The power of peer mentoring
In this challenging time, it is more important than ever to look after your own mental health, as well as look out for the people around you. Here, we are highlighting the incredible work of our volunteers. During lockdown they have adapted how they work to carry on supporting our vulnerable clients with their mental health. Physical or mental health problems can be both a cause and consequence of homelessness. At St Mungo’s we take a holistic approach to mental and physical health, addressing these issues alongside each other. We run mental health dedicated services in Bath and our Building Bridges to Wellbeing programme empowers people to use their experience of managing their mental health to help others. Building Bridges to Wellbeing has a peer mentoring service where volunteers use their own experience of living with mental health challenges to help and support clients to improve their wellbeing, confidence and mental health. These volunteers, known as Peer Mentors, work on a one-to-one basis with their clients. They support them to explore how to make small changes, look at their interests and options available, hopefully enabling them to link with their community by joining groups or courses, planning and supporting them to make small steps towards this goal. Mentors use their own experience of living with mental health challenges to build this relationship and share useful tools and resources. However, due to safety guidance and Government restrictions relating to Covid-19 pandemic, this was no longer possible. Our peer mentors have adapted quickly to the Government’s measures and put in place a new way to support clients remotely. Our clients are now being supported by regular wellbeing phone conversations with their peer mentor, some have even started using video link calls, to share resources and encourage positivity in regards to exploring things they can engage with. We are working with local partners, to distribute wellbeing packs that include activities, puzzles and techniques to help with any mental health difficulties arising during lockdown. What is it like being a part of the programme? Two of our mentors, Zoe and Dena share why they got involved with the Building Bridges to Wellbeing programme and what it means to them. Mentoring has given me back a purpose. Zoe wanted to get involved with peer mentoring following her own personal battle with mental illness after the breakdown of her marriage and working long hours at a job in social care. Through various drug treatments, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and the support of her family and friends, she’s been feeling stronger and felt that she wanted to give something back. I absolutely love what I do and I like to think I’m making a difference to those during the various stages of their journeys. After weeks of training, Zoe was matched with first mentee and has since been a peer mentor for five different people, supporting them with their own stories. She feels lucky to be able to support those in need during this difficult time, especially through uncertainty and loneliness in isolation. She hopes that her mentoring will lead to permanent position in a mental health setting. In these current times, everyone is prone to be feeling unsettled, scared and, at times, lonely, and this particularly true for vulnerable and isolated people. Dena, a fellow peer mentor wanted to help because she believes that mentoring and helping others is one of the key wellness techniques. I think the real power of peer mentoring is empathy. Following access to excellent resources and training through St Mungo’s, Zoe works with our clients, having a weekly a non-judgemental chat and providing support and information on the different kinds of self-care methods available that could make a difference to the client’s mental health. People can gain such reassurance and peace from simply hearing “I understand” from someone that they know really does. Mental Health Awareness Week Hosted by the Mental Health Foundation, Mental Health Awareness Week takes place from 10-16 May 2021. The theme is Connect with Nature.
Having difficult conversations about death
Andy Knee from our Palliative Care team writes about having difficult conversations about death and provides a few ways that may help having them a little easier. Though death happens to everyone, many of us have not spoken to anyone about our concerns, fears or wishes when it comes to our end of life. This may be because we don’t want to. Or it may be that we haven’t thought about discussing it before. Or we don’t know who we could talk to. It may be that we prefer to just focus on the here and now, or have suffered so much that we cannot face talking about it. The nature of homelessness itself presents many barriers: complex needs, trauma, substance misuse, living on the streets and multiple health conditions. As a result many individuals live for the moment, prioritising needs in the present rather than focussing on what care they might hope for in the future. It maybe the fear of facing our own mortality. Perhaps our fears could be turned around? Instead of fear, maybe we could focus on what we want. For example, what would living well look like? Maybe we can turn fear into hope? Talking about hope when someone is approaching the end of their life may seem like a strange concept, but in having these conversations it enables us to have discussions that identify a person’s wishes and preferences. Those who are homeless are no different and we all deserve to die with dignity and respect. Someone once told me that by accepting death they were able to embrace life. Some might say this is a strange thing to say. But death is a natural part of life. What can we do? This is a difficult question to ask. We may think to ourselves “I don’t have the skills. I’m not an expert” or “I don’t know what to say. I might make things worse!” and this is perfectly natural. So here are a few things that may help. We shouldn’t be afraid to talk. We don’t need to wait until we are sick, before we talk about dying. We may all chose to speak to different people about our fears, concerns, wishes and what’s important to us, be it friends or health professionals. Talking about what would happen should our health get worse, will not make it happen – it may make us feel more in control. Parallel Planning: Hoping for the best, but planning for the worst. By using parallel planning we are maintaining hope, but are ready for the worst case scenarios. We have those difficult conversations, but always maintain hope. Our life, our choices: To try and ensure we are treated as we chose towards the end of our lives, we may choose to have our wishes written down (for example: What music we like? How we would like to be remembered?) Making our voice heard: we can decide how we want to be cared for including refusing treatment if we wish. Dying Matters Week 2021 This year’s Dying Matters Week is 10-16 May and will focus on the importance of being in a good place to die. More information on the week here.
A chance to end rough sleeping that must not be missed
Our Head of Policy, Campaigns and Research, Beatrice Orchard, reflects on the unprecedented and impressive response to the coronavirus pandemic so far and outlines what the Government must do to protect people experiencing homelessness during the crisis. Daily life has been turned upside down by the coronavirus pandemic. High streets have closed for business and the Government has told everyone to ‘stay at home’, except in some very limited circumstances. But for people who are sleeping rough, this is impossible. The Government was quick to recognise the issue and put some measures in place, including allocating £3.2 million to help councils get accommodation for people sleeping rough to self-isolate. Ministers sent a clear message to all councils that everyone sleeping rough must be urgently supported into appropriate accommodation. The response from councils, homelessness charities and other partner agencies has been unprecedented and impressive. Rightly so. So far our teams have supported more than 700 people who were sleeping rough or in emergency accommodation to self-isolate safely in hotel rooms and other self-contained accommodation. And we will continue to help many more in the days and weeks to come. However, this task is not simple because it’s about more much more than just getting people indoors. People need support to be able to follow public health advice. The provision of food and medicine is obviously critical, but so is support to cope with boredom and isolation, as well as poor mental health, drug and alcohol problems and domestic abuse. Which is why it is good to hear about thoughtful responses in local areas, such as Brighton and Hove where televisions and games consoles are also being collected to help people who are feeling isolated. There has been great progress to date. But there is much more to do. To truly protect everyone from coronavirus the Government must to do more to recognise the specific needs of every individual who is homeless during the current crisis. That’s why we’re calling on the Government to: Ensure everyone can get suitable accommodation and stop more people ending up on the streets by: Continuing to support council and charity outreach teams to help people sleeping rough, or staying in night shelters, get into housing or hotel accommodation. Despite enormous efforts, there are still hundreds of people on the streets. Helping councils to support everyone who needs it to get help. We are hearing that people who might have been sofa surfing before are starting to end up on the streets as this option becomes more difficult. The Government should send a clear message to councils that everyone at risk of, or already homeless, must be found suitable temporary accommodation, regardless of the rules which normally apply, such as local connection, priority need or intentionality. Ending the exclusion of some migrants from being able to get help by suspending ‘no recourse’ rules that restrict access to publicly funded support for the duration of the pandemic. Global travel restrictions mean no one can be expected to return to another country while the pandemic is ongoing. The Government has already suspended evictions from Home Office accommodation for asylum seekers, but must now ensure everyone living in the UK is entitled to homelessness and welfare assistance if they need it, regardless of their immigration status. This is vital for preventing more people from sleeping rough during the crisis. Meet the needs of women who are homeless. Women are more likely to be ‘hidden homeless’ due to sleeping out of sight for safety and avoiding male dominated services where they are at risk of sexual violence. Councils should provide safe, women-only accommodation and specialist support for women sleeping rough, and at risk of doing so, during the crisis. Provide more funding to support people in temporary housing or hotel accommodation and ensure no one returns to rough sleeping. It is essential that homeless people accommodated during the crisis are not left unsupported, and it will take skilled and specialist teams to support people to find and maintain longer-term housing beyond the crisis. Funding for services providing this type of support had been cut by £1bn since 2008-9. The Government must be prepared to provide additional funding to ensure no one has to return to rough sleeping. It’s absolutely right that efforts to accommodate people sleeping rough are driven by a focus on saving lives during this public health emergency. No one should be more likely to die from coronavirus simply because they are homeless. More than this though, the efforts that we are seeing now represent a unique chance to end rough sleeping once and for all. Let’s work together to make sure that opportunity is not missed. Keep up to date and help us continue to put pressure on the Government during these unprecedented times by signing up as a campaigner. If you see someone sleeping rough, please let StreetLink know so they can help connect them to local services. Or in a medical emergency call 999.
Our Women’s Strategy turns 1
Today is International Women’s Day, and Cat Glew, our Women’s Strategy Manager, celebrates the first anniversary of our Women’s Strategy, and shares details of our exciting projects for the year ahead. Today, on Sunday 8 March 2020, the world is celebrating International Women’s Day – and St Mungo’s is celebrating the first birthday of our Women’s Strategy! A lot has changed in 12 months at St Mungo’s and beyond. Across the world and in our services, women are facing challenges to their rights and their safety that we can’t ignore. The UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) has published a new Gender Social Norms Index warning that progress towards gender equality is slowing worldwide. Nearly nine in 10 people across the world hold some bias against women. The data showed that half of men and women think that men make better political leaders, and four in 10 think men make better business executives. Twenty-eight per cent of people think it is justified for a man to beat his wife. Progress is possible, even if it does feel far too slow. Last week saw the return of the Domestic Abuse Bill to Parliament, more than two years since it was first introduced. Along with the commitments to tackle rough sleeping made by the Government, the new bill offers a once in a generation opportunity to make sure the voices of women who are homeless and sleeping rough are heard by those in power. What’s changed since the launch of our Women’s Strategy It has never been more important to build alliances and partnerships with women’s organisations so that our clients can have access to the specialist support they deserve. This year, we were delighted to be awarded funding from the Homeless Link Ending Women’s Homelessness Fund for a partnership project led by Standing Together Against Domestic Violence. The Safety by Experience project will develop bespoke tools for homelessness services working to end violence against women. We’ll be working with clients to ask what safety advice they would give other women in homelessness settings, and with staff to create tools that fit our services much better. We’ve also made progress towards our Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance accreditation this year. We’ve got new domestic abuse training and e-learning available for staff, along with an updated domestic abuse policy, quick guide, posters and leaflets. The Women’s Strategy work has focussed this year on our core challenge – creating an environment of physical and emotional safety for women, who are at disproportionate risk of harm from those they love and trust. But as the strategy enters its second year, it’s also time for a positive celebration of the strength and resilience of our female clients and women’s services.
The Government wants to end rough sleeping, is it going about it the right way?
Last week the Government released new figures on the number of people sleeping rough in England. Our Head of Policy, Campaigns and Research, Bea Orchard, takes a deeper look at the figures. It’s not unusual for election promises to be greeted with scepticism, and perhaps many took this view of the Conservative Party manifesto commitment to end rough sleeping. It’s still very early days, but since the election in December there have been some positive signs the Government is determined to achieve its target of ending rough sleeping by 2024. The Prime Minister has made two visits to homelessness services in London to talk about the commitment, the Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI) Fund has been extended and expanded beyond 2019/20, and last week a further £236m was announced for ‘housing first style’ accommodation to support up to 6,000 people away from sleeping on the street. The annual rough sleeping statistics for England were also published last week, providing an opportunity to scrutinise progress so far, and the distance still to travel. What do the latest rough sleeping statistics tell us? The statistics show the number of people estimated to be sleeping rough on a single night in England in autumn 2019. They show a 9% decrease taking the total number from 4,677 in 2018 to 4,266 in 2019. This is the second year in a row the number has fallen, which is something of a relief, given the truly shocking rate at which rough sleeping had been rising since 2010. However, the number of people sleeping rough on a single night in 2019 is still 141% higher than in 2010 when the current method for recording rough sleeping was introduced. A more detailed look at the statistics suggests some of the measures taken by government as part of the Rough Sleeping Strategy are having a positive impact. 244 local authority areas have now received some funding from the RSI Fund since it was introduced in March 2018 and overall these areas reported a 12% decrease in rough sleeping in 2019, compared to the previous year. While rough sleeping in the 73 areas without any funding has continued to rise. Not all areas in receipt of RSI funding reported a fall in the number sleeping rough locally. And only 50% of areas in receipt of funding for the first time in 2019 reported a decrease. This should be a reminder that services supporting people to find and keep a home take time to set up, and that new and expanded services are likely to find people who weren’t getting any help before. However, it should also be a reminder to government that funding for outreach services and short-term accommodation can only do so much when wider factors such as cuts to council budgets, housing benefit and a shortage of social housing mean more people are pushed into homelessness in the first place and struggle to get the long-term support they need to recover. How helpful are the statistics? The statistics are widely criticised for not offering a more accurate account of the total number of people sleeping rough over the entire year, rather than on one night. What they do offer is a useful indicator of the relative size of the problem and particular trends which can be monitored over many years. This is essential for holding the Government to account and keeping ministers focused on ensuring a significant, sustained reduction in the number of people exposed to the dangers of sleeping rough. Can government action end rough sleeping? St Mungo’s is calling on government action to end rough sleeping because we know it can be done. By 2010, 20 years of government action meant the end of rough sleeping was in sight. We also know that since 2008, nearly £1bn has been cut from vital homelessness services. Services that provide specialist one-to-one support to help people cope with complex problems like poor mental health, substance use and domestic abuse, and prevent people from sleeping rough in the first place by helping them before they become homeless. If the Government is going to end rough sleeping in a sustainable way, then it needs to restore funding to the levels invested before the financial crash and ensure that this funding is maintained long-term. This is why we are calling on government to invest an extra £1bn every year in services that prevent homelessness and end rough sleeping and ring-fence the money so it can’t be spent on anything else. 726 people died while sleeping rough or in emergency accommodation in 2018. The consequences of not taking further action to prevent homelessness and end rough sleeping should be unthinkable. We’re certainly not planning to let the Government lose sight of its commitment on this crucial issue.
LGBTQIA+ Network: Emma’s experience
Emma joined St Mungo’s in the Strategic Asset Team and has also been an active member of our LGBTQIA+ Network ever since. In this blog, she tells us what the network means to her, reflects on the importance of, and shares a powerful poem on, LGBT History Month. When I came to work for St Mungo’s, I was astounded on my first day at the obvious dedication to diversity and inclusion. I have never worked anywhere before where they were so inclusive, and it blew me away. I felt like a weight had been lifted off me; here, finally, was a place where I didn’t need to hide parts of myself to fit in, somewhere I wouldn’t be asked stupid and intrusive questions, and I wouldn’t face judgement. I was so excited, I even took a picture of the notice up on the toilets about using whichever bathroom made you more comfortable and text it to a loads of friends, gushing over it (I’ll be honest, they didn’t quite understand my excitement). I was excited to work for a company that had been consistently recognised by Stonewall, and that showed such acceptance of all different types of people, and celebrated these differences. I wanted to be a part of this, which is why I volunteer to help for as many events as I can, even if my contribution is just a poem. When I then learned about how many different diversity networks there were, I immediately contacted the ones that fit me, that meant the most, and one of these was the LGBT+ Network. I can’t put into words how it feels to know there are other people in the office that, like me, are proud of their sexuality and want to encourage others to be the same. It’s an amazing feeling to not feel so alone. Despite growing up in Greater London, I didn’t know that many openly LGBT+ people in my area in my younger, formative years. I knew experimenters, a few gay guys (from whom I have experienced some of the worst bi-erasure in my life), and I was bullied for being unapologetically bi in an all girls’ school. To get into my early adult years and be able to work somewhere so accepting, with a network of people like me – words don’t do the feelings justice. So when it comes to LGBT+ History Month… The reason it’s so important to me, like everything else meaningful in life, is multi-layered. For a start, I have a degree in history, have always loved it, and always believed that we have to know the past in order to be best prepared for the future. We do, as a species, tend to repeat patterns of behaviour, and being able to recognise these patterns can stop us from repeatedly making the same mistakes. There’s the corny reason out of the way. Another reason – probably the most significant – it’s so important to me is because it is humbling and uniting to look back at who fought and sacrificed so that I could enjoy the freedoms I have. And yes, the fight is not over, we still haven’t achieved the aim of complete acceptance, but we are in a much better position than we were even five years ago. I look back at what others achieved, despite the mountainous obstacles they had to overcome, and it makes me feel better about the biphobia and bigotry I have to face, and I know that things will get better. Knowing what all these amazing people did for us inspires me to be better, do better, do more for my community. It makes me want to fight, raise awareness, be a safe space, and hopefully inspire others to do the same. LGBT History Month gives us the opportunity to highlight these people, what they gave in our past for a future they didn’t know of, and I hope they inspire others like they inspired me; to be unapologetically yourself. Rainbow You marvel at the beauty Of a rainbow that paints the sky Wondering how such brightness Can be birthed from a storm And yet question our colours And our tempestuous struggles When you, ancient perpetrator Are the rains and winds The lightning and the thunder Trying in vain to dim us And then claim it does not exist But we weep not for we are protected By each other under the umbrella A shelter which has expanded over years Shielding many from the hail storm Of insults and phobia, words and actions Seeking to break our blossoming community But we are family, connected by shared experience Ready to fight and defend all Who don’t stick to monochrome Across the fields of years gone by, I see An army of multi-coloured flags Sauntering forward with self-determined righteousness Hearts and souls covered in blood and tears But hands free from the stain Never looking back, but never forsaking the rear view And I march with them We remember and honour all Who could not be here today But whose courageous actions Paved the path we have walked thus far And now we, blessed by their inception Must continue through the dense jungle Until all the world is painted In the brightest colours of joy And the Old World Bigoted, prejudiced and cruel Is trampled underfoot A festival or light and colour Acceptance of every shade Waiting to greet us In the dawning of the New Age Find out more about Diversity and Inclusion at St Mungo’s.
Knocked Back: A tragic loss of human potential
Our Knocked Back report revealed that at least 12,000 people who are homeless are missing out on potentially life-saving drug and alcohol treatment. Oliver Standing, Director of Collective Voice, reflects on the report’s findings. Collective Voice is the national alliance of drug and alcohol treatment charities, whose members collectively support 200,000 people every year. A substantial proportion of these people will not only be dealing with a substance misuse problem but with other areas of severe and multiple disadvantage, including homelessness. For this reason, we welcome the publication of St Mungo’s latest report, Knocked Back, highlighting the growing prevalence of drug and alcohol use by people sleeping rough, and its increasingly tragic consequences. It will be sadly unsurprising to many in our sector to read that drugs and alcohol caused the deaths of 380 people sleeping rough in 2018 (over half the total number of people who died). But we must remain shocked and appalled at this growing public health crisis, and stay resolute in our ambition to reach the huge numbers sleeping rough who desperately need treatment but at present are not getting it – 12,000 people according to the St Mungo’s report. Every year people in the substance misuse treatment sector anticipate with sickening dread the latest drug death statistics. And with every year in recent times bringing more bad news, the dread only increases. In 2018, we know that hundreds of people sleeping rough died as a result of drugs or alcohol. The total number of drug related deaths are even higher, at 4,359. That’s the largest amount since we started counting in 1993 and a 16% leap from 2017’s figures. Those statistics alone make for disturbing reading. But what’s really disturbing are the human stories behind the statistics. Our communities have lost fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, who will no longer fulfil the promise their parents saw in their bright eyes as children, will no longer laugh or love. These are not just numbers, but a tragic loss of human potential. It can sometimes seem hard to determine the real-world impact of public policy making. But surely the seemingly unstoppable increase of this particular type of death marks a clear and significant failure of the public policy and political leadership necessary to protect a very vulnerable group of people. When it comes to people who use drugs and sleep rough we can’t ignore stigma as a factor. When people are dying on our streets from conditions we know how to treat we must ask ourselves the question — what is different about this group of people that allows this to happen well into 21st century Britain? The most frustrating aspect of this? That the evidence on what works is so very clear. We have a world class compendium of evidence in our “Orange Book” and multiple NICE guidelines. We have a substance use workforce not short of ambition, compassion and expertise. It’s welcome to see St Mungo’s Knocked Back report make clear the link between homelessness and drug related deaths. It demonstrates how some substance use outreach services, so vital in reaching people sleeping rough, have been lost in the blizzard of local authority cuts. While in 2013, local government was handed the responsibility for commissioning life-saving substance misuse treatment services, but it was asked to do so with one hand tied behind its back. In the eight years to 2020 local government has lost 60 pence in every pound it received from national government. It’s welcome to see the report stress the importance of close partnership work across the domains of severe and multiple disadvantage. People’s challenges simply do not resolve into the neat concepts such as ‘substance use’ or ‘mental ill health’ we use to think about the delivery of public services. On the frontline, practitioners have of course always known that partnership working across those boundaries is essential. The same can be said for service-managers, commissioners and Chief Executives. National programmes such as Fulfilling Lives and MEAM are making robust coordinated attempts to bring together these services at the local level. These are all to be welcomed. In the sector, we have the compassion, ambition and expertise to meet the needs of a great proportion of the people we support — we just lack the resource. The government’s new addictions strategy and monitoring unit should both be unveiled this year and will provide important opportunities to drive much needed change. I implore the government to set out an ambitious plan for preventing further deaths through the delivery of adequately funded evidence-based services — and I know that effective partnership between the substance use and homeless sectors will be essential in supporting the delivery of such a plan. Read our Knocked Back research. Find out more about Collective Voice.
Calling on the Government for Housing First, not housing only
The centrepiece of the new Conservative Government’s commitment to end rough sleeping is an expansion of the Housing First scheme. Dave Wilson, Impact & Evaluation Officer, shares some new research about St Mungo’s own Housing First services and discusses how they offer a potential solution to our rough sleeping crisis. It was easy to miss it, but the major parties made big commitments on homelessness in this election. The Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats all gave manifesto pledges to eliminate rough sleeping – the most extreme and dangerous form of homelessness – from our streets altogether. As the dust settles on the result, one of the things we at St Mungo’s have been thinking about is how the new Conservative government will deliver on their pledge to end rough sleeping by 2024. The Conservative manifesto makes it clear that the government sees an expansion of Housing First – an internationally proven approach to tackling rough sleeping – as a big part of the answer. And so, now seems like a good time to share the work we have been doing recently about some of our own Housing First services, in Brighton and Hove, and Westminster. An in-depth look at how Housing First operates in the UK Housing First services look quite different to conventional homelessness services. In Housing First, individuals who are sleeping rough are given direct access to independent accommodation without going through a homeless hostel or shelter. From there they are offered intensive, holistic support from support workers. Study after study has shown Housing First to be a very effective solution to homelessness. But much of this research comes from the US and the housing system and homelessness services work very differently there. We wanted to explore in more detail what Housing First looks like in practice in a UK setting. Our new research, published this week in partnership with the University of Salford, looks at two St Mungo’s Housing First services in Brighton and Hove, and Westminster. Both areas face very similar challenges: an overheated housing market, a severe shortage of social housing and some of the highest levels of rough sleeping in the country. An effective solution, but practical constraints For us, there are three main lessons from the research: Housing First can be an effective solution to rough sleeping in the UK. Both projects work with clients who have chaotic housing histories. In many cases, these individuals had been through and struggled with the system of conventional homelessness services on multiple occasions. But the research found that the Housing First teams were very effective at supporting these clients to sustain independent tenancies. Crucially, even when clients struggled to maintain the tenancy or were evicted, they continued to receive support from their Housing First support worker. This was often an important platform to help them get things back on track. Some of the Housing First principles are compromised by lack of housing options. We learned that there are serious challenges to operating a Housing First service in the form originally intended in these areas. One of the principles underlying Housing First is that clients should have choice and control over where they live and security of tenure. Both of those are hard to achieve in cities where private housing is shockingly expensive and social housing waiting lists stretch thousands long. Partnership working is key to success in Housing First. Clients in Housing First services often have a range of complex, interrelated needs. Support is most effective when it is provided by a skilled, multidisciplinary team covering specialisms like drug and alcohol treatment, mental health and employment skills. The model is at its best when it is Housing First, not housing only. It is also vital for services to cultivate good relationships with private sector and social landlords. The research highlighted this in Westminster in particular, where all Housing First clients were able to access secure social accommodation via a single housing association, Sanctuary. Housing First should be part of a wider strategy to tackle rough sleeping Last year, the government announced £28 million of new funding for three Housing First pilots, in the West Midlands, Liverpool and Greater Manchester. Our research strengthens the case that Housing First is an effective solution to rough sleeping, and we welcome these schemes. But we also know that Housing First works best if the wider environment is right. £1 billion has been cut from vital homelessness services in the past decade. There is a lot of ground to make up to ensure everyone sleeping rough has the right, tailored package of support for them. That is why we are calling on the government in our Home for Good campaign to take the bold action needed to end rough sleeping for good. Firstly, it must ensure an adequate supply of social housing. Secondly, it must make the private rented sector more secure and more affordable. And thirdly, it needs to provide long-term guaranteed funding for homelessness services. This includes Housing First, but it should not be limited to it. More Housing First is a good idea, but without these wider changes, the Government will not be able to follow through on its pledge and end rough sleeping for good. Read the full report and our summary.
What must be done to prevent homeless deaths
Following the news of an increase in deaths among people who are sleeping rough or in emergency accommodation, Rory Weal, Senior Policy and Public Affairs Officer for St Mungo’s, discusses what must be done to combat this rising trend. Today we heard the news that 726 people died while sleeping rough or in emergency accommodation last year. This is a 22% increase compared to 2017, the highest year to year increase since the Office for National Statistics (ONS) started publishing these figures six years ago. These figures should shock and shame all of us. The figure of 726 means that someone dies while homeless every 12 hours – that’s the equivalent of two people a day. Moreover, these deaths are overwhelmingly premature and entirely preventable – the mean age of death was 45 for men, and 43 for women. To have so many people die in this way, in such discomfort and distress, failed by so many is nothing short of a national tragedy. But this is not the sort of tragedy where we simply pause, pay our respects, then move on, bemoaning the wretched luck of a particularly unfortunate group of people. It is the product of collective choices and decisions, and should be regarded as a national emergency, one which needs urgent action. The context to these figures is that rough sleeping has risen by 165% since 2010, the result of years of funding cuts which have devastated crucial services and the unavailability of genuinely affordable housing. More people are sleeping rough, which exposes them to a greater range of harms – a premature death being the greatest. To stop people dying on the streets we have to stop them living on the streets. We need to build homes, to make the welfare system truly work for the most vulnerable and to fund homelessness services to help people find a way off the streets, and out of danger, for good. And we must also tackle the direct causes of death – the figures show the majority of deaths are so-called ‘deaths of despair’, the result of drugs, alcohol or suicide. Drug related deaths in particular have soared in recent years, and account almost entirely for the increase we’ve seen last year. Just as housing and homelessness services have become harder to access, so too have drug and alcohol services, leaving many people languishing with serious drug and alcohol problems and going without the support they desperately need. We still have a situation where most of these deaths will never result in a Safeguarding Adults Review, the legal review process for deaths which have occurred due to abuse or neglect. As a result vital lessons are going unlearned. We now need a new national system to review each and every death. As we consider what we need to do to tackle this emergency, we must remember each and every life that has been prematurely lost in recent years. At St Mungo’s, to commemorate those people who died while homeless, our clients, alongside staff and supporters, have together hand made hundreds of origami flowers, in tribute to lives needlessly lost. The most fitting tribute of all, however, would be meaningful government action to prevent future tragedies.
“I will remember it forever”
Tomorrow a group of St Mungo’s staff, supporters, volunteers and clients are hiking up Ben Nevis. We spoke to Naz, who has been living in St Mungo’s accommodation for four years. He tells us why he wanted to climb Ben Nevis. What made you want to climb Ben Nevis? My support worker asked if I wanted to climb Ben Nevis, he said it was brilliant so I agreed to do it. I think the idea behind it is amazing. It is a big achievement, climbing a mountain. Hiking is something that people do as a kid and a lot of people here have missed experiencing in their younger lives due to different circumstances. It is what people need for their morale. I will remember it forever as I have never climbed a mountain before. Do you think it will help your recovery? It already has, even during the training walks I feel better. Why did you want to do it? For one, it is a change of environment. Secondly, it makes you feel like you are actually doing something for St Mungo’s instead of just using it as a housing association. It is rebuilding your life, and now I have recovered I want to take every step to rebuild my life. I also want to network as I like the team at St Mungo’s. I want to get into the sector. I have helped myself but I don’t really feel like I have achieved much until I help other people. What are you looking forward to at Ben Nevis? The sense of achievement and the need for encouragement of other people. I want to help people during the climb, even if it’s just by talking to them. I also look forward to the effect of it after; being able to say that I have climbed a mountain with St Mungo’s. I haven’t really been conscious about things St Mungo’s do. I have been distracted by my lifestyle. When you change your life, you want to meet new people. St Mungo’s slogan is rebuilding lives, and I am one of those people who have. In September to mark our 50th year 50 clients, staff members and volunteers join staff from our sponsor Tokio Marine to take on the highest peak in Britain. Find out more about our Ben Nevis hiking challenge.
