News

A national homelessness charity boss rejected accusations that there are too many agencies working in the sector today, writes Simeon Brody.

Crisis chief executive Shaks Gosh told the Homeless Link conference in Nottingham that the homeless sector needed to offer a wider variety of services. Gosh was responding to comments reportedly made by The Big Issue founder John Bird earlier this week.

Bird was reported as saying there were to many homelessness agencies which mollycoddled homeless people. Gosh said that agencies have to be careful about looking after homeless people for too long but that the housing shortage made it difficult to move people on.

She warned that the tone of Bird’s alleged comments could turn public opinion and government policy against homeless people.

Thames Reach Bondway chief executive, Jeremy Swain, told delegates: “There’s too much of a range of organisations that all do the same thing and you do see a fair amount of duplication.”