Two people were found to be sleeping rough in Maidstone last week, when the borough council carried out its annual rough sleeper count.

The street count is a statutory requirement and was verified by an officer from Homeless Link.

John Littlemore, the head of housing at the council, said: “We are very proud of how tirelessly our outreach officers have worked since the team was set up in 2018. At that time, 48 people were known to be sleeping rough.

"We believe we can end rough sleeping in Maidstone.

"Our challenge now is to try to interrupt the flow of potential new rough sleepers onto the streets before they actually rough sleep.

"We are proud to say we no longer have anyone from Maidstone classified as an entrenched rough sleeper on the streets of Maidstone.”

Mr Littlemore said: "We are helping individuals with complex issues and taking a whole system approach to rough sleepers to help rebuild their lives."

"We support them in a number of ways - through employment, finding a GP and healthcare, treatment, support for substance misuse and access to mental health services.

“This annual count is a valuable way to assess how many individuals might be sleeping rough in the borough and our Outreach team have offered support to accommodate the two individuals we found.

"A Verification Officer joins the Outreach service to help clarify any issues and ensure the required process is followed.”

For information on street counts, visit here.

If anyone finds a rough sleeper, they should let the Maidstone Outreach Team know at outreach@maidstone.gov.uk.

Alternatively use the national website: who will pass the details on to the local team.

The team will go and find the rough sleeper and offer support.

Read more: All the latest news from Maidstone

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