CHAIN Annual Bulletin 2023/2024

The CHAIN Annual Bulletin for 2023/2024 has been released, offering a detailed look at the rough sleeping numbers and trends in London between April 2023 and March 2024. This bulletin uses data from the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN), a multi-agency database that records information on rough sleepers and the wider street population in London.

Main Findings

In 2023/24, outreach workers in London saw 11,993 people sleeping rough, a 19% increase from the previous year. This number is also 58% higher than ten years ago. Notably, 2023/24 was the first year with over 2,000 people recorded rough sleeping in a single month, with both September and November exceeding this number. During the year, outreach teams and support services helped 4,379 people access accommodation, showing ongoing efforts to provide immediate support.

A significant portion of those seen rough sleeping were new to the streets, with 66% sleeping rough for the first time. Additionally, 20% were repeat cases from the previous year, and 14% had returned to rough sleeping after a year or more away, emphasising a troubling trend of people spending longer periods without stable accommodation.

For the first time, the proportion of rough sleepers from Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Australasia (30%) exceeded those from Europe (25%), highlighting the diverse backgrounds of those rough sleeping in London.

Thames Reach’s teams are dedicated to addressing the root causes of rough sleeping and providing essential support to individuals not only on the streets but also throughout their recovery journey to independent and stable living.

For those interested in exploring the full report, it can be accessed here: CHAIN Greater London 2023/24 Annual Report.