There will be no rough sleepers in the streets of Watford tonight, says a homeless charity.

Matthew Heasman, the CEO of Watford’s New Hope, claims that the eradication of rough sleepers in the town has not happened “for a generation”.

It is believed that since last Friday (January 15) there were no verified rough sleepers on the streets of Watford as they are accommodated and supported through Watford’s single homeless programme.

Mr Hearsman on Twitter announced: “GOOD NEWS: Tonight there are no known rough sleepers on the streets of Watford. This probably hasn’t happened for a generation and is a testimony to the hard work of several agencies working together. Everyone is working their hardest to keep it like this for as long as possible.”

Earlier on January 6, the CEO announced that rough sleeping in Watford has been down by 95 per cent over the past ten months.

The Mayor of Watford, Peter Taylor, has thanked various local charities for their hard work – including New Hope, One, YMCA and Grow.

He said: “Since becoming Mayor, ending rough sleeping in Watford has been a key priority for me. Because of the complexity of the issues around homelessness we know that accommodation on its own is not enough – people need support with a range of complicated issues to help them turn their lives around.

This has only been possible because of the hard work of the council’s Housing team, dedication of charities such as New Hope, One YMCA and Grow and thanks to the support of so many volunteers and local resident who want to see an end to rough sleeping in Watford.

 “Our Housing team at the council are currently working with One YMCA who as well as providing accommodation to rough sleepers, are delivering a range of support services to help them transform their lives and stay off the streets for good.

“The multi-agency, multi-disciplinary Street Outreach Service and Intervention Team based at New Hope together with their Rough Sleeping Prevention Service continue to work with other rough sleepers who are not living at One YMCA and are supporting a handful of other people who say they are rough sleeping to confirm this and get them the help they need as well.  Other partners on Watford’s Strategic Homelessness Forum also continue to provide terrific support.”

The Mayor added:  “We know that the coming months are going to be hard on people due to the coronavirus pandemic and we will continue to do all we can to ensure that everyone gets the help they need if they find themselves homeless.”