Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive of national homelessness charity Crisis, has this afternoon been announced as the Chair of the Scottish Government’s Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group. The announcement was made in a statement to the Scottish Parliament by Minister for Local Government and Housing Minister, Kevin Stewart MSP.

Crisis Chief Executive Jon Sparkes said: “It’s an honour to be asked to Chair this Action Group which will bring forward solutions to help end to homelessness in Scotland.

“The Scottish Government have rightly identified that a renewed effort is required to stop more people experiencing different forms of homelessness. Their £50million ‘Ending Homelessness Together’ fund along with their commitment to end rough sleeping and transform the use of temporary accommodation will change people’s lives.

“I firmly believe we can end homelessness for good, we know the scale of the problem and this Group will focus firmly on deliverable solutions which prevent, tackle and end homelessness for people. There’s some hard work to be done but I believe the expertise and knowledge of those on the Group means we will be up to the challenge and I look forward to quickly getting to work.

“This year marks 50 years from when Crisis was founded, but this is not a cause for celebration with homelessness still so prevalent. It is time for us to think afresh about solutions to the problem and Crisis is working across Great Britain to develop an evidence-based plan for how to end homelessness. For Crisis there is simply no place for scepticism or hesitation. It is our firm belief that together, we will end homelessness.”

ENDS

Note to Editors:
1. Jon Sparkes is available for interview in Edinburgh this afternoon (Tuesday 19th September) and the morning of Wednesday 20th.
2. Crisis is the national charity for homeless people.
 We are determined to end homelessness. We do it person by person and by influencing policies to ensure everyone has a place to call home. 
 Homelessness is devastating, leaving people vulnerable and isolated. 
 Crisis offers ground breaking housing, health, education and employment services.  We work with thousands of homeless people across the UK every year. 
 We are also determined campaigners. We draw on our research, partnerships and years of experience of working directly with homeless people to deliver change and a vision to end homelessness for good.
3. For more information on the work of Crisis in Scotland visit https://www.crisis.org.uk/scotland