Government figures reported a reduction in the number of people sleeping rough in the Norwich, at a time when national figures show an increase across the country.
Dr Jan Sheldon, CEO of St Martins said, “The number of people sleeping rough in Norwich is lower than cities of similar size, however there is no room for complacency and one person sleeping rough is one person too many.”
“The official street count figures are a snapshot in time from last Autumn – it gives us an insight into one particular night of the year. What is most important is our ongoing sustained approach of providing consistent support to people who find themselves on the streets. Any rough sleeping experience is traumatic and our aim should always be to prevent it happening in the first place, but when it does, to respond swiftly with secure accommodation and the support that each person needs.”
The latest local snapshot count recorded nine people (2025) sleeping rough in Norwich – which is a reduction from twelve in the previous snapshot (2024). While this reduction is welcome, there is still much to achieve and where rough sleeping does occur, it should be rare, brief and non-recurring.
This reduction is largely the result of strong collaboration between services such as Pathways, a partnership of seven organisations led by St Martins including Shelter, Future Projects, The Salvation Army, Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, The Magdalene Group and YMCA.
We have been working together since 2018, and this collaboration brings together a broad range of expertise and specialist support. The combined strengths of these organisations have played a significant role in helping people move away from the streets and into safer, more stable accommodation.
Norwich City Council, who commission St Martins’ services, have adopted a new Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2026–2031 focused on the prevention and reduction of homelessness and rough sleeping in Norwich.
Click here to view the rough sleeping snapshot report for England