preston homeless speak out

Ho

w W

e D

id T

he

Res

earc

h

A small group of members of the homeless forum took responsibility for designing

and carrying out this consultation. We decided to use a focus group method, where

small groups of people who shared a similar experience of homelessness could talk

in depth about their lives and the way they used local services. Each group was led

by a facilitator using a common but flexible topic guide to structure the discussion,

assisted by a note taker who recorded the conversation. Almost all the leaders at-

tended a special briefing / training session to plan and practise.

The seven groups that gathered together covered experiences of rough sleepers, sex

workers, hostel residents, young homeless, women escaping domestic violence,

families and drop in users. Between them they were able to offer feedback on a

range of services from soup kitchens and drop ins, to housing advice, supported

tenancies, health services, alcohol and drugs counselling and the police and on

both statutory and voluntary and religious organisations.

Preston Homeless Forum

c/o The Foxton Centre

Knowesley Street

Avenham PR1 3SA

Wh

at C

an b

e D

on

e? O

ur

reco

mm

end

atio

ns.

Th

e fi

rst

is i

nfo

rmat

ion

sh

arin

g an

d

effe

ctiv

e p

artn

ersh

ip w

ork

ing

so t

hat

ho

mel

ess

peo

ple

are

no

t lo

st i

n a

bew

il-

der

ing

jun

gle

of

ser

vice

s an

d a

gen

cies

.

Th

e id

ea o

f a

on

e st

op

ser

vice

fo

r h

om

e-

less

peo

ple

wh

ere

ho

usi

ng,

hea

lth

, b

ene-

fits

, em

erge

ncy

su

pp

ort

etc

can

be

ad-

dre

ssed

at

a si

ngl

e p

oin

t, p

erh

aps

usi

ng

a si

ngl

e k

ey “

asse

rtiv

e o

utr

each

” w

ork

er

or

per

son

al m

ento

r, d

oes

see

m

wo

rth

y o

f fu

rth

er i

nve

stig

atio

n.

Th

e se

con

d i

s th

e n

eed

fo

r a

hu

-

man

an

d p

erso

nal

ap

pro

ach

to

peo

ple

, tr

eati

ng

them

as

a va

luab

le

and

wh

ole

per

son

wit

h e

mp

ath

y,

care

an

d w

arm

th.

All

sta

ff c

an

mak

e an

eff

ort

an

d a

ll o

rgan

isa-

tio

ns

can

set

ex

pec

tati

on

s fo

r i

nte

r-

acti

on

wit

h h

om

eles

s p

eop

le,

if

nec

essa

ry b

y a

cust

om

er s

ervi

ce

po

licy

an

d a

pp

rop

riat

e tr

ain

ing.

Homelessness is not a single or simple

problem that can be solved simply by

finding a property where they can live.

There are also hard questions to ask about

services or responses that simply allow

people to survive on the streets in the

chaotic lifestyles to which they have be-

come accustomed.

There are too many things we would all

like to be able to do but which are impos-

sible under current legislation, policy

frameworks and resource limitations.

We’d all like to make much more afford-

able housing available, and provide all the

support that people need, but we live in a

less than perfect world.

However there are a couple of things that

come out clearly where services could be

improved at relatively little cost.

Fin

ally

, co

mm

un

icat

ion

sta

nd

ard

s co

uld

be

imp

rove

d t

o m

ake

mo

re f

req

uen

t an

d

mea

nin

gfu

l c

on

tact

wit

h h

om

eles

s p

eop

le,

and

en

suri

ng

they

hav

e go

od

up

to

dat

e

info

rmat

ion

on

th

e p

rogr

ess

of

thei

r ca

se.

Co

nsu

ltat

ion

wit

h s

ervi

ce u

sers

has

pro

ved

val

uab

le f

or

this

rep

ort

an

d

sho

uld

be

con

tin

ual

ly d

evel

op

ed .

Phone: 01772 555925

E-mail: [email protected]

Comments on this report are welcome

For information on homelessness and

services in Preston see our web site

ww

w.h

om

eles

sin

pre

sto

n.b

tik

.co

m

More houses available for people with

children, conditions of property to be

improved before moving in.

Temporary houses available for people to

go into whilst waiting for permanent

accommodation, rather than hostels.

Phone numbers that can be called from

mobiles for free .

Some sort of mentoring where someone

who has been homeless could guide some-

one else through the process. A central

point where people would know to go

first, a shop converted into a Central

point. Should be open at least Mon-Fri

but 7 days a week would be better .

I

dea

s F

or

Imp

rove

men

ts

(

com

men

ts f

rom

par

tici

pan

ts i

n f

ocu

s gr

ou

ps)

There should be more council/housing

association properties available.

There’s plenty of closed pubs that could

bed people.

Getting a plan together for the homeless,

like an action plan of what everyone is

going to do.

Find us something to do.. to keep us off the

drink . maybe some jobs voluntary that we

could do..

Blankets for the homeless, hats and gloves,

churches to be opened up for people to stay.

Mick Activities… every homeless

place they’ve got ping pong and

pool and maybe a pack of cards..

.maybe it would keep them in a

place for a bit longer and away

from drugs or drink…

Barry Women.. you need women

there

Mick Women.. is the ruin of every

man

Barry I said “swimming!”

Facilities for the weekend ….you do not

stop being homeless over the weekend.

Page 4

Preston Homeless Speak Out

We

are

Hu

man

Bei

ngs

To

o!

Homeless People experi-

ence stigma at the hands

of members of the public

and often perceive preju-

dice and lack of concern

from staff in statutory

agencies that are supposed

to help them

.

We sit on the street and we

get called tramps, and we get

spat at, “go and get a job”..

it’s not nice. That’s what we

got to put up with.

We felt like we were treated

as rubbish, no customer ser-

vice, not kept informed, too

long waiting for repairs.

People talked about vary-

ing experiences perhaps

depending on the service

they tried to access and

whether it “delivered” for

them, perhaps on the way

they were treated by a par-

ticular staff mem

ber on a

particular day, and per-

haps as a result of their

expectations and the way

they behaved or

“presented” when they

tried to access a service.

I was putting myself as home-

less but they were just like

‘next’, their attitude stunk

However, a general view is

that they want to be

treated as a human person

not just as a statistic or a

case or even a “service

user”.

When people are treated

with dignity and offered

personal warmth they re-

spond well and appreciate

it, especially if it leads to a

positive

change in their

situation.

I was made to

feel very wel-

come and was given a leaf-

let which gave me a lot of

contact numbers and names

of services. I used a soup

kitchen. I had a very good

experience and everyone has

been very kind, supportive

and constructive. I used

Health Team who are won-

derful and have helped me

immensely

Wh

y th

is R

epo

rt?

January 2009


A report from Preston Homeless Forum

Several spoke very posi-

tively about particular

agencies and/or named

workers who had given

high quality support and a

friendly attitude.

Residents generally felt they

had been treated well by agen-

cies and especially at (the

housing project) itself .

During the autumn of

2008 Preston Homeless

Forum with the support

of Preston City Council

organised a consultation

process with people who

are, or had recently been,

homeless in the city.

The main aim was to al-

low homeless people

themselves to have a voice

and to tell us about their

experiences. In particular

we were looking for feed-

back and comments about

how the range of services

in the city are performing.

Are they treating people

fairly and with respect and

sympathy, and are they

providing effective help

for people who are in

severe need?

We hope that by gather-

ing these views, and publi-

cising them widely

through this report, that

the various agencies seek-

ing to serve people who

are homeless will rise to

the challenge of improv-

ing their services.

We hope it will encourage

the groups making up the

Preston Homeless Forum

to work more closely to-

gether in order to make a

real difference in the lives

of homeless people in our

city.

“I a

m a

pe

rso

n no

t a

co

llect

ion

of

mis

s-m

atc

hed

ag

end

as,

to m

ov

e o

n

I ne

ed

to

be

ide

ntifi

ed

as

a h

um

an

be

ing

” (

com

me

nt f

rom

Se

x W

ork

er)

I do

n’t

go

to

any

of

the

m (

off

icia

l org

ani

sati

ons

)

be

cau

se t

hey

loo

k d

ow

n a

t yo

u. T

he d

iffe

renc

e t

od

ay

wa

s w

hen

the

lass

ie c

am

e d

ow

n th

e s

tre

et

she

ta

lke

d

pe

rso

n to

pe

rson

so

I lis

tene

d (

Ro

ug

h Sl

ee

pe

r)


Many of the people we spoke were not

simply homeless or roofless. Rather

they were excluded from mainstream

society by a complex range of overlap-

ping problems, which might include

•

relationship breakdown

•

poverty and debt

•

worklessness

•

low education and skills

•

illness or bereavement

•

alcohol or drug addiction

•

mental health problems

•

repeat offending behaviour

•

discharge from care or institu-

tional life

I thought they would

try a little bit to help

me find a flat but they

didn’t, they just said I

have to pay 6 months

rent arrears first.

Since being in Preston I’ve lost three

women.. three of them died.. .. and that’s

why I drink.. it drove me to drink.. so now

I’m sleeping rough.

Barnardos helped me to get my first flat,

but I lost it because of my drug and mental

health situation.

I’m in a Crack House… I need to sell sex

to feed my addiction… I’m forced to buy

drugs from the people who run the place..

….Everything is due to drink.. At one point

I was evicted then I wasn’t, but my head’s

in a turmoil and I don’t know what’s go-

ing on.

So at the best they face being referred

on to one or more other services

across the other side of town. For ba-

sic help such as free food they have to

learn how to make the weekly circuit

around different churches and cen-

tres.

I have used ***** once but a lot of

the work they do for me overlaps with

what I do with ****** so it’s pointless

doing the same thing twice

People who are homeless face a bewil-

dering jungle of agencies that might

help them

, but most of them seem to

offer a single form of help which does

not deal with multiple complex needs.

(Services would improve if you could )

have somewhere in one place instead of

walking here one day and there the next.

There seems to be lots of things on offer but

one does one thing on one day over here

and then one thing over there. And they all

seem to be on the same day Mon/Tue and

then nothing in the week. There’s no like

big plan, not like I’d expect the council to

do owt.– there’s no cohesion everyone

seems to be fighting each other for funding.

Co

mp

lex

Nee

ds

Fra

gmen

ted

, O

verl

app

ing

and

Co

nfu

sin

g se

rvic

es


account. I need to get the money that’s

going into their account.

You try to claim and it takes weeks to sort

it out.. How can you live on crisis

loans? .and if you’ve not got a job you

should be getting benefit of some kind.. but

that they are giving you a loan and then

they are taking in back off you… I end up

begging.. If I get paid I’m off the begging

for a day and then I start again.

I’ve got rent arrears going back years.. they

are taking money off me to pay the arrears

and I can’t get housing because of them. I

didn’t know anything about the arrears

until I applied to the Council for housing..

I’m in temporary accommodation now but

they are still taking money off.. so I’ve had

to work the streets longer.. and I got into

trouble for that.

Lif

e O

n B

enef

its

is T

igh

t

Basic support for someone who is on

their own, workless and roofless

hardly supplies a survival income. The

form filling and bureaucracy seem

impenetrable, and there are numerous

Catch 22 situations. On top of this

come delays, mistakes and stoppages

for breaking rules or to repay earlier

debts. Those who had been housed

often complained of housing benefit

delays

I’m not getting anything.. benefits.. I’m not

signed on for anything.. I got a crisis loan

but they are trying to get my benefits sorted

out.. My money goes into some other body’s

“I get £45 a week and I’m on the

streets but they’ve taken £10. 66

a week off me for water rates..

and I’m on the streets.”

(Rough Sleeper )

Homeless

people appre-

ciate the pro-

vision of drop

ins where

there is

warmth, wel-

come, com-

pany, infor-

mality and

activity.

There is concern that there seem

s no

longer to be any direct access (self

referral) emergency shelter on offer in

Preston.

I would like to see some provision for the

homeless at weekends as those days can be

endless even if it was some sort of drop in.

I rolled up at the shelter and got the only

empty bed, I’ve just filled in forms for Se-

lectmove. I have concerns as when I went

to Fox St I was really down. I wasn’t men-

tally in any fit state to even go to the

Council, never mind fill in forms. You’ve

got to get referrals. They’ve got rooms there

now that have been empty a week whereas

normally they would be filled next day.

But because people have to go through the

Council it’s taking ages. They need to

speed up the process of referring, have like

a waiting list of people to get in so beds are

filled straight away. What do people do if

they’re stuck.

Foxton Drop in…went out of boredom…. it

is somewhere to sit and have something to

eat, advice and support. …. were treated

well, -the staff were very helpful.. . It was

a place to go where we could share experi-

ences with people in similar situations.

Nee

d f

or

Em

erge

ncy

Sh

elte

r

Few

er S

ervi

ces

for

So

me

Gro

up

s o

f H

om

eles

s P

eop

le

When I first came to Preston I felt I got a

lot of help from these places ‘cause I was

under 25. Now I’m over 25 there is a big

difference in the help, even when I was

26/7 the help phased off.

There is a growing awareness that

people deemed to be “high risk” are

not going to be helped with housing.

They do police checks now, but that takes

time, and people get excluded.

They have lists ...you know as well as I do’

and you hear them ask .. is he a junkie . or

an alchie? and “ay he’s an alchie” so you

don’t get in.

This issue of females not being able to

access hostels other than the

Women’s Refuge for those fleeing

domestic violence, was raised by a

number of individuals including a

female rough sleeper. .

Older single homeless people in par-

ticular find it unfair that they can

access less help than under 25s.

“If

you

co

me

to

Pre

sto

n a

ll yo

u g

et

is h

elp

fo

r 1

6-2

5 y

ea

r o

lds.

. The

re is

no

thin

g f

or

any

one

ov

er

25

. “

(Ro

ug

h Sl

ee

pe

r)

Page 3

They give you a form to fill in, but they

need your birth certificate, they need ID,

how can you have ID when you are on the

streets and you’ve got nothing.

The way I look at it. You’ve got all these

places with all their rules and regulations..

I’d rather have my freedom. In winter

people say ‘get yourself into jail, you’ll have

a roof and a bed.. and good meals’.. but

you can’t open the door and walk out in

the fresh air.

Others felt rules in hostels were a

problem

Some people felt rules about nights spent

away from the accommodation were unrea-

sonable though the group did recognize

there had to be some limits on this.

Some of the Rough Sleepers in par-

ticular expressed a strong preference

for freedom and informality rather

than regulations and an externally

structured context. Indeed it may be

that the contrast between “chaotic”

lifestyles and the way most agencies

have to operate is a factor which

makes engaging with people like this

so problematic. There is of course a

power differential to be taken into

account here. Statutory agencies in

particular may have the power to take

away or reduce income, ore even per-

sonal liberty as well as to give or deny

housing opportunities. So caution in

approaching them is understandable.

Project residents generally felt the restric-

tions on visiting were a problem and

wanted less restrictions

We found the arrangements for communal

living difficult when we were in the

women’s refuge.

“Fo

x S

t is

no

t lik

e a

she

lte

r a

nym

ore

, yo

u h

av

e t

o b

e r

efe

rre

d

fro

m t

he c

ou

ncil.

”

(Ho

ste

l Re

sid

ent

)

Ru

les

and

Reg

ula

tio

ns


preston homeless speak out

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