The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has joined forces with charity Veterans Aid to provide immediate additional support for homeless ex-UK service personnel in London, as part of his on-going commitment to end rough sleeping in the capital.
Veterans Aid is to receive £56,000 to provide emergency temporary accommodation for homeless veterans.
The funding will contribute to a programme that includes alcohol treatment as well as education and training projects. With more than 80 years of experience, Veterans Aid has already helped thousands of ex-service personnel who have found themselves in a crisis in the capital and elsewhere.
While UK veterans represent a small proportion of rough sleepers, the Mayor recognises that those veterans who do find themselves on the street often face a unique set of problems. The £56,000 donated to the charity is in addition to £300,000 the Mayor has ring-fenced from his rough sleeping budget to support homeless veterans who have served in the UK Armed Forces. He has pledged to work closely with specialist homeless charities to provide them with the services they need as quickly as possible.
The Mayor has committed over £34m to help end rough sleeping in London, including £9m this year. Working with the Government, boroughs and the voluntary sector he has pledged that no-one should call the streets their home. His pioneering No Second Night Out project, currently being rolled out across the UK following its success in London, has already helped hundreds into the services they need with three quarters of those new to the streets spending just a single night out – compared to 57 per cent five years ago.
Mayor Johnson said: “Although the number of veterans on our streets is thankfully low I’m determined to ensure that the small numbers who do end up sleeping rough have access to the right kind of services as fast as possible. Working with a specialist charity like Veterans Aid, we can make sure this happens and ensure that those who risked their lives keeping our country safe are given the support they need to turn their lives around.”
CEO of Veterans Aid, Dr Hugh Milroy said, “We are delighted to be receiving this money from the Mayor with whom we have worked closely. I see this money as recognition of Veteran Aid’s expertise in dealing with homelessness among the veteran community and a real bonus in terms of helping us to provide immediate help to those men and women in crisis who seek our support. But the real aim of Veterans Aid is to prevent veterans in crisis from ending up on the streets of London in the first place. For the few that do slip through the net, this money will help us with our policy of swift intervention to break any cycle of dependency. We have a strong track record of success and this will help us maintain our vital position as the frontline charity for social exclusion among veterans”.
