Christian homelessness charity Housing Justice today welcomed the announcement by London Councils that a ban on soup runs will not be included in the tenth London Local Authorities bill, finalised today.
The measure was opposed by soup run volunteers whose work would have been outlawed and their opposition was supported by community groups, churches and individuals concerned about the welfare of homeless people who in many cases without soup runs would have been left without food. The charity felt that the measure was an ill conceived over-reaction to the situation and ignored the good progress being made by the Soup Run Forum.
Housing Justice Chief Executive Alison Gelder commented “Housing Justice wishes to thank all those who submitted responses to London Councils opposing this measure which we believe would have hit some of the most vulnerable people in London and outlawed our basic human response which is to help those in need.”
Chair of the Soup Run Forum Alastair Murray of Housing Justice added “Turning now to the future it would be good to have a dialogue with London Councils to discuss how soup runs can best work within the safety net of homelessness services to complement their outreach work. Soup runs are often in touch with the most vulnerable people at the margins of society. Soup runs are part of the solution to homelessness not part of the problem.”