The Homelessness Trap By Jason Harris & Kelsie Storey
No home = no job = no money = no bank account = no benefits = no home = no job = no money… This is the homelessness trap and the difficult-to-break cycle for many of the homeless on our streets today. National homelessness charity Crisis estimates that last year around 227,000 people across England, Scotland and Wales were experiencing the worst forms of homelessness – rough sleeping, sleeping in vans and sheds, and living in limbo in B&Bs.
Homelessness is difficult to quantify. There are many different types of homelessness. One method of counting how many people experience homelessness is keeping track of how many households contacted councils for help with homelessness, known as ‘statutory homelessness’. English councils helped 268,560 households to prevent or relieve homelessness between April 2020 and March 2021.
How are the homeless being helped in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole? For some of us, when we see a person in need asking for spare change, a natural reaction is to reach into a pocket or handbag for some loose change but this isn’t necessarily the best solution for a number of reasons. Many rough sleepers will not be able to access a bank account because without a permanent address it’s almost impossible to open one. By giving cash, the homeless person can’t bank it and has to keep the money on them increasing the risk of being robbed. But a more common problem is that often cash gifts don’t really help to lift the person out of poverty they act more as plasters stuck over an open wound giving temporary relief rather than long term healing. Cash can also be used to fuel addictions.
Contactless Giving Points - a positive alternative to cash giving
Recent quarterly counts have shown a fall in the number of households requiring support from councils to help with homelessness. More than 67,000 households needed help between July and September 2021 in England, down four per cent on the same period in 2020. However, there has been a surge in the number of households with children living in temporary accommodation. Almost 10,000 households were staying in B&Bs, hostels and other temporary accommodation between July and September 2021, up 15 per cent on the same period in 2020. As the cost of living continues to rise and inflation bites, there’s the real possibility that more and more people will find themselves unable to pay all the household bills and facing eviction from their homes.
What are the main reasons for homelessness? There are a number of reasons why a person may find themselves homeless such as: the need to flee a dangerous living situation; being evicted from a rented property; loss of employment or funds and even a breakdown of a relationship. In some cases homelessness can be a preventable issue and there are a number of initiatives and resources in place to assist those in need.
10
B H Living
b h livin g .co .uk
Contactless Giving Point at HSBC Bournemouth
BCP Homeless Action Collaborative are a group of local charities and businesses that have linked up with the council to help tackle the issues around homelessness. One initiative that they’ve come up with is ‘Contactless Giving Points’. These allow people to tap their payment card or device onto a secure hotspot in a shop/bank window to make a set donation of £3. These Contactless Giving points can be found at Central Library, HSBC Bournemouth, YMCA Westover Road and Hope & More Southbourne but this is just the beginning with many more being rolled out over the coming months.
@bhlivingdorset
bhlivingdorset
bhlivingdorset
