Housing minister Yvette Cooper today announced funding of £3 million to help local authorities tackle homelessness within ethnic minority groups, writes Clare Jerrom.
The Ethnic Minorities Innovation Fund will provide financial support to voluntary and community groups to work in partnership with local authorities to reduce levels of homelessness among this group.
"We know that enthic minority households are at disproportionate risk of social exclusion, and in the case of homelessness this is no exception," said Cooper.
"We need to do more to tackle this problem," she added. "The £3 million fund being announced today will provide money for new, innovative projects to reduce and prevent homelessness among ethnic minority communities and to support the delivery of good practice more widely."
A guide was also published today to help local authorities change and develop their services in order to meet the varying needs of their ethnic minority populations.
Despite the fact that ethnic minorities represent just seven per cent of the general UK population, they represented 21 per cent of those accepted by local authorities as homeless.
For more information, go to http://www.odpm.gov.uk/
