Ending homelessness - Deadline must be set

People who had to endure the loss of water supplies during the recent cold snap will, no doubt, be more mindful of how difficult it must have been for anyone sleeping rough at that time.

There had been a target — set more than three years ago — to end homelessness by the end of 2010, but the deadline has not been met.

A new deadline is now necessary to concentrate minds on the need to tackle the problem, because those people are in dire need of help. Initially they may well have been at fault, but compassion dictates that society should help them in their current plight. Homelessness is an aspect of helplessness, and the most effective remedy is to help them help themselves as much as possible.