Our shared aim is to make homelessness and rough sleeping rare, brief and non-recurring, and to ensure Cambridge is a city where no-one is forced to sleep rough and everyone has somewhere to call home. While rough sleeping is the most visible, homelessness in Cambridge also includes sofa surfing, living in cars or squats, insecure private renting, and people living in emergency or temporary accommodation at constant risk of losing their home. The Charter exists to address this with the support of a more joined-up, long-term approach to tackling Cambridge homelessness.
Homelessness in Cambridge is shaped by rising housing costs, insecure employment, pressure on public services and a shortage of affordable housing. Rough sleeping is only the tip of the iceberg, and many more people, including young people, experience hidden forms of homelessness such as sofa surfing or insecure temporary accommodation.
We recognise that particular groups experience homelessness with particular needs, including women, young people, ex-service people and ex-offenders. Lasting change requires collaboration and long-term thinking, focusing our attention on prevention rather than only crisis response.
