Rough sleeping in London

There is immediate action which can be done but ultimately the only way to fix rough sleeping is to understand the root causes.

Where it is inability to afford rent or social exclusion fixes can be made e.g. shelters but ultimately it needs economic growth and house building which includes affordable housing.

If it is drugs or alcohol a different solution is needed which addresses the health issues (including mental health) and gives support and hopefully a cure/relief.

There are many other reasons but the only way to do it is to talk to rough sleepers, charities, communities etc to know what problem is being solved.

It is correct that The Mayor cannot end rough sleeping alone. However the Mayor could be doing a lot more and it is astounding that he is merely 'working on an action plan'. There should already be an action plan and there has already been many years in order to action it! There is no visible improvement in rough sleeping. London did amazing things during COVID and surely could do something similar for rough sleepers by providing safe shelters for overnight, especially in winter but ideally year round.

I have been a rough sleeper in the past and cannot believe nothing has changed in the last 10 years.  The problem isn't the rough sleepers, it's the industry and economy that exists around them which would disappear if the rough sleepers were no more.  Councils use rough sleeping as a cash grab, often syphoning the funds off to prop up overspend in other areas, all the while announcing these grand strategies, plans and initiatives they 'hope will end rough sleeping for good'.  It's just noise to justify budgets when in fact they're gatekeeping and trying everything possible to turn people away from accessing threadbare services using every trick in the book so homelessness remains a lucrative business.

The answer has been proven to work in other countries and its as simple as it's name suggests - HOUSING FIRST.  Instead of requiring rough sleepers to sober up, quit using drugs or access support for mental health before they are deemed worthy and rewarded with  housing - give them the HOUSING FIRST.  Battling addiction or mental health is hard enough when people have a home so how rough sleepers are expected to whilst on the streets is absurd. HOUSING FIRST must include the wrap around support that goes along side it - crucially, it can't be time-bound and must last for as long as it takes for the individual to become stable and able to manage on their own.  With support in place, they can't be cuckoo'd or exploited and they can take it at their own pace.

The pilot projects that have been set up in London over the past couple of years aim to do this on the cheap and even hand-pick who gets to join the scheme which renders the whole thing a joke.  Remove the homeless charities from the picture as they have a vested interest in ensuring rough sleeping continues and remove the local councils from the mix whilst you're at it.  Give it to someone independent like Citizens Advice to run and we might acutally have a decent chance of getting somewhere close

I am blown away by the idea nudged in the survey that the solution could be formalised sofa surfing and mobilising the after-church roadside cleanup crowd. Do you actually want people in permanent, safe housing or not? This problem has been caused by weak leadership and cronyist housing policy. The solution is competent leadership and people-first housing policy, not scattering rough sleepers on couches and guilting workers into spending an afternoon once a year making small talk in the soup kitchen. Sending hobbyists de-values and undermines social workers--a full-time career that requires education and regular training and is already criminally underpaid. If you value work, you pay people to do it. Asking Joe Public to fix the problem the government has caused tells us you just don't care. 

It should be illegal for anyone who is not a UK citizen to own land or houses in the UK.  This would bring down the price of housing for people who are UK citizens.  My son lives and works in Kenya but he is not a Kenya citizen so he cannot own land there.  His wife, who is a Kenya citizen, owns the plot on which their house stands.  She also owns some rental flats nearby.  My son is the managing director of a mechanical engineering workshop, but the workshop stands on rented land with a Kenyan owner.

During Covid Lockdown we did provide assistance  through our Food Bank to local kitchens. I believe Brent is still doing this in places. We need more of these as well as warm rooms. But the winter opening of shelters is insufficient  

I do donate knitted goods to these shelters but they don't solve the problem. We also donate for young care leavers to go into supported housing. We shouldnt need to do this. Unfortunately there will always be some who do not want to be housed and some who end up in prison as a result mostly, of their mental health. Others we can help with suitable social housing and help with eduction etc.

We don't have enough social workers or spaces and those trained to deal with the myriad of difficulties that those sleeping rough can have. it is not a quick fix.

It’s a shame that we are only allowed to tick a bunch of boxes in the survey.

To often now you plough through the box ticking hoping to be able to add some real thoughts.

Just convert some of these empty offices.

Even if it’s just for winter.

Most people are still working from home anyway.

I really feel for anyone sleeping rough at this cold and wet time.

It’s a shame that we are only allowed to tick a bunch of boxes in the survey.

To often now you plough through the box ticking hoping to be able to add some real thoughts.

Just convert some of these empty offices.

Even if it’s just for winter.

Most people are still working from home anyway.

I really feel for anyone sleeping rough at this cold and wet time.

I would join community or local council  efforts to provide therapeutic activities open for homeless people as well as other local people, also providing informed links and information about what other help is available as we did activities together. Maybe a free lunch would attract rough sleepers in. That requires a community hub, and I think a gardening space would really help. 

Remove every single charity or paid staff around Homelessness as they exists since 1800s, 90% money goes into salaries and little has changed for those who need it. Get funds invested into student-type accomadation, an independent room with a bathroom and basic cooking, Make it sheltered so support like addiction and mental health advisers. Most important is provide accomadation and volunteer opportunities.

Of course I know some people cannot manage like this, but most can. WE came as refugees, had rights and were grateful and determined to manage. Today it feels like people want rights without giving anything back and this is not realistic. I saw a church invest in flowers for decor but not in food to give to their homeless/low-income guests! We are not talking to people who are in difficulties about WHAT THEY NEED!

I just looked at some data about it. The biggest group of rough sleepers are people who have simply been released from prison. The system of getting these people back into society must be completely broken. They either get back to crime or become rough sleepers.
It's a preventable problem and should be tackled before these people end up in the street. 
 

The rents being charged in my local area are getting out of hand. It is all very well having a free market but if rents are above the earnings of part time workers who are earning the London living wage then this problem is only going to get worse. Affordable rents and social rents are meaningless. Why should someone struggling with a landlord who increases the rent every 6 months have to become homeless before they can ask for help finding social housing? 

It is all very well having developers pay a premium which goes into NCIL funding but if developers are not offering accommodation that local workers can afford then the development itself is of zero value to the area. We don't need any development that does not include green spaces, local services and job opportunities to residents. Our GP practices and A&E are no longer able to cope and school places have children travelling further than walking distance.

I would like to make ex service  personnel a priority. They have given so much, we should look after them.

We also have to rid the street  of the professiona  begging gangs.  Genuine homless people lose out on the generosity of others because of these criminals.

I have some good (used) towels, face flannels, bed sheets, duvet covers and pillow slips that I'm willing to give away and I sent an email this morning to the Teddington Branch (because that's where I live) of the Salvation Army.  They haven't got back to me but I DO want my things to be put to great use