Minister: "No excuse" for homelessness in wealthy Jersey

Tuesday 13 August 2019

There is "no excuse" in a wealthy island like Jersey for homelessness, the Minister for Children and Housing has said, as he announced a new strategy to tackle rough sleeping.

Representatives from the public, charitable and private sector are joining forces to deliver Jersey’s first strategy to tackle homelessness in the island.

Spearheaded by the Minister for Housing and Children Senator Sam Mézec, the Homelessness Strategy seeks to understand the extent of rough sleeping in Jersey as well as making recommendations to support those who find themselves without a roof over their head.

The Minister pledges that the review will be “owned by the community” in that key stakeholders in homelessness support are being canvassed for their input on it.

Pictured: The homelessness strategy is being championed by Housing Minister Senator Sam Mézec.

A Strategic Board, chaired by Simon Burgess – a Chartered Surveyor and Managing Director of Ocorian – has been set up, reportedly including representatives from the private, charitable and public sectors, to figure out “the size of the challenge.”

The Board – which is formed of representatives from Andium Homes, Caritas Jersey, the States of Jersey Police, the Government and the Shelter Trust – will be consulting with community organisations in this area through a series of discussions referred to as a ‘Homelessness Cluster.' 

The insight gained from these meetings will go on to form the basis of the strategy which will be compiled in collaboration with independent consultants Arc4 who have particular expertise in this field.

Pictured: The Board will be canvassing the views of various community groups.

Mr Burgess said: “I am delighted to be able to support this project and help the valuable work being undertaken already by community groups in the island. Over the next twelve months, the Strategic Board will be focusing on reviewing the extent of homelessness in Jersey and the size of the challenge. 

“The Board will then use the findings of the review to develop a strategy for tackling homelessness, including an agreed set of actions that can be taken forward.” 

It’s hoped that both the review and the strategy will be finalised early next year.

Pictured: The Government of Jersey is represented on the Board.

Senator Mézec commented: “This document will be owned by the community and will set out the steps we need to take to tackle homelessness. I do not underestimate the challenges we will need to address, but we will not shy away from difficult findings or recommendations. 

“The Government of Jersey will be a key partner in taking forward many of the actions in the strategy, working collaboratively with voluntary and community organisations, housing providers and the private sector to deliver the actions from the strategy.”

In a post on social media, the Senator added: "Housing is a basic Human Right, and there is no excuse in a wealthy society like Jersey to allow us to have a problem with homelessness."

The Shelter Trust, the main provider of accommodation and support for the homeless in Jersey, is one of the community organisations involved in the project.

Of the strategy, the Shelter’s Vice-Chair Guy Le Maistre said: “The Shelter Trust welcomes this initiative to bring all interested groups together to review this important issue and find ways to improve the support and services available to people who find themselves homeless or at risk of homelessness. 

“There is currently a lack of empirical data as to the causes of homelessness so obtaining this information will be a key part of the project to inform the Strategic Board."

An island-wide survey is also being launched as part of this project to collect information and experiences about homelessness from both organisations and individuals. You can access it by clicking here.