The number of people sleeping rough in Manchester has nearly doubled in the last year, according to new government figures. A survey found 27 people sleeping on the streets compared to 15 the previous year. Homeless charities attribute the rise to growing poverty levels and say upcoming welfare reforms will likely exacerbate the problem further. The head of a homeless charity said the number of people they assist has more than doubled in the last year, reflecting the increasing problem of homelessness seen in the city. He warned that welfare cuts planned for this year will hit the most vulnerable members of society and likely cause the problem to worsen.

1. Article 1:
Number of rough sleepers doubles in a year.

2. The number of people sleeping rough in Manchester has nearly
doubled in the last year – according to new government figures.
One-night „snapshots‟ published by the Department for
Communities found 27 people spending the night on the city
streets compared to 15 last year. Homeless charities have said
growing poverty levels are behind the rise and that welfare
reform set to be introduced in April will further increase the
problem.
Numberof rough sleepersdoublesin a year.
A homeless man sleeps rough
in Manchester

3. Adrian Nottingham, chief executive of The Mustard Tree, said
the number of care packages being given out by the charity had
more than doubled in the last year. He said: “I think these figures
are reflective of the problem seen night after night on the streets
of Manchester, of people being forced to sleep rough.”
“The catalysts have been the rising cost of living along with the
austerity packages put in place by the coalition government
which have seen people fall into poverty and lose the roofs from
over their heads.”
“The worrying thing is that this is all prior to welfare reforms
which are set to come in and further hit some of the most
vulnerable members of society. This problem will almost
certainly get worse this year and I am concerned that there are
not the support measures in place to deal with it.”
The new figure is based on a „street count‟ conducted by council
officers in November last year.
Numberof rough sleepersdoublesin a year.