Homelessness in Wales
The festive period can be a time of celebration for many but for some it can be the harshest time of the year. In the spirit of care and community, Jon Sutton takes a look at what you can do to help.
In 2014 the Welsh government launched an initiative to help tackle homelessness in Wales – by intervening in poverty-stricken households, before they actually lost their homes. The Housing (Wales) Act was a trailblazing move in social policy, meaning that every person facing homelessness that asked for help, would receive help. Local councils were made more responsible for the households facing potential homelessness in their areas and private landlords were hit with tighter regulations to prevent exploitation of their tenants.
The result was considered a massive success. In the last quarter of 2015, whilst the number of homeless households in England crept up by 6%, those in Wales dropped by a staggering 67%.
But does this tell the full story? And if so, why do we see more and more people on the streets of Wales? There’s a clue in the terminology. Whilst the term “homeless” covers those in the system and includes people in temporary accommodation, it does not necessarily apply to “rough-sleepers”, who may be outside the system. The government’s reported and celebrated results, it seems, can neglect the very people that we pass every day, in tents and doorways and underpasses.
The number of rough-sleepers in Wales has continued to increase despite the success of the Housing Wales Act. A recent study by Shelter Cymru found that there was a 10% increase in rough-sleeping this year, on top of a 30% increase last year.
So how have these people fallen through the cracks? Shelter Cymru say:
“Causes of homelessness are often grouped into two categories: individual factors, which are problems in the person’s own life, such as physical or mental health conditions or relationship breakdown; and structural factors, which are wider problems in the system such as the rising cost of housing, the poverty trap, and welfare benefit cuts.”
Shelter Cymru’s survey, put to 100 rough-sleepers across the country, found many types of people on the streets, but one factor that seemed to stand out was the age group. 50% were between the age of 25-34, which means that young people are particularly at risk of ending up on the streets.
And other groups at high risk are those leaving institutions such as rehab, prison, care homes or hospitals.
But the survey further suggests that the over-riding majority of people currently on the streets were either living with a partner or parents immediately before finding themselves in this situation, suggesting that a traumatic home life is likely to be a much bigger factor than many might expect. Several of the people surveyed went on to say that relationship breakdowns and mental health difficulties were a dominant feature of their homelessness.
And whilst most of the 100 people surveyed accepted personal issues had played a part, and that earlier intervention could have stopped it from happening in the first place, almost all went on to highlight a distinct lack of specialist support from the authorities in getting placed into accommodation once homelessness had become a reality.
The starkest example of this service-gap is the issue of duality in psychological assessments. Psychologists are unable to assess people who have used substances (as they can muddy the waters of a brain’s psychological makeup) – and drug/alcohol counsellors are unable to help people with underlying psychological issues. The ultimate Catch 22.
In cases such as these, there is no single source of help available. And even the separate areas of help that are available are almost impossible to attain, since the homeless person – whose priority is finding food and shelter to survive each night – is expected to provide documentation backing up any claims of problems with their mental health before being taken seriously by the system.
The government, it is suggested, have become black-belts in the art of preventing homelessness, whilst remaining fresh-faced white-belts when it comes to reversing it for those currently on the streets.
To its credit, the government have provided housing solutions across Wales, but they are falling short in providing enough advice and support to those facing difficulties in trying to access this accommodation. Even during the harsh snow storms that battered Britain in March, people were found sleeping outside instead of making their way to a bed.
Shelter Cymru’s survey addressed this issue and whilst the reasons were myriad – because every homeless person is a human being with a story entirely unique to themselves – it is fair to say that a few themes cropped up again and again:
1) People who struggle with literacy (or mental health, substance abuse, inability to cope or see beyond their current situation) find the complexity of the documentation and the housing process almost impossible to navigate.
2) People who are trying to avoid drugs need to also avoid the shelters because these are the exact places being targeted by drug dealers.
3) People with mental health issues (or fear of abuse) need to find peace instead of the “chaos” of the shelters, where the number of people using beds outnumber the care workers by at least 10:1.
4) People who are known to have left a shelter to use drugs or to beg will not be allowed back in, meaning beds are left empty.
Before we judge too harshly on this final comment relating to substances, it’s worth remembering that many people living a street-based existence are so far outside the system that they don’t even have access to the NHS. This means that their use of substances might be employed as a crutch. both mental and physical, that often accompanies life on the street.
In absence of a paracetamol, a warm bed, a pint with a mate or a chat with a loved one… substances can be both a pillow and a painkiller.
Despite the government figures the reality is this… any person who spends a night on our streets is in severe need of our help.
How Can You Help?
As part of society, we have three weapons in our arsenal which can help to combat homelessness and other social issues – time, money and emotional understanding.
The charities below can help to provide information on how best to make a donation (a little will truly go a long way this Christmas – many schemes offer Christmas dinner followed by beds, showers, advice, therapy and doctor’s visits which could turn someone’s life around forever).
And they also offer information on how best to volunteer. If you can’t commit to a morning breakfast run, for example, perhaps your DIY skills will help in the shelter?
But if time and money are tight this Christmas, your emotional understanding may help to save a life.
A simple smile, even a polite “no, sorry” in response to a request for help, might be just the key to making a homeless person feel human again.
SHELTER CYMRU www.sheltercymru.org.uk
THE WALLICH www.thewallich.com
SALVATION ARMY www.salvationarmy.org.uk
CRISIS www.crisis.org.uk
