The Rough Sleeping Crisis Is A Moral Emergency - Made By The Tories

While the Covid-19 pandemic continues to seize control of the news agenda, and Tory Prime Minister Johnson and Diet Tory Leader Starmer thrash it out over who can be the most Brexity - which is rather bizarre for a pair of closet Remainers - the domestic agenda hasn’t just been overlooked, it has been completely and utterly abandoned. 

The most obvious example of this neglect from the political class can be found sleeping in shop doorways, multi-story car parks, allotment sheds, and just about anywhere that might provide some short term shelter from the elements. 

The UK has seen a fair amount of snowfall over the last few days, and the forecast ahead suggests temperatures will be hovering around freezing for a while yet. 

Be in no doubt, the rough sleeping crisis was out of control before the arrival of Covid-19. In fact, consecutive Conservative governments have more than DOUBLED the number of people sleeping rough. 

Since the global turn to austerity in 2010, every country that introduced significant austerity has seen its economy suffer, with the depth of the suffering closely related to the harshness of the austerity. 

The ideological austerity that dominated elite discourse five years ago has now collapsed - to the point where hardly anyone still believes it - but the consequences of the huge cuts to public spending are still very real. 

Rough sleeping is the most brutal form of homelessness, but we still do not have a clear picture of how many people are forced to sleep on our streets throughout the year. This is because the government get their numbers based on counting the number of people seen on one night alone. It’s just a snapshot.

This cannot and will not accurately reflect the real scale of the problem. 

While the government claimed some 4,266 humans are sleeping on our cold streets, figures gathered from local councils and homelessness charities indicate the true number is around FIVE times higher. 

I don’t know why, but I tend to invest more of my trust in established charities than I would ever consider investing in establishment politicians. 

Back in April, Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for Richard Desmond, boldly claimed: 

“Our plan to protect rough sleepers has resulted in over 90% being offered safe accommodation”

This was following the government’s ‘Everyone In scheme’, launched in March by Jenrick, which gave emergency funding to help rough sleepers self-isolate in hotels and other housing during the height of the pandemic. 

That 90% sounds impressive, doesn’t it? 

It also makes you wonder why consecutive Conservative governments hadn’t already dealt with the rough sleeping crisis. If a vast majority of people sleeping rough could be housed, or at least offered housing, with such apparent ease, why didn’t David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson do something about it before? 

All three of them have made the crisis demonstrably worse. 

When Boris Johnson was Mayor of London he promised to eliminate rough sleeping in the capital city, by the year 2012, just in time for the Olympics. Instead of eliminating it, he doubled it. 

The 90% figure touted by Jenrick is entirely false, of course. 

Reports of people sleeping rough INCREASED during lockdown. Does this suggest 90% were either housed, or even offered adequate accommodation? No. 

Figures from homelessness charity Streetlink showed alerts by members of the public about people sleeping rough soared by 36% year on year between April and June 2020, reaching 16,976. The rise was particularly pronounced in London where there was a 76% increase, making up a shocking 71% of all alerts. 

Does this suggest 9 in 10 of people sleeping rough were offered some form of accommodation?

No. Of course not. 

The criticism of the government's blatant figure-fiddling also came from the Office for Statistics Regulation, who slammed ministers for a lack of transparency by quoting figures without publishing supporting data. In other words, chatting shit without an iota of supporting evidence - bog standard for this lousy government.

Beneath all of this data and deception are human beings. Mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, children - it could be absolutely any one of us. 

We - and I mean all of us that have compassion for our fellow humans, regardless of politician persuasion - cannot just turn a blind eye to these levels of destitution and suffering. 

I don’t know about you, but I can’t walk past some poor soul, huddled up in the doorway of a vacant shop, shivering cold, without feeling like a little bit of me is dying on the inside. 

There were an estimated 778 deaths of homeless people in England and Wales registered in 2019, an increase of 7.2% from 2018. That’s nearly fifteen deaths, every single week. This colossal number of tragic deaths has more than doubled over the past 5 Tory years.

It is heartbreaking that hundreds of people were forced to spend the last days of their lives without the dignity of a secure home. This is a moral emergency and none of us can continue to stand by - we need urgent action from the government. 

In 2018, the average age at death of people sleeping rough was just 45 for men and 43 for women. This is more than 30 years lower than the average age at death of the general population of England and Wales. 

I’ve done a bit of research, and homeless charity Crisis UK kindly offered me a little bit of advice on what YOU can do to help people sleeping rough. 

A national emergency requires a national response. 

Advice from Crisis UK - 

Snow is falling across the country, leaving thousands of rough sleepers exposed to freezing temperatures. If you see a rough sleeper today there's plenty you can do. 

•If you're in England or Wales contact @Tell_StreetLink - an app and helpline that connects rough sleepers with local services. Details for Streetlink can be found right here.

•If you're in Scotland, contact your local council - you can also contact:

Glasgow - If you see or meet someone you are concerned about you can call the RSVP freephone number on 0800 027 7466

Edinburgh - Streetwork Helpline: 0808 178 2323

Anyone can call their 24hr freephone helpline for immediate advice or support.

•Due to the cold weather, emergency winter night shelters should be in operation. Visit the @HomelessLink directory which lists homelessness services in your area just here. 

•If someone appears to be in immediate danger you should call 999.

If you are worried about someone’s being at risk of homelessness, direct them to Shelter Housing Advice Helpline on 0808 800 4444.

If the person is young you can find advice on the @centrepointuk website just here. 

•Finally, one of the most important things you can do is simply stop and talk to someone. Rough sleeping can be an isolating, devastating experience – a shared word could make all the difference. 

A representative from Crisis UK told me: 

“The other question we're often asked is about giving money directly to people rather than buying them food. We leave the cash issue to an individual's own discretion but suggest they ask the person if they'd like a coffee etc before getting them one. 

We've also found recently that people have started carrying around vouchers for places like Greggs and handing them out instead of cash. Right now, with so many cashless transactions happening, it's a handy alternative to finding spare change.”

You can find out much more about Crisis UK and how you can support their excellent work by clicking on this link. 

I have read some devastating stories putting this piece together. Can you even begin to imagine what it would be like bedding down in the sewers, with the rats, for FOUR MONTHS? 

I have read so many stories that you simply wouldn’t believe to be possible in a country of such vast wealth - a country that is home to more than 150 billionaires. 

This is a national scandal, a national emergency, and by god does it need a national response, because the rough sleeping epidemic already has a vaccine, and it is called “a home”. This disease has been left untreated for way too long. 

It is a stain on the consciences of every single one of us.

Shops, offices, and houses lay empty up and down the land, while human beings are freezing to death on our streets. 

Do you have to be a socialist to find this morally repugnant? 

I sincerely hope not. 

I’m going to finish up with this little poem that I found that was created by a person sleeping rough, named as Jacob.

“All I got is this bag

Tattered and so frayed

One pair of socks to call my own

No place for my head to lay.

Beg for money to buy my food

No fork or knife, man this is crude

I wish I knew what I could do

I should slam a six of booze.

People passing in fine business suits

As if I am not here

“I am a man!” I want to shout

This life is hard to bare.

There is no job to be had

So I sit and hope for better things

I organize my tattered bag 

Whatever it takes to not feel sad.

The sun is setting it is night

My fight has just begun

I pray I won’t freeze before it’s through

Although I wish my life was done.”

We can, and we must put an end to the rough sleeping emergency. 

Take care my friends, the virus is on the march, and our government is in tatters. 

Rachael x

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