Christmas on the streets

Over the last few days, I have noticed that people have been discussing rough sleeping and the cold weather. There is even a news story online stating that rough sleepers will only be offered accommodation if they accept a Covid vaccination.

I have been involved in homelessness for nearly two decades. I use to Chair a multi-agency panel looking at rough sleeping, begging and street drinking in Manchester city centre. I have also set up projects to help people off the streets and into accommodation, created homeless employment projects in construction, and set up children's libraries in homeless accommodation for families.

The Basics:

People sleeping on the streets is a very complicated issue and also very emotional. If you do not work in this field then you do not understand it. Fact. But do not feel insulted that I have said you do not understand, for many people who do work in this field also do not understand the issue. I said it was complicated.

'Homelessness' is a generic term that covers many different aspects of housing needs. If you are staying in a B&B then you are classed as homeless, the same if you are sleeping on someone's settee. When you see the word 'homeless' it does not necessarily mean living on the streets. Rough sleeping is when someone sleeps outside or in a place not fit for human habitation. It is only a tiny part of the homeless crisis we have in the UK. Homelessness can be solved by creating new homes, rough sleeping cannot.

Not everyone you see begging on the street is rough sleeping or homeless. Well over half of the beggars in Manchester are not homeless. They beg for money for drugs. It is as simple as that.

During cold spells in the weather, councils have a legal duty to accommodate rough sleepers. When the temperature is above zero degrees most rough sleepers are deemed not in need and so not accommodated. Hypothermia does not kill rough sleepers. Treatable illnesses do, such as tuberculosis, pneumonia or gastric ulcers.

Let us dispel some myths around barriers for rough sleepers. They can access all state benefits, GP services and open a bank account without an address. All homeless hostels are paid for by housing benefit or the council.

The Issue:

Living on the streets is not an accommodation issue, it is a mental health issue. Accommodation is part of the solution. But it is only a small part in helping individuals for the long term and stopping them from repeating the cycle of rough sleeping. The majority of people I have helped off the streets had been on the streets several times before. They fail in accommodation because we allow them to fail. We do not address the real issues of poor mental health and drug addiction.

I remember speaking to a man who told me he had been helped into accommodation 10 times in the last 15 years, but he always ended back on the streets. He did not know why.

I know why. I have seen it dozens of times. We think a roof over someone's head will solve the issue. It only solves the issue we can see, for the general public think that someone sleeping on the street is the issue. It is not. We take completely broken people and place them in a hostel or B&B. We then pat ourselves on the back for a job well done. But nothing has changed in that individual's life. They are still in pain. Mentally and physically damaged. But now also isolated and lonely, not to worry though, for they now have a roof over their head. Job done.

Believe it or not, living on the streets is easier than you think. Disregarding all your personal responsibility is liberating, it smells of freedom. But it is a trap. The streets tempt you with drugs and camaraderie, but once it has you in view the claws dig deep. No bills. No rules. Time does not matter. Hygiene does not matter. Nothing matters. You are a rebel, an outcast. You feel persecuted, unworthy, sub-human.

A conversation I had sat on the pavement on Deansgate in Manchester city centre: "People treat me better than they do rats. Rats have to crawl through bins looking for what people do not want. I am lucky, I do not have to do that. People hand me the stuff they do not want. At least I am better than a rat."

The general public is also part of the problem, for they enable people to live on the streets and slowly die. Handing out money, food and other items enables people to live on the streets. It does nothing to help vulnerable people off the streets. Every meal-deal handed out potentially stops the recipient from accessing a hot meal in a support centre. It is only when in a support centre can support workers start to offer help and support. It is only through this can a pathway off the streets be secured.

I presented a BBC radio documentary on the issue of handing out free food:

"We engaged a man begging in a doorway in a sleeping bag. We offered to get him into a hostel that evening because it was going to be -3 degrees. He refused and commented that this was a good begging spot and didn't want to lose it. He then added that a businessman wakes him up every morning with a coffee and bacon sandwich. He asked us did we get breakfast in bed every morning? We replied no. He smiled and said that's why he was not moving!"

The Solution:

So what is the solution? Let us start by saying it is not what we are presently doing, for it is not working.

We have 2 problems to tackle: How do we get people off the streets today? How do we stop people from going onto the streets tomorrow? Both must be tackled.

The first thing we must do is to make the government do more. It is to our collective shame that we allow our fellow citizens to live in squalor on the streets of our cities. Shame on us all. Shame.

We have to admit to ourselves that we do not care about the lives of the lowliest members of our society. For if we did we would not allow such a problem. Politicians spend money on what they know we care about. They know we care about elephants, plastic straws and refuges because they spend our tax money on these issues on our behalf. As a society, we spend more time discussing the correct use of pronouns than we do on the issue of rough sleeping. Do not pretend to yourself that you care just because you may have handed out a sandwich. It does not matter that you felt wonderful afterwards. Where are the online petitions, the demonstrations, the public outcry? Have you ever taken a knee in solidarity with rough sleepers? Probably not, but you may have stepped over one in the high street to buy your cappuccino.

A few years ago I formulated a 4 point plan.

Local Council Duty of Care:

We need a legal duty of care for rough sleepers. We do for vulnerable children and victims of domestic violence. It should be a legal statutory duty for all councils to put a roof over everyone's head every night of the year. This may be a night shelter but it would have to hit certain levels of service and support. We can then say with no equivocation that everyone in the UK has access to a bed that night. I would be so pleased to be able to say that.

Of course, this is only the first step into more suitable accommodation and long term support. But at least they would be off the street and the spiralling damage of sleeping rough would have stopped.

New Mental Health Bill:

In a compassionate society, we should look out for our fellow citizens, especially the ones who cannot look after themselves.

If someone has been engaged by the local council over a period of time and has refused all offers of help then they should be taken into protective care. Their safety should take priority. Not arrested or criminalised, but sectioned under a Mental Health Act. We would do this if someone was trying to slice open their wrists with a knife. What is the difference if the act of self-destruction takes years instead of hours? Shouting about human rights and lifestyle choices does not hold any sway with me.

Homeless Project Register:

When we send our kids to a youth club we expect all staff to be police checked and other standards to be in place. But if you work with the homeless then anything goes! It is the Wild West in Manchester. In the evening anyone can turn up in the city centre and work with the most vulnerable in society.

It needs to be a legal requirement for any organisation, group or individual to register with the local council and gain a license. Through this license, the council can ensure a certain level of professionalism and good practice. It will enable the council to coordinate the help and support to achieve more. No one has any idea of who is out on the streets providing help. Never mind levels of food hygiene or if individuals are criminals. I know of examples where known drug dealers are helping out. The council would officially warn or prosecute anyone contravening this law.

New Begging Law:

We need to repeal the 1824 Vagrancy Act and replace it with a modern law fit for the 21st Century. The police in Manchester gave up enforcing the old law nearly a decade ago.

It cannot be understated that begging funds drugs and this is a major factor in people refusing help and support. Begging is also a reason why they are attracted to the street in the first place. We need to disrupt the begging trade and the addiction it feeds. I am not advocating arresting people begging, for it is pointless. But moving them on and making begging difficult to such an extent that it is not worth sitting down with a paper cup.

The above is a simplified plan and it will take money to implement.

But it should allow you to think about this issue a little differently and not presume a simple 'silver bullet' solution exists.

As I said in the beginning, it is complicated.

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