Cllr Cameron Holloway continues work to support those in housing need

Newnham Labour Councillor Cameron Holloway continues to work to support people in housing need in Cambridge. He has recently attended a number of events to hear from particular groups of people in housing need, and provided follow-up support to those who need it.

On 15 March, Cameron was the Labour representative at a hustings event at YMCA Cambridge, with an audience of homeless young people. He was on a panel with the Liberal Democrats’ Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Cambridge, Cheney Payne, and Chair of Cambridge Conservatives, Zachary Marsh. Attendees told stories of the huge challenges they had faced in their lives, and the way they had often been repeatedly let down by a range of services. Attendees expressed support for investment in council housing, physical and mental health services, adult learning, and public transport, as well as a desire for more joined up services and an end to the government’s demonisation of people on benefits or experiencing homelessness.

Cameron said: “It was very important and powerful to hear the huge challenges that those in the audience had faced, and to hear their ideas for how to provide improved support. It’s a vital reminder of why I and my colleagues do what we do as councillors, and what we need to do better.”

On 13 March, Cameron and the Deputy Leader of the City Council, Cllr Alice Gilderdale, attended an event with adult ESOL learners at Cambridge Regional College, to hear about their experiences of renting in and around Cambridge. Many of those in attendance were asylum seekers or refugees, and had found navigating the private and social rented sectors in Cambridge very difficult, due to high rents, poor conditions, language barriers, and lack of support. The Finding Home in Cambridge event was organised by Veronica Hera and migrant rights charity Pomoc. Cameron said: “I’m really keen that the City Council does more to support people in the private rented sector, and we know that things can be particularly hard for people who have recently arrived in the UK. It’s vital that we listen to people’s experiences, so that we can know how best the Council might help.”

Following on from these and other events, Cameron has taken up casework on behalf of a number of the people he has met. Cambridge Labour remains committed to providing support for everyone in housing need in the city.