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UK Coalition on Older Homelessness
The Coalition is a UK lobby group of housing and homelessness agencies concerned with raising the profile of older homeless people in the UK. Members include national agencies working on homelessness as well as RSL’s and smaller voluntary sector organisations, such as Help the Aged, hact, St Mungos, Shelter, Focus, SISA, Crisis, Salvation Army, Thames Reach Bondway, Shekinah Mission.
The work of the Coalition is now being carried out by the Coalition Project based at Homeless Link with funding from Help the Aged and the Housing Associations Charitable Trust.
All Coalition members have signed up to the following statement:
"Despite recent Government initiatives many older people continue to sleep rough or suffer from being trapped in poor, insecure and inappropriate accommodation. Older people over 50 are the most adversely affected by homelessness in relation to both physical and mental health, yet paradoxically they often face the greatest difficulties in gaining access to vital services. The needs of older people are often ignored because their experience of homelessness is less visible than other groups and they lack the voice and representation required to highlight their specific interests and issues. We, the undersigned call on all levels of government and both statutory and voluntary agencies in the UK, to recognise the distinct plight of older homeless people and to join us in taking sustained action to tackle and prevent this unacceptable situation."
The Coalition meets quarterly. In addition to general campaign meetings we organise seminars on issues such as Supporting People and older homeless people, meaningful occupation and the older homeless population and hostels and older people. The Coalition has a website www.olderhomelessness.org where news, facts and figures, project descriptions and publications relevant to the older homeless population can be found.
The current campaigns of the Coalition are working for increased recognition of the specific needs of older homeless people in Supporting People strategies nationally, and campaigning for improved provision of permanent move-on suitable to the needs of the older homeless population.
If you are interested in the work of the Coalition and would like to go on the mailing list or find out more please contact Sarah Gorton at Homeless Link on sarah.gorton@homelesslink.org.uk.
Minutes of meetings of UK Coalition on Older Homelessness can be viewed here
The agenda and date of the next Coalition on Older Homelessness meeting can be viewed here.
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