Human rights messages light up Houses of Parliament with launch of new homelessness charter for Government

As politicians return to Westminster, projections upon the Houses of Parliament provide a stark reminder that ‘Homelessness is a Political Choice’ 

Amnesty and Groundswell have launched a new charter to ensure policymakers collaborate with individuals with lived experiences of homelessness 

Messages calling for health inequity to be recognised as a homelessness issue were also projected on Tower Bridge and the Angel of the North, in addition to asking for a ‘Home to be a Human Right’ 

Amnesty International UK and Groundswell, a homelessness charity, have launched a new nationwide charter today, ‘Ending Homelessness Together—Our Voice, Our Rights,’ to ensure policymakers hear the views and priorities of those with lived experience.  

Striking projections of the words of people who have experienced homelessness lit up the Houses of Parliament with a strong message to the Government: The existing homelessness crisis is the result of political choices, and it is now critical to make homelessness history and make home a human right. 

Amnesty and Groundswell are highlighting that people whose human rights are denied have a right to be heard on the issues that affect them, and their insights and understanding are essential to addressing those issues effectively. The charter is anchored in human rights law and principles.  

The charter was developed in partnership with those with lived experience of homelessness who state: ‘We are asking the new Government to hear our voice and the voices of all those who have personal experience of homelessness.  We want you to recognise that we are people who have rights, and together, our rights must be upheld.’ 

One of the projections on the Angel of the North echoed this appeal: ' Listen to us to help end homelessness together.’ 

The charter sets out four key priorities for the UK Government: 

• Homelessness is not only a housing issue but also a health issue. Homelessness must be tackled to address health inequalities. Health services must follow the NICE Guidelines to make sure they are accessible to people experiencing homelessness and targeted mental health, and recovery services are needed.  

• Better financial support: Renting must be made affordable, and benefit levels must be sufficient to meet basic needs and regularly reviewed against the real cost of living. 

• Better housing is needed: more social housing, better commissioning and quality standards for homes, and better regulation of supported and temporary accommodation for all (including people seeking asylum). The Government should also introduce regulations for private landlords to ensure that maintenance is carried out, rent remains affordable, and discrimination in access to tenancies is prevented. The right to housing must be recognised in legislation.  

• The Government must ensure that all policy decisions on homelessness are informed and created by people who have lived through it.  

One of the individuals who supported the development of the charter, Tony, had his video appeal projected on to the Houses of Parliament detailing the steps the Government can take to end homelessness. 

Tony said: “As a person who has been homeless in the past, I know how difficult it is to get out of homelessness. The Prime Minister said it is people with the skin in the game who know what's best for their community. So, listen to us.” 

Jen Clark, Economic and Social Rights Lead at Amnesty International UK, said:

“Together with Groundswell, Amnesty have delivered the demands from people who have lived experience of homelessness across England to the home of democracy to make their pleas for change impossible to ignore. 

“With an unprecedented homelessness crisis, and winter looming, the return to parliament can't come soon enough for people experiencing homelessness. Policymakers can’t fob them off with promised long term building projects and must act swiftly to protect the everyday human rights like the right to housing, health and social security for people who have no place to call home.” 

Michael Chandler, CEO at Groundswell said: 

“We at Groundswell know that solutions to society’s issues must be informed by the voices and personal experience of people who have lived them. The country is in the midst of a major homelessness crisis, and to address it, our new Government needs to hear and act upon the voices and experiences of people affected by homelessness.   

“We are proud to work with Amnesty to launch this charter to inform our new Government’s priorities. We would welcome the opportunity to meet with the Government to discuss our priorities and work on solutions to ending homelessness together.”