Launch of the London Charter to End Rough Sleeping

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Housing Justice CEO Kathy Mohan OBE holding the Charter.

On 7 December 2023 the Mayor attended St John’s Church in Waterloo, to sign the charter alongside more than 40 organisations including homelessness charities, local authorities and business representatives.

The Charter is backed by the ‘Life Off the Streets’ programme, a coalition of organisations working together to end rough sleeping in London.

The Charter started with a small group of organisations and city government officials – the Connection at St Martin’s, Groundswell, Housing Justice, The Passage, YMCA St. Paul’s, Bloomberg Associates, the Greater London Authority and London Councils — who wanted to engage better with the community and build a bigger movement around the goal to end rough sleeping.  

More than 100 charities, faith groups, businesses and people with lived experience have helped to design and develop the Charter, creating a shared purpose and vision for tackling the challenge of rough sleeping in the capital.  

The London Charter to End Rough Sleeping follows six guiding principles:

  1. People sleeping rough may have problems but they aren’t problem people.
  2. Help needs to be in place to prevent people from sleeping rough in the first place; addressing the underlying causes of street homelessness not symptoms.
  3. Everyone who sleeps rough is unique and there should be meaningful options for all, regardless of immigration status.
  4. People who have experienced sleeping rough must be involved in the development and delivery of solutions.
  5. Support, community links and accommodation needs to be in place so that people can thrive.
  6. People sleeping rough must be safe from violence, abuse, theft and discrimination and have the full protection of the law.

The London Charter aims to:

Create a shared vision and enable people and communities to support our goal, Make a public commitment to work together to end rough sleeping, Strengthen the partnerships that are already in place, Provide opportunities for residents, businesses, workers, faith groups, charities and public bodies in London to help end rough sleeping, Communicate what rough sleeping looks like in London and how to best help, Provide transparency, accountability, and a way to monitor progress

Find out more and sign the Charter on the End Rough Sleeping website

Links

Housing Justice
End Rough Sleeping Charter