Shaun Bailey announces mobile mental health intervention team to tackle cycle of homelessness

Conservative Candidate for London Mayor, Shaun Bailey, has today launched his ambitious plan to end the cycle of homelessness and rough sleeping in London by addressing and resolving mental health issues.

London is home to a huge homeless population, with 27% of the UK’s homeless located in the city. Between 2016 and 2019, 560 homeless people died on the streets of London - which is more than the number of people murdered in London, despite the city seeing an 11 year high in homicides during this period. This is a calamity.

There is a huge correlation between rough sleeping and mental health; and often issues with mental health serve as the highest barrier to entering employment, being rehomed and ending dependency on drugs.

Of the homeless people who died on the streets of London in 2017, 80% had mental health needs.

Shaun Bailey, Conservative Candidate for London Mayor, said:

“Twenty-seven per cent of the UK’s homeless are right here in London; and during the nineties, I was one of them. So I know what being homeless does to mental health.

That’s why I’ll introduce Mobile Mental Health Intervention Teams. These teams will provide mental health support for rough sleepers no matter where they are.

With the right mental health support, we can help people off the streets and give them the support they need.

The pandemic has been hard on everyone. But for all the talk of a new normal, very little has changed for rough sleepers. It’s time to give rough sleepers a fresh start.”

Kelly Tolhurst, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Rough Sleeping and Housing, said:

“Ending rough sleeping is central to the mission of this Conservative Government, with over £700 million invested in helping some of the most vulnerable people in our society in the past year alone.

Shaun Bailey shares this commitment and I know that as Mayor he would step in where Sadiq Khan has failed and address the link between mental health and homelessness that is so apparent in London.”

Mr Bailey has pledged his commitment to create and launch Mobile Mental Health Intervention Teams on becoming the next Mayor of London. These teams would provide accessible mental health support for rough sleepers, travelling across areas of London where the majority of London’s homeless population reside giving them vital mental health services and support including counselors and psychiatric care.

Shaun Bailey’s Mental Health Intervention Teams will use the existing infrastructure of the existing ‘Rapid Response Teams’ but will go further to address the causes of rough sleeping and knocking down the barriers that prevent people becoming sheltered and finding employment.

In 2018, a fleet of mobile mental healthcare services were launched in South East London by the NHS. During 2018, the service is estimated to have helped around 2,000 people suffering with mental health issues and initial findings suggested that the unit saw the proportion of patients taken to A&E more than half.

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Notes to editor:

What is the problem?

• 560 homeless people died on London streets from 2016 to 2019, which is more than the number of people murdered in London. Link.

• London accounts for 27% of the total homeless population in the UK. Link.

• Of the people seen sleeping rough in London in 2017 to 2018, 50% reported mental health needs. Link.

• In 2017, 4 out of 5 (80%) of people experiencing rough sleeping who died in London had mental health needs Link.

• The 2018 to 2019 CHAIN data for London reports that of the people seen sleeping rough, 42% and 41% had alcohol misuse and drug misuse support needs respectively. Link.

• Struggling with mental illness can make moving off the streets and into accommodation more challenging. People are around 50% more likely to have spent over a year sleeping rough if they are also experiencing mental health issues. Link.

• Lack of IDs, difficulty with transportation, no fixed address, long waiting items, as well as, paranoia, and trauma, are difficulties getting rough sleepers into traditional mental healthcare settings.

• Sadiq Khan’s current homelessness strategy of “No Nights Sleeping Rough” and “Life Off The Street” doesn’t address the underlying issues of long-term rough sleepers who need mental health care before they can transition into shelters or accomodation programs. Link.

• Sadiq Khan’s homelessness strategy is focused on preventing new rough sleepers rather than addressing the needs of current rough sleepers, leaving a big gap in the system. Link.

• Rough sleepers who need greater access to mental healthcare services to provide them with medication and psychological care to eventually allow them to move from off the streets and into accommodations.

What will Shaun do to help homeless populations?

• Shaun will create Mobile Mental Health Intervention Teams which will provide mental health support for rough sleepers in a more accessible way.

• Mobile Mental Health Intervention Teams will travel to areas of London to where homeless people reside to provide regular mental health services and support including mental health counselors and psychiatric care.

• Shaun’s Mobile Mental Health Intervention Teams will use the existing infrastructure (including vehicles) of the “Rapid Response Teams” but instead of simply providing crisis and shelter care, the new teams will provide ongoing mental health support.

• Shaun’s Mobile Mental Health Intervention Teams will use part of the £7m funding allocated for homeless “Rapid Response Teams”, providing on-going support for those suffering from chronic homelessness. Link.

• The Mayor of London has significant powers to address all the issues that impact homelessness, including a £19.2 million annual spend budget. Link.

How effective are mobile mental health units?

• In 2018 a fleet of mobile mental healthcare services was launched in South East London by the NHS. During 2018 the service is estimated to have helped around 2,000 people suffering with mental health issues and initial findings suggesting that the scheme could halve the annual mental health hospital admissions each year. Link.

• The mobile mental healthcare unit saw the proportion of patients taken to A&E more than halved. Link.

• Mobile mental health units have also been used in the United States and lowered the number of psychiatric hospitalization of individuals by twenty seven percent. Link.

• Mobile mental health units focused on homeless communities have been used in Canada and were found to lower remitting rates for psychiatric, improve homeless individuals functioning, and eventually move people effectively into shelters. Link.