared accommodation and £810 for a one-bedroom home. However, shared rooms in the town typically rent for around £730 per month. According to the Office for National Statistics, the average rent for a one-bedroom home in Harlow reached £1,021 in July 2026.

This affordability gap means the charity finds it

"more and more difficult to house people."

What Streets2Homes is doing

Beyond offering interest-free deposit loans, Streets2Homes operates nine bedrooms across two Victorian cottages in Harlow. A support worker is present from 09:00 to 00:00, with someone on call overnight. In the seven years the charity has occupied the cottages, only five residents have returned to the streets.

A semi-detached pair of Victorian cottages, set back from the road by a front garden. The image is taken front on, looking directly towards two archways that lead to each property's front door. Two arm chairs can be seen underneath the archways, in a covered area in front of the entranceways. Above each archway is a narrow, rectangular window and above that the apex of an imposing triangular roof line. On either side of the entrance and a little set-back are the side wings of the properties, with windows on both the ground and first floor. The image is framed by a mature-looking tree on the left and other trees are in the background on the right. There is a chimney in the roof on the right. — Streets2Homes offers "supported accommodation" in nine bedrooms in these cottages

In June 2026, the charity received eight one-bedroom modular pods as a gift from the Hill Group, an Essex-based developer, expanding its accommodation capacity.

A row of modern-looking, modular-type homes stretching into the distance. There are seven visible. Each has a small front garden, with low fences and concrete slabs leading to black front doors. Number 164 is written on the door of the house nearest to us. Next to the door is a light, attached to the front wall. Below the light is a sign saying "solo haus" and below that is a small black postbox. Two large windows from number 164 frame the image on the right. — These eight modular pods were gifted to Streets2Homes to help provide accommodation

A single, made-up bed in a small bedroom, with white walls and wooden-effect flooring. There is a window at the foot of the bed, on the left of the image, looking out onto bushes. At the head-end of the bed is a low, circular black table. — One of the bedrooms in Streets2Homes' new pods

Eastman expresses enthusiasm about Burnham's commitment to ending rough sleeping but warns that those with

"complex needs and chaotic lifestyles"

require more support than current provision offers.

"They need more than organisations like us and what we're offering now. We don't have the resources. You need mental health nurses – they need mental health support, they need so much more. It's not just about putting a roof over someone's head."

Government funding and broader initiatives

The government has committed £442 million in additional funding over three years to help end rough sleeping in England. According to Shelter's analysis of the Rough Sleeping Programme, the initiative aims to provide settled homes with intensive support for more than 1,000 people over the next three years.

The government's broader homelessness strategy allocates £3.5 billion for homelessness prevention and rough sleeping services from 2026/27 to 2028/29, including nearly £2 billion through a new consolidated grant. Additionally, over £50 million has been allocated to a new Ending Homelessness in Communities Fund for voluntary, community and faith organisations with annual income below £5 million, running from 2026 to 2029.

A significant policy change occurred on 29 June 2026, when the Vagrancy Act was repealed, ending the criminalisation of rough sleeping and begging in England after nearly two centuries. The government stated the money would provide

"emergency accommodation to end the need for rough sleeping,"

as well as

"practical help with housing, health and other needs, helping people build a more stable future."

The Long-Term Rough Sleeping Innovation Programme is also operating from April 2026 to 2029 across London and 27 other local areas to support people with complex needs.

Local political support and scepticism

Harlow's Labour MP, Chris Vince, previously worked for Streets2Homes as a project outreach worker. He describes Burnham's target as ambitious but achievable, noting that

"We saw during the pandemic it is possible to get people off the streets and in accommodation very quickly."

However, Vince has emphasised to Housing Secretary Angela Rayner that the scheme must include

"additional support."

He stresses that

"It's absolutely about that housing-first approach of getting people housed, but it's also about that support we provide as well."

What happens next

The next quarterly rough sleeping publication, covering data up to September 2026, is scheduled for 26 November 2026. The new homelessness plan and related grants will be delivered across 2026/27 to 2028/29, with funding allocated over that three-year period. National rough sleeping estimates from autumn 2025 put the number of people sleeping rough in England at 4,793 on a single night, though statutory homelessness remains elevated, with 14,690 households having their main homelessness duty come to an end between January and March 2026, representing an 11.5% year-on-year increase.