A new report from the homelessness charity Crisis has revealed thousands of pounds could be saved by investing in measures that could prevent homelessness.

The report—entitled Better than cure? Testing the case for enhancing prevention of single homelessness in England—showed public spending would fall by £370m if 40,000 single people were prevented from experiencing one year of homelessness.

This is because less money would have to be spent on the services—the NHS, and drug, alcohol and mental health services—that are used more by homeless people than the housed population.

‘The real costs of homelessness are the damage it can do to health, well-being and life chances,’ the report says.

‘However, significant spending may be occurring which is not alleviating homelessness.

‘If this money were redirected into enhancement of preventative services and effective models for ending homelessness, such as Housing First, the human and financial costs of single homelessness could be reduced.’

The Government’s Homelessness Reduction Bill has its second reading this Friday.

William Eichler

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