Trevor is too scared to sleep in a tent at night, like the others who sleep poorly.
He sleeps on a park bench or in the doorway. Is safer.
“Some people come and set your tent on fire,” he tells me.
He says no one closes their sleeping bags or tent doors in case they need to escape quickly.
This shocking story of the dangers faced by being homeless on the streets of London doesn’t seem to shock Trevor. It’s just part of life, he says.
“There’s no point reporting it to the police, they won’t do anything.”
At 53, Trevor has been homeless for almost a decade.
Trevor usually sleeps on a park bench or at the door
Entry and exit from temporary accommodation, night shelters and hostels. He says he is tired.
But he is also fed up with what he sees as a long series of broken policy promises that have failed to resolve Britain’s worsening housing crisis.
“All governments have always said they would solve this problem. But none of them did,” he says.
Trevor is right. Because the latest numbers are clear and reveal a worsening of the situation.
In the run-up to the elections, all political parties promise to resolve the problem.
A ‘source of national shame’
The annual rough sleeping snapshot provides the government’s estimate of how many people slept rough on a given night in autumn 2023.
It shows that 3,898 people were sleeping rough across England, a 27% increase on the previous year.
And the number of people sleeping on the street is now 61% higher than it was 10 years ago.
The Conservatives defend their registration despite failing to meet their 2019 manifesto promise to build 300,000 new homes a year.
Broken political promises that failed to tackle Britain’s worsening housing crisis
While the Labor Party says it wants to build 1.5 million new homes in its first five years in power.
But, crucially, there is no target for the number of social or affordable homes Labor would build.
And this is key to easing the housing crisis, according to Matt Downie, chief executive of homelessness charity Crisis.
“The scale of rough sleeping is now a source of national shame. It is a sign of extreme inequality and should prompt a rethink at the highest levels of government,” she says.
Trevor has been homeless for almost a decade
“It cannot be overstated how inhumane it is to sleep on the streets. Through our frontline services, we hear directly from people who have been spat on, urinated on or attacked simply because they do not have the security of a safe home. .
“To reduce these numbers, we urgently need Westminster to put long-term funding into proven solutions. We need to see a commitment to building the levels of social housing we need every year.”
For Trevor, who is desperate to find a place to call home, the sums don’t add up.
In his area of Brent, north-west London, rooms rent for more than £1,000 a month. He came to a crisis center for help.
But they are busier than ever, explains operations manager Nick Bradshaw.
Nick Bradshaw says the crisis has seen a 40-50% increase in the number of people coming to them for support
“Over the last six months, we have seen a 40-50% increase in the number of people reaching out to us for support. Which is huge,” says Bradshaw.
“We’re seeing a lot more older people in their 60s, 70s and 80s who are in unsafe accommodation, who can no longer afford to stay there or who are couch surfing.”
An increase in the number of homeless elderly people
This increase in the number of older people needing help is worrying charities like Crisis.
Older people may be more vulnerable, have health problems, and be more difficult to house because they may have less financial stability.
Homelessness among people aged 65 and over increased by 13% last year. Now almost 14,000 people are homeless or at risk of homelessness, according to the charity Independent Age.
Cleon Riley, 67, has been homeless since the death of his partner
In the center, I meet 67-year-old Cleon Riley, who has lived in this area all her life.
He told me that his partner died last month and that the landlord wanted him out of the apartment they shared.
“The owner changed the locks and I was left on the street,” he says.
He told me that one landlord wanted £1,000 for a room. He cannot allow this. So he has been sleeping in a night shelter and roaming the streets during the day.
This center is full of people who have been let down by the housing system. Most people here tell me they feel forgotten.
But there is one thing they can do to make their voices heard.
‘I have no faith in politics’
In the kitchen area, homeless people are urged to register to vote in this election.
Trevor is looking over the forms he needs to fill out to voting on July 4th.
Trevor hasn’t voted since Brexit
He says he always tried to vote. Brexit was the last time he went to a polling station.
“I don’t have much faith in politics or government. I don’t think I’ve been given much inspiration recently,” he says.
And perhaps it’s understandable that Trevor feels this way.
See more information:
Plans to ‘criminalize’ broken homelessness
Homeless families despite empty houses
Nearly a Million Renters Received No-Fault Evictions
Keep up with the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The COVID pandemic and subsequent cost-of-living crisis haven’t just hit the homeless hard. Britons have seen the biggest fall in living standards in a generation and public services are overwhelmed.
I ask Trevor if he will vote. He’s not sure.
“Who am I voting for? Voting for change? What change? I’m 53 years old. Nothing will change for us after this election. It’s like we’ve been forgotten.”
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
