Housing Justice News Release 12 July 2004
For immediate release
Housing Justice welcomes funds for more social house building
In the Comprehensive Spending Review (Monday 12 July 2004) the Chancellor announced funding for 10,000 new social housing units – new homes – a year by 2007-8. This represents a substantial increase in the resources available to tackle homelessness and bad housing.
It is a sign of hope for the 97,290 households currently in temporary accommodation and the thousands more who are living in substandard homes or languishing on local authority waiting lists.
“Churches have a real role to play here”, says Robina Rafferty, Chief Executive of Housing Justice. “As community leaders, churches can help to ensure that new social housing developments in their areas really meet local needs.”
With prayer, and the commitment of further resources to the prevention of homelessness through housing advice and tenancy sustainment, the growth in homelessness can be halted.
Housing Justice is calling on churches to support the work of those, like its alliance of housing advice centres, working to prevent homelessness by keeping people in their homes. “This is vital work”, explains Cherry Furber, Alliance Support Manager. “Last year alone our centres helped nearly 20,000 people.”
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About Housing Justice
Housing Justice is the national voice of Christian action to prevent homelessness and bad housing. It was formed in April 2003 through the merger of two long-standing housing charities, the Catholic Housing Aid Society (CHAS) and the Churches National Housing Coalition (CNHC) bringing together more than 60 years of experience of working for change in the field of housing.
Housing Justice provides frontline services to people in housing need and campaigns to improve housing policy. Housing Justice funds a network of 10 housing advice agencies and numerous community projects, and develops models of good practice for frontline services that local groups can adopt. In total Housing Justice is actively involved in 35 communities across England and Wales.
Housing Justice Regenerate, funded by the Home Office’s Civil Renewal Unit, supports resident-led regeneration in 15 guide neighbourhoods across the UK. Regenerate brings together residents who have transformed their estates with those who want to embark on the regeneration process to share thinking and offer support.
Housing Justice works with and for homeless and badly housed people of all denominations, and with those who have no religious beliefs. All our services are offered to the whole community and, wherever possible, we work in partnership with others who share our values, regardless of religious beliefs.
For further information on Housing Justice see www.housingjustice.org.uk
Contact
Luke Evans 020 7723 7273
email media@housingjustice.org.uk