A spokeswoman said evictions were the main thrust, particularly those of vulnerable people. The consultation paper suggests looking at the issue of evictions of vulnerable people again and asking for more government support to address the problems. The spokeswoman said it was not a housing problem, but a result of a breakdown in mental health care. One possible solution was to allow agencies to be more flexible, for example, enabling them to pool budgets to come up with imaginative solutions to support the mentally ill. The Crisis report says it is a myth that people have been turned out of long-stay hospitals onto the streets.
Homelessness is more likely to affect people who have never been in long-term hospital care.
The NHF agreed good practice was patchy and said housing officers were under pressure to ensure rents were collected on time and often did not have the confidence to bring in other agencies that could provide support. Also, some mentally ill people did not accept they needed help, meaning social services could not assess them unless they were considered severely ill. The government needs to invest in preventive measures. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.