Homelessness on the rise in Worcester as rough sleepers travel

Worcester City Council will meet today to decide whether it should spend more than £1 million tackling this issue over the next 12 months

Civic chiefs in Worcester have said homelessness in the city is on the rise and they are finding it challenging meeting demand.

Over the winter, demand rose seven per cent compared with the year before, a new report said.

It also revealed people asked for help on more than two thousand occasions.

From those, there were 814 homeless applications being taken, 78 more than in 2021/22.

The council said people sleeping rough were only a “small proportion of those affected by homelessness”.

But it added there have been “influxes” of rough sleepers being drawn to the city and they need extra support.

It said they are either “drawn to the range of established services” or “passing through”.

Mel Kirk, of homelessness charity Maggs Day Centre, said she would continue to work with anyone affecting by homelessness – rough sleepers or not.

“This is something I am so passionate towards, that I want to work towards ending rough sleeping – I don’t want people to suffer,” she said.

“Any support our organisation can give to alleviate any of these problems is what I’m here for.”

She said the charity, which she started volunteering for more than 20 years ago, had seen a rise in demand, especially for its day centre.

She added: “There are so many people who need that additional support, it’s not just about putting somebody in a house.

“They have to be able to know the skills to live independently, and that’s what we desperately, desperately need.”

The report for the city council’s communities committee also said the biggest cause of homelessness was family no longer able or willing to accommodate, in 328 cases, with the end of assured shorthold tenancies being the second most common cause, in 267 cases.

It also said 171 related to people who were homeless as a result of domestic abuse – a “high” level.

The communities committee will meet on Wednesday evening to note the report and give the go-ahead for more than £1 million to be spent tackling the issue.

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