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Joint Homelessness Reduction and Rough Sleeping Strategy

In March 2024, Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils both adopted the Joint Homelessness Reduction and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2024 - 2029.

Both Councils share a vision that ‘Homelessness and rough sleeping is prevented wherever possible and, where it cannot be prevented, it is rare, brief and non-recurring.’  To achieve this vision, we will:

  • FOCUS on embedding an early prevention and intervention approach with support systems to achieve this.
  • WORK with those who have lived experience through co-production; to influence services, options, process and policies.
  • DEVELOP a county wide, multi-agency approach to support people to rebuild their lives in settled and sustainable tenancies.

We aspire to be a homelessness service that goes beyond the minimum required by the legislative framework and the Code of Guidance. We aim to provide a bespoke homelessness service which is person-centred and is focused on proactive, early upstream intervention, working with residents before they are in crisis.

The Housing Solutions Services is ambitious in its aims for the next five years and this strategy sets the key areas we will be focussing on to improve the lives of residents within our Districts. Our priorities for the next five years are:

  • Early upstream prevention & intervention.
  • Making rough sleeping rare, brief and non -recurring.
  • Ensuring the health and wellbeing needs of households are met whilst in temporary accommodation.
  • Expanding and future-proofing the role and remit of Central Suffolk Lettings to continue to improve access to the private rented sector.
  • Mitigating against the impacts of the cost of living

This Strategy will be monitored and governed through a Delivery Plan. The Delivery Plan is designed to underpin the whole Strategy and will be under constant review through regular updates from Action Owners which will inform quarterly updates and an Annual Review.

The Strategy and Delivery Plan can be found below, alongside background documents that fed into the development of the final Strategy.