Open Letter to Grant Shapps MP

Tuesday May 8th 2012

Grant Shapps MP
Minister of State for Housing & Local Government
House of Commons
Westminster
LONDON SW1A 0AA


Dear Mr Shapps,

We are writing to you on behalf of ‘Rochdale Chill-Out’, an apolitical group of people who came together as a result of the decision of Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council to cut the number of emergency beds for the homeless from 500 to under 200. We are informed that virtually all of the 500 beds were almost always in full occupancy.

These cuts have already resulted in the closure of Providence House, the hostel and support facility run by the Salvation Army.

We are particularly concerned that the council apparently thinks that it can somehow plug the gaps by setting up a ‘Dial-a-Bed’ service. Given the client group that this is aimed at and having daily contact with workers from homeless charities, we are deeply sceptical about the viability of this. Given the risks in terms of mental and physical health issues, we cannot endorse some sort of ‘suck it and see’ policy that could result in increased early mortality rates on our streets. Neither are we prepared to accept assurances that the matter will be kept under review.

Many homeless people have a variety of ongoing issues relating to health, dependency and social factors. It is not simply a matter of finding them a bed for the night but also putting in appropriate support measures to help them to deal with and manage their problems.

You can discover more about us by following our Blog:
http://chilloutrmbc.blogspot.co.uk and also on Twitter @Chil1Out.

As well as meeting with councillors, charity-workers and other interested parties, we plan to hold a mass sleep-out outside the Town Hall on May 29th to coincide with the cabinet meeting in order to draw attention to the plight of Rochdale’s homeless but more importantly, to try to persuade our councillors that this policy is wrong.

We are asking you to examine this as a matter of urgency and use your influence or take any action possible in order to prevent more deaths on the streets.

Yours sincerely,

Pete Hinchliffe & Shirley Kennedy
Chill-Out Co-Organisers