Homelessness crisis declared in Greater Manchester borough as former school turned into emergency accommodation
08.01.2024 - 06:42
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Sunloungers and blow-up beds have been set up at a former school in Salford for rough sleepers to spend the night. The building, in Swinton, was turned into a 'welfare hub' by Salford council five days before Christmas.
Since then, it has given 25 people a warm place to sleep at night. Most of them are single men who have been evicted from asylum seeker accommodation.
It comes as government ministers this week boasted that much of the backlog in the asylum system has now been cleared - claims which Labour have branded untrue. However, local leaders in Greater Manchester warned last year that the recent rush to determine asylum applications means thousands could become homeless within months.
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Salford mayor Paul Dennett has now declared a 'crisis' in the city with record levels of homelessness and warnings of even harder times ahead. He says evicting people from asylum seeker accommodation has tipped services - which are already at capacity due to high housing costs and a shortage of affordable homes - over the edge.
The number of people in Greater Manchester's emergency accommodation scheme who have been evicted from government-funded asylum seeker housing has more than doubled since July, according to the mayor. There are currently 177 people in Salford using A Bed Every Night accommodation with a further 118 people on the waiting list.
Last month, tents were spotted outside Salford's town hall. The local authority says homeless people have been camping in the area outside of its offices during the cold and wet weather in December.
A former school near the Salford Civic Centre is now being
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