Rough sleeping in London

I am Iker and I think the Mayor of London Mr. Sadiq Khan and his team of Help to rough sleepers are doing a great job. I can see they are working hard with other companies and charitys asociations to help and give support for people who sadly are living in the streets of London. I know there are more things to do, but definetly working togueter everybody is the best way to tackle this situation for people in difficult circumstances! Thanks for your great job! 

We proved during Covid that rough sleeping did not need to happen.  There is no excuse.

While charities and volunteers can help, it has to be for the government, London authority and local councils to step up.

Unfortunately, this poor lifestyle of survival resonates throughout the city.

What I reported in my comments is not just a problem of a house run by the Council.

My case is not isolated and I'm sure many here who are not homeless like me will agree with me.

Dear planning team, look at the houses in this city. Houses and lodgings that do not follow the basic structure for us human beings to survive or live in a dignified manner.

Houses without space for a table to sit down to eat, without even a kitchen, a counter, or a dedicated space to prepare meals.

Privacy, what is this? For over 3 years I have been listening to my flatmates crying, praying, having sex.

Come visit us, Mr. Mayor, but come without warning, without an appointment, (in the same way that housing offices do) so that the housing offices themselves will not have time to cheat your visit, making up the place before your visit, as I've seen them do before during home safety inspections, sabotaging the inspections that the Council requests.

Dear Mayor, I believe that in a prosperous city like our beloved London you can improve the conditions in which you are housing people.

Some will say: "Better this than sleeping rough!" I agree, but in the long term, for long periods this causes harm to the human being, mentally/physically, reoccurrence of becoming rougher.

Please, I just compared the prison system with temporary accommodation so that you all can see that it is possible to improve.

Invest a lot in training on your housing offices agents because we are all human, and we never know when the wheel will turn.

We live in community and we can improve the way we live together.

Much light to all of you.

Thanks for the oopportunity to share my experience.

Dear Mayor, I believe that in a prosperous city like our beloved London you can improve the conditions in which you are housing people.

Dear Mayor remind your fellow councillors that even in the prison system, smokers are separated with non-smokers.

I have never smoked in my life but I spent years passively smoking from my flatmates,cigarettes/weed.

And when I reported it they told me: "Don't complain about the smoking flatmates because we can alojed prisoners by your side, and you'll be more scared!"

Prison system: Prisoners have a table a chair to sit, a suitable place to eat their meals.

Temporary housing: People eating their meals standing up,on they bed or even sitting on the floor because there are no tables provided, much less in the communal kitchen of the house.

Woman living in temporary accommodation for 3 years, only men housing office agents come into my flat. Misogyny dear Mayor?

Men called housing offices come in to inspect, without prior notice, without a set time, they come in with they keys open the door, take photos, backed by the "Council's duty of inspection".

Some housing office agents even ask you to keep it a secret about how you feel living in fear after being threatened by one of my smoking neighbors. What is this? A horror movie? I don't even need a TV to experience these atrocities.

These men make you doubt your own sanity when you report any improvements to the house for the good coexistence of everyone.

What kind of "duty of care", "landlord" do you ask for improvements to his own property, and simply ignores you?Basic request like table, chair, internet, improve the acoustics of the walls of the house so that residents can sleep in peace.

Sleep? How can you sleep well in boxes with paper walls? 3 years sharing acomodation with people from all backgrounds come and go and a simple opening/closing of a door feels more like a thunderclap that shakes not only you but the entire house.

I have more to say, continue next comments...

"What does ‘ending rough sleeping by 2030’ mean to you?"

It's where crime, mental illness, madness, treat, misogyny, negligence psychosomatic illnesses are developed, disbelieving in living in society.

A house managed by the Council should follow a high standard of responsibility and respect basic human principles. 

A gentle reminder: Humans need to sleep with adequate light and silence, and have a suitable place to eat.

Dorms next to the communal kitchen? It's my daily problem here because people need to cook to eat every single day.

Not even the prisoners have their cells near the dining halls, but here in the house run by the Council that houses us, homeless, "inhuman people", every time someone fries an egg at 2am, I wake up suffocated by the smell because the way they built the flats prevents air circulation and the exhaust system becomes inoperative due to the lack of structure in the house.

Have reports been made? Several!

Dear Mayor, could you please ask the Councils, because our requests are being treated with threats around here.

Please, Review the housing plan to see if the housing is suitable for human housing and meets the basic needs of a human being.

Unfortunately, this is a city-wide problem and you are seeing the reflection of poor residential infrastructure and care in the NHS reports and mental health.

This problem is easily solved if we pay attention to which of the basic human institutions are not being met.

Dear mayor, you don't need to be an architect/engineer to pay attention to small structural details of a residence that impact the physical and mental health of its residents.

Review the "duty of care" policies that the Councils are applying to the population. Basic human rights such as sleep and place for preparing their food are being criminally violated in this community.

NHS is overwhelmed, many rough sleepers prefer to back to streets rather than remain in temporary housing due lack of care, administration.

Continue on next comments...

As we know, Rough sleeping is caused by lack and breakdown of mental health services and lack of housing and/or greed of landlords. The people who rough sleep are not the cause. I think the definition should in someway reflect this. 

The definition is sufficient and captures enough of the matter to be supported in its existing wording.  As to what 'ending rough sleeping means to me' i would say it meant we had moved a little nearer a just society where socio-economic resources were rationally shared according to the principle of 'from each according to their means to each according to their need'.  That would apply to housing and accommodation as it would to all material and intellectual resources be they health care, cultural production or formal education.

best wishes 

steve

Rough sleeping costs London in lots of ways. For rough sleepers themselves itis a terrible experience. NHS A&E wards have to treat the alcohol and drug-related illnesses of rough sleepers.  If you are rough sleeping you aren't in the labour market or able to enroll on a course any more.  Rough sleeping is easily solvable - it was actually solved during the pandemic (Channel 4 News report).

By helping first time buyers more, this would free up some social housing for homeless people.  Possible return people back to there countries.

My thoughts on this are. A scheme must be created, that will help communities, resident's who are experiencing homelessness or who doesn’t have a place to live at first place, genuinely keen people who would like to move into temporary or permanent accommodation. 

This scheme must decide whatever this people who are experiencing homelessness are genuine or by they own choice. Including their health wise  and other important key points. 

In order residents and citizens of Britain get help at first. 

And not all the world should come and enjoy cup of tea if you know what i mean. 
I work a lot in the community, and I can see that especially young generations suffering from the impact of a high rent, high prices and it makes their life so much harder. 
Please do help each other. And be good to people. 

I agree with the definition. To implement this adequate funding to provide support to prevent homelessness and support rough sleepers is required accross all London boroughs. Strong housing policies are required to ensure adequate housing is offered. This include clear definition of minimum size and regulation of rent: a 9 metre square bedroom with a shower should not be charged at the 1 bedroom rate. Being on benefits should not exclude people from accessing decent housing. Sufficient funding should be given to homeless charities and essential social care services and council in receipt of RSI funds should be monitored adequately to ensure they are spending those funds appropriately and supporting projects they commission with the funds they get granted.

Ending homelessness means to stop putting people at risk of loosing their home: 

STOP allowing housing associations and developers to increase rents and service charges by more than the inflation rate, STOP Councils increasing Council tax by 10% and

STOP energy companies making  billions  increasing energy rates and standing charges by more than the inflation rates several times per year!! 

The minimum wages is not sufficient to pay the rents and rates. WAGES should be set to go up in line with rents and rates.

STOP supermarkets profits to go to wealthy shareholders 

TAX THE RICH AND THE ELITES instead of BLEEDING honest working classes
 

A homeless person giving her advice:

Application to 3 Councils for discretionary payment - denied.
Application to JobCenter for a qualification course to return to the job market - denied.
Application to Universal Credit to join a student plan - ignored.

Homeless, unemployed, unassisted.

Result: To not sleep on the streets, I ended up on the sofa of a friend who was also homeless. (Help always comes from people who have the least to offer, I think philosophically).

It was only after a desperate plea for help to a legal angel lawyer that the Council finally placed me in a temporary home where I have lived for over 3 years until now.

(Have you ever tried applying for jobs as a homeless person? I have, and guess what? No one gives you a chance.)

"What does ‘ending rough sleeping by 2030’ mean to you?"

Well, according to my short story above, you all are trying to mop up water from the floor with a tablespoon.

What advice could I give you?

Review your processes before people are left with no option and end up having to sleep on the streets

You have space, there are thousands of commercial buildings built all over the city that are completely empty, convert them into flats and you will have a place to house people.

Both parties will gain money and goodwill status, the company that owns the empty building will finally have an income, and the mayor will solve the problem that has been bothering his planning team so much.

The system creates the problem, homeless people, a simple equation to solve, stop creating situations where people end up homeless.

I looked for several, if not all, of the public agencies that could have prevented me from becoming homeless, today living at the expense of you who pay your taxes.

I am grateful for all of you, really thanks. 

In developing countries we have a public organization called "Public Opinion", have you tried to practice this here?

It would be a great help for you dear Mayor.

Setting up large processing safe houses in each borough with 10-20 bedsits and facility areas eg manned hub, advisory, health, grooming, computer, counselling, art therapy etc  - wide advertising of each house - a paid designated worker giving an informative booklet with various languages to each rough sleeper found or reported and removing the rough sleeper to the processing house in which they may spend several months or longer until ready to integrate into or back into society.  THE KEY HERE BEING THE THOROUGH PROFESSIONAL PROCESSING BEING DONE IN THE SAFE HOUSE.

I agree with the wording. I see many rough sleepers every day on my journey to John Lewis, Oxford Street. It’s always the same people and has been for months. I am in Oxford Street at around 6:30 am and they are all starting to “pack up” their belongings and move on. 
I don’t know how its possible to break this circle as it surely cannot continue.

I agree 100% with Breakz, the key issues for me being lack of social housing, lack of private sector rent controls, plus lack of support for mental health and addiction issues. Homelessness has a public cost too, in terms of policing, provision of homelessness services such as they are, pressures on the health and social services through health and addiction issues, and the negative impact on a civic environment already degraded through lack of public investment - let alone the human and economic cost of damaged lives unable to make their own contribution to society. I would like to see the accounting of these existing costs to the public purse before this society and/or government decides it is too costly to help the homeless. 

Ending rough sleeping will only be realistically possible when we have a national approach to provide affordable accommodation to everybody, when we have a robust mental health service available to assist those in a crisis, when we challenge and equip those with substance abuse issues to change their life, when we properly fund police so they are fully able to tackle crime and anti social behaviour, when fathers are not so easily cut out of their children's life just because of relationship breakdown, when private landlords are properly regulated, when harassment and abuse are taken seriously and addressed immediately, when victims of crime get justice quickly, when UK workers rights include sick pay for all and better care for workers dealing with chronic illness, when health care opportunities are not a post code lottery, when minimum wage is actually enough to live on, when we invest more in youth work and young people, when crime is reduced, when you make it illegal for landlords to impose unfair rules like banning their tenants from having any pet at all, because all of these things contribute to homelessness and rough sleeping.

I dont think ending rough sleeping will ever be achievable given the current housing crisis which is only set to rise and the lack of mental health care for long term conditions will be getting worse, but there are many reasons for homelessness that aren't in these brackets and you cant possibly save them all without serious money and effort.

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