In a meeting of the full Council on 25th March 2021 the City voted to adopt the Homeless Bill of Rights.
Councillors voted by 31 to 13 with 7 abstentions:
(1) That the Homeless Bill of Rights be adopted (as referred to in the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2020-25) as an aspirational document and as the standard against which the Council and its partners judge its policies and practices and outcomes;
(2) That a copy of the resolution is signed by the Leader and sent to FEANTSA to mark its commitment to the international movement of solidarity with homeless people;
(3) That it be agreed to commit to a process of continuous commitment, improvement and engagement to uphold rights of homeless people.
Brighton & Hove Housing Coalition couldn’t be prouder of their city. Now to make sure it is put into practice!
We hope that many other cities and local authorities will follow our example. This site will remain as a resource and support for campaigns elsewhere. We will also continue to publish posts relating to the implementation of the Homeless Bill of Rights.
Why is this important?
We live at a time when great efforts have been made to help homeless people, especially in the government’s “Everyone In” policy which has been thoroughly and admirably implemented by our council. But homelessness and rough sleeping are still here, and are set to increase massively when the furloughs and the eviction bans come to an end. Now more than ever it is important to remember that homeless people have rights, that they are equal in dignity and rights with everyone else, that they are not a problem to be solved but people who need help, and that administrative efficiency does not equal humanity.
The full text of the Brighton & Hove Homeless Bill of Rights can be downloaded as a .pdf or as a .doc file.
In addition this page provides a detailed article by article commentary.
Councillor candidates at the Launch of the Homeless Bill of Rights