Street Supportbrings people together with common goal

The evidence is right in front of our eyes, whether it’s people with cardboard signs sitting on the pavement and asking for change in the city centre, or setting up tents on a roundabout under the A27 flyover at Hilsea.

The inescapable truth is that more people are living on our streets – and the figure is going to keep on rising.

In August The News reported how the charity Crisis claimed the number of people living rough in the UK was set to more than quadruple over the next 25 years.

So it is heartening to hear about a new initiative that aims to tackle homelessness in Portsmouth.

Street Support Portsmouth was launched yesterday on World Homeless Day.

It’s a new website and mobile app that aims to be a one-stop resource detailing all the services on offer to assist those living on the streets, from food banks to hostels and other agencies.

The hope is that it will be used by those who need help and also those who want to offer help, either by donating or volunteering.

They can be individuals or groups, charities or government organisations.

Apparently Street Support has already gone down well in Manchester and is also operating in Bournemouth, Bradford and Leeds. So we see no reason why it won’t be successful here too.

We like the co-ordinated approach, bringing everybody together with a common goal of helping the homeless.

Now the challenge is to find businesses to help pay to keep the service running.

As firms increasingly look to show their social responsibility, we say it’s a project well worth backing.