The Lord Mayor of Oxford launched a bid to raise £20,000 for the city's homeless as new figures revealed more people are finding themselves on the streets.

Cllr Carole Roberts - herself once homeless in the 1960s - praised the work of volunteer groups as she launched the 1998 Oxford Sleep-out.

Hundreds of people will sleep rough for the night or pay £15 to sleep in their own beds during the annual fundraising event on November 14.

All money raised will go to the growing number of volunteer organisations helping homeless people in the city. Figures for June reveal there were 691 homeless 'households' in Oxford - including families and individuals - compared to 652 in March. The number of people sleeping rough in the city is thought to have increased since 39 were counted in 1996. The Oxford Night Shelter, in Thames Street, recently increased its capacity from 40 to 50 and has had up to 68 clients in one night.

Mrs Roberts, who shared accommodation with eight other families after she and her three children were made homeless in 1965, said: "Being homeless was horrific and I shall never forget how it felt.

"The situation is getting worse each year instead of better, particularly in Oxford. We try to work together with the voluntary agencies but I still think we are still missing a lot of people."

To coincide with the sleep-out launch, the city council announced two new measures to tackle homelessness.

A part-time co-ordinator is to work with homeless organisations in Oxford in line with the Government's Rough Sleepers Initiative to encourage effective strategies against homelessness.

And the council is hoping to win private sector and Government help to build 100 units of accommodation for single homeless people in a Private Finance Initiative.

Providing bed and breakfast accommodation and private shared housing will cost the council an estimated £1.5m this year. Mrs Roberts said: "It is a bitter irony that the accommodation that is least wanted by the homeless costs us the most. It is a vicious circle, but we need investment if we are to provide real housing for the homeless."

David Belton, co-ordinator of the Oxford Sleep-out, urged as many people as possible to join in.

He said: "The focus this year is the effect of homelessness and bad housing on health and life expectancy. We must focus more attention on the problems of these people who live in such abject poverty."

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