ON ANY ONE NIGHT OVER 2,000 PEOPLE SLEEP ROUGH. IN MODERN BRITAIN NO ONE SHOULD LIVE ON THE STREETS.

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COUNTING THE COST2,000+PEOPLE ARE

SLEEPING ROUGH ON ANY

ONE NIGHT1

1 3HOMELESS

PEOPLE HAVEATTEMPTED SUICIDE4

7 10HOMELESS

PEOPLE HAVE HADA MENTAL HEALTH

PROBLEM4

40%OF HOMELESS

PEOPLE USED A&E IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS3

47YEARSIS THE AVERAGE

AGE OF DEATH OFA HOMELESS

PERSON2

6 10ADULTS USING

HOMELESSNESS, DRUG AND OTHER SERVICES HAVE SPENT TIME IN

PRISON, SOCIAL SERVICES CARE

OR OTHER INSTITUTIONS4

79%OF EX-OFFENDERS

WHO ARE HOMELESS ARE RECONVICTED WITHIN ONE

YEAR5

HOMELESSNESS HARMS PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES. HELPING INDIVIDUALS REGAIN INDEPENDENCE AND OVERCOME THEIR PROBLEMS BENEFITS THEM AND SAVES SOCIETY MONEY.

An end to rough sleeping in England is a simple ambition that everyone can share.

Every night someone sleeps on the streets for the first time. Life on the streets is damaging to both the person who is homeless and society.

The longer someone stays out, the greater the risk that they will be trapped on the streets, vulnerable to crime, drugs and alcohol problems, illness, mental health issues and dying prematurely.

But it doesn’t have to be like this. There are steps, both big and small, that individuals and organisations can take to make sure no

one has to make a life on the streets.

A GOAL WE CAN ALL SHARE

I’M HELPING TO END ROUGH SLEEPING BY SHARING MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES TO HELP OTHERS.” Becki aged 24

Becki was just 20 when a domestic breakdown led to her sleeping rough for the first time. Life on the streets was difficult for Becki and she got involved in drink and drugs, and ended up with a criminal record. Becki was referred to Forum Housing and with their support she got a job and a flat, and she finally felt ready to start a new relationship. Becki is currently studying to become a mentor.

Becki says: “I couldn’t have done it without the support of Forum ... I want to use my experiences to help others... if I could say one thing to anyone who finds themselves in a situation like mine, it would be ‘don’t be afraid to ask for help and speak out’.”

BECKI’S STORY

Traumatic experiences in childhood, mental health issues, drug or alcohol problems, time spent in institutions, such as prison, and a history of offending can all play a part.

Before people become homeless, they will often have had contact with health, social care and criminal justice services.

The longer someone spends on the streets the worse their problems are likely to get and the harder they can be to overcome.

BEFORE PEOPLE BECOME HOMELESS THEY WILL OFTEN HAVE HAD CONTACT WITH HEALTH, SOCIAL CARE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES.

62%HAD SPENT

TIME IN PRISON, CHILD CARE OR OTHER

INSTITUTIONS70%HAD

EXPERIENCE OF DRUG OR

ALCOHOL PROBLEMS

98%HAD

EXPERIENCE OF BEING HOMELESS

67%HAD A HISTORY

OF STREET ACTIVITIES SUCH

AS BEGGING, PROSTITUTION,

AND SHOP LIFTING

A SURVEY4 OF PEOPLE USING HOMELESSNESS, DRUG AND OTHER SERVICES, FOUND THAT...

47% HAD A HISTORY OF ALL FOUR OF THESE

UNDERSTANDING THE ISSUE

FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH BEING HOMELESS WITH COMPLEX PROBLEMS...• Being male

• Being aged between 20 and 49 years old (especially 30s)

• Having experienced physical abuse or neglect, not enough to eat at home, or homelessness as a child

• Having parents who experienced drug, alcohol, domestic violence or mental health problems

• Having negative experiences of school, including exclusion and truancy

• Having lived on welfare benefits for most of their adult life.

To tackle rough sleeping once and for all, we need to focus our energy on steps to ensure that:

No one new to the streets should spend a second night out

No one should live on the streets

No one should return to the streets once they have been helped off them, and ultimately

No one should arrive on the streets.

Whether you’re a police officer, housing professional, business person, politician or a member of the public you can play your part. Join us. Sign up to help end rough sleeping.

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LIFE ON THE STREETS DAMAGES PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES.

Anyone who ends up on the streets should be helped so they don’t spend a second night out.

The Government has called on every area in England to adopt the idea of No Second Night Out.

This means having the right services in place to make sure that:

• New rough sleepers can be identified and helped off the streets immediately

• The public can alert services if they see anyone sleeping rough so they get help

• Rough sleepers can go to a place of safety, where their needs can be assessed and they can get help

NO SECOND NIGHT OUT• Rough sleepers are able to get

emergency accommodation and other services they need

• Rough sleepers from outside an area can be reconnected with their community, where they can be near family and friends, and can get housing and support.

Over 20 communities are already adopting the idea, which involves councils, charities, statutory services and the public working together.

NO ONE NEW TO THE STREETS SHOULD SPEND A SECOND NIGHT OUT.

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Liverpool is the first area outside London to adopt No Second Night Out. Thanks to buy-in from all the local councillors, the Liverpool Region now has a local helpline for the public to call when they see a rough sleeper, and offers a single point of access to housing and health services.

Cllr Anne O’Byrne says: “In recent years we’ve radically changed the way we deal with rough sleepers and we’re taking this approach further with the No Second Night Out campaign.

“It recognises that while there could be hundreds of reasons why a person may spend one night sleeping on the streets or on a park bench, we will do all we can to prevent them spending any more nights there and it becoming an entrenched way of life.”

WE’RE HELPING TO END ROUGH SLEEPING BY BACKING OUR LOCAL NO SECOND NIGHT OUT CAMPAIGN.” Councillor Anne O’Byrne Liverpool City Council

TAKING A STEPLONDON SUCCESS6

In the first six months of No Second Night Out being introduced in central London:

• Nearly 2,000 calls were made to the rough sleeper helpline

• 415 new rough sleepers were helped off the streets and into accommodation

• 70% of new rough sleepers did not spend a second night out

• It was four times more successful than traditional services at getting new rough sleepers into accommodation.

The longer someone spends living on the streets, the more complex their problems can get and the harder they can be to overcome. This is because they have to spend all of their time and effort on day to day survival instead of finding ways to leave the streets.

Sleeping rough for months or years can cause or make worse physical and mental health problems, drug and alcohol abuse and involvement in anti-social behaviour or crime.

These complex problems can result in some homeless people being seen by services as ‘too hard to help’ or it can result in

NO ONE LIVING OUTindividuals consistently refusing offers of help and choosing to stay on the streets.

No one should call the streets their home. To overcome this, we need to work together to make sure:

• The right accommodation is available at the right time

• Tailored help and support is offered that helps individuals build a life away from the streets

• There is cooperation between criminal justice, health, social care and housing services to ensure that opportunities to help people away from rough sleeping and homelessness are not missed.

NO ONE SHOULD LIVE ON THE STREETS.

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Lesley Wingfield works with drug users to reduce the transmission of blood-borne viruses.

Lesley says: “Many of the people I work with are sleeping on the streets and supporting them to battle their addiction is only the first step on their journey to recovery.

“Safe and secure housing is an extremely important element of helping a drug user to stay clean. If I know someone is rough

sleeping I make sure I find out where and I tell other services who we work with where they can be found, so they can pick them up.

“I would encourage anyone who comes into contact with someone who is rough sleeping to do the same – if you cannot directly provide the help they need to get off the streets then make sure you tell someone who can, and follow it up.”

I’M HELPING TO END ROUGH SLEEPING BY SUPPORTING DRUG USERS TO TAKE THEIR FIRST STEP TO RECOVERY.” Lesley Wingfield LifeLine Harm Reduction Service

TAKING A STEP

Helping someone who is homeless to build a better future is not just about providing a roof, it also involves the right support to help them regain their health, find employment and deal with other issues.

All too often, people who have left the streets, leave their accommodation and return to the streets because the right support is not in place or the pull of the streets is too strong.

This is why it is so critical to ensure that the right services are in place to help people stay in accommodation and overcome their problems.

This requires:• A flexible approach to accommodation and

support when people move off the streets• A range of services available to support the

needs of people moving from temporary accommodation into a settled home

• The right amount of support on offer to deal with people’s needs for as long they need it

• Integrated working between health, social care, housing and criminal justice agencies to achieve the best outcomes for each individual

• Support services focused on helping people gain independence and employment.

NO ONE RETURNS TO THE STREETS

NO ONE SHOULD RETURN TO THE STREETS ONCE THEY HAVE BEEN HELPED OFF THEM.

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Forum Housing Association is a specialist provider of supported accommodation to young people aged 16-25.

As well as housing services, Forum also provides support with their clients’ varied and diverse needs in order to prepare them for successful, independent living. They currently work with over 350 young people each week across Wirral, Sefton, Cheshire West and Chester.

Gary Chwalko began his career on the ‘shop floor’ and believes this experience

stands him in good stead in his role at Forum.

Gary says: “It’s easy to get caught up in policy and procedure, but you have to make sure that you keep the needs of your clients at the heart of the work you do. This means looking for the talent and potential in someone rather than focusing on the negative.

“This ideology informs my policy work and has helped young people to help themselves to turn their lives around.”

TAKING A STEP

I’M HELPING TO END ROUGH SLEEPING BY SUPPORTING HOMELESS PEOPLE TO USE THEIR TALENTS.” Gary Chwalko Forum Housing, Wirral

NO ONE SHOULD ARRIVE ON THE STREETS.

Ultimately, no one should have to sleep rough. Today we understand more than ever the causes of homelessness and at which points individuals have not got the help they should have from services.

We are also seeing an increasing number of migrants, predominantly from European countries, living on our streets because they have been unable to find work or their job has fallen through.

Voluntary and statutory services need to work together to prevent rough sleeping locally.

If local authorities and their partners are to better plan and commission services that will identify opportunities to prevent rough sleeping, they need to:

• Use better local evidence to inform new prevention strategies

• Understand where those at risk of rough sleeping go for help and ensure effective advice and support is in place

• Get health, social care and criminal justice agencies to see the prevention of homelessness as part of their work

• Work with Government, boarder agencies and partners abroad to prevent migrants being exploited and ensure they are aware of what could happen if they come to the UK without somewhere to stay

• Target preventative support at the points which can be a precursor to someone starting life on the streets – including where people who have migrated here for work find themselves without employment.

NO ONE ENDS UP ON THE STREETS

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I’M HELPING TO END ROUGH SLEEPING BY PROVIDING MEDICAL EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT HOMELESS PATIENTS’ HOUSING APPLICATIONS.” Dr Nigel Hewett Pathway Homeless Team, UCL Hospitals

Dr Nigel Hewett runs a dedicated team that aims to support homeless people admitted to hospital. The service was set up in response to evidence that being homeless impacts on people’s health and can result in frequent use of A&E and a greater chance of

being admitted to hospital.

“We recognised that we were not doing the best by rough

sleepers admitted to hospital. We realised that their stay presented an

ideal opportunity to get their needs

properly assessed and to work with them to plan for life after hospital.

“UCLH now checks the housing status of patients upon admission. Homeless patients are assessed and a care plan is put in place in partnership with other agencies.

“Because we took action, we’ve reduced the length of time many homeless patients stay in hospital and more have somewhere to stay once they leave, as well as ongoing support in the community. This has not only benefited them but in the long-term has saved the NHS significant sums of money.”

TAKING A STEP

THE COUNTRY WILL HAVE SUCCEEDED IN ENDING ROUGH SLEEPING WHEN...

• The right help, at the right time, prevents homelessness before it begins

• No one is left out or lives on our streets

• Anyone who is homeless is supported to take control of their future.

KNOWING WHEN WE’VE ARRIVED

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Notes

1. DCLG Rough Sleeping Count and Estimate 2011 (February 2012)

2. Crisis, Homelessness: a silent killer (2011)

3. Homeless Link, The Health and Wellbeing of people who are homeless: findings from a national audit (2010)

4. Tackling homelessness and exclusion: Understanding complex lives (2011)

5. Ministry of Justice, Compendium of re-offending statistics and analysis (November 2010)

6. No Second Night Out: An evaluation of the first six months of the project, Broadway and University of York (2011)

TAKE YOUR STEP

FIND OUT ABOUT A STEP YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO TAKE OR TELL OTHERS WHAT YOU’RE ALREADY DOING...

WE’RE HELPING TO END ROUGH SLEEPING BY OFFERING ADDITIONAL EMERGENCY

ACCOMMODATION AT OUR HOSTELS.”Jon Cox Head of business development, Two Saints

I’M HELPING TO END ROUGH SLEEPING BY MAKING SURE MY PATIENT HAS

SOMEWHERE TO STAY.”Pamela Campbell Consultant nurse, Southampton

Published by Homeless Link 2012.

© Homeless Link 2012. All rights reserved.

Homeless Link is a charity no. 1089173 and a company no. 04313826.

I’M HELPING TO END ROUGH SLEEPING BY WORKING WITH SERVICES TO ADDRESS

HOMELESS PEOPLE’S HEALTH AND SOCIAL NEEDS.”Nicola Glassbrook Health Inequalities Programme, Devon