THERE now exists a great new website which can put rough sleepers in touch with local services and support.

For anyone who knows how tough life can be without a decent home to go to, this new facility by which members of the public can report rough sleepers (over the age of 18) to the website (street-link.org.uk) will no doubt go at least some way to ending this worrying phenomenon.

For too long, people who for whatever reason have found themselves sleeping rough, have been shunned by society and marginalised. Indeed, they can end up dead and forgotten about.

As somebody with a severe mental health condition, I have seen this new website and feel at least a bit happier that something significant is being done to help these disadvantaged members of society, having myself slept two nights on the streets of London.

Let’s hope that the dark days of yesterday will now be replaced by something much more humane, compassionate and optimistic. This is much more representative of the 21st century world we now live in and I am thankful.