Below is a report from the homelessness conference held at Central Baptist Church, Southampton. The event was hosted by Southampton Connect and Love Southampton.

More than 70 stakeholders came together to discuss rough sleeping and homelessness in Southampton in a conference entitled, ‘Beds, begging and business’. The City Conversation, hosted by Southampton Connect and Love Southampton, included representatives from Southampton’s homelessness organisations, local businesses, community organisers, health providers, faith groups, public bodies, councillors, and people with lived experience of rough sleeping.

The conversation was organised to look afresh at issues of street homelessness as well as aggressive begging in the city, with the aim of finding a common understanding of what causes rough sleeping and street homelessness in Southampton – and find the means to tackle the issue.  Homeless Conference