What I would do if I had a magic wand…
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In the run up to World Homeless Day on 10 October, we’re highlighting lots of ways you – and decision makers locally and nationally – can help people who are experiencing homelessness.
Here, Amanda from our team, answers some of your questions about homelessness…
Are days like World Homeless Day important? If so, why?
It’s important as it highlights the issue of homelessness, but for too many people, they experience homelessness 365 days a year and often feel forgotten. So, while we want to use World Homeless Day to raise awareness about homelessness, we also need to make sure it stays at the top of the agenda, as having a home is a basic human right.
What do you think are the key issues for people who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless?
Many people who are homeless struggle from day to day with meeting their basic needs for safety, a roof over their heads, keeping warm and having enough to eat – for themselves and their families. They feel stuck in the system and find it hard to look to a future when they will have their own front door, and this impacts their physical and mental health and wellbeing.
We are living in a housing crisis, and the key issue is that there is not enough affordable, good-quality housing for everyone who needs it, and this is what is resulting in too many individuals and families living in damp and overcrowded homes, or being stuck in bed and breakfast accommodation, having to stay with friends or family or living on the streets.
What changes would make these issues better, or eradicate them completely?
As a country, we need to build more affordable, good-quality homes. We need to reform the financial support we provide to low-income households living in or trying to find private rented accommodation, and require landlords to maintain their properties to higher standards.
We need to end rough sleeping in the UK, and we know this is possible if everyone works together and prioritises this issue; hopefully, the Prime Minister’s recent commitment to this will really help.
People need somewhere to go to receive crisis support, like our day centres in Manchester and Bury, but there is no regular funding for these services from local or national government, and this means we are restricted from providing all the support we know is needed. Everyone should have somewhere local where they can go to get the help and support they need to avoid homelessness or to find a new home if they do become homeless.
What do you wish people knew about homelessness and the people you meet who are experiencing it?
Homelessness can happen to anyone. When we meet people who are experiencing homelessness for the first time, they often say they never thought it could happen to them. Over the years, I’ve met nurses, teachers, plumbers, builders, airline pilots and grandmothers who have all ended up homeless. Each person’s story is unique, but they all share the same hope for a new home, where they are safe, so they can put their lives back together.
If you had a magic wand and could change one thing right now, what would it be?
I would build thousands of new good-quality, affordable homes across Greater Manchester and Lancashire. Until this happens, we are not going to be able to solve the housing crisis and end homelessness.
What could government or key decision makers do better to help local people we work with?
Of course, we need more funding for homelessness services – prevention services, crisis support provided through day centres and good-quality temporary accommodation – but we also need changes in legislation and for government departments and health services to work together to ensure their policies aren’t resulting in more people becoming homeless.
What parts of the services your teams run would people be most surprised to hear about?
Our chess group at Cornerstone is just one of many leisure activities we run and promote, which help people relax, escape their immediate problems and build new friendship groups and support networks. They can beat me at chess, pool, Scrabble and even Connect 4 – which of course they love to do.
You do a lot of work supporting people with their mental and physical health and wellbeing. Can you tell us why that’s important and some of the ways you do that?
Good health and wellbeing are the basis of a good quality of life. People who are homeless find their health and wellbeing can deteriorate rapidly – they find it hard to access services, to keep appointments and to sleep and eat well.
We help people to overcome these problems by supporting people to access health services and, wherever possible, having health professionals come into our services to make it easier for people to be seen. We also run lots of wellbeing activities including gardening, art and crafts, creative writing and cookery.
Are there any stories that particularly stick in your head from the people you work alongside?
Yesterday I was talking to someone in one of our accommodation projects who told me about how he had had a stroke at work, and while he was in hospital, his landlord illegally evicted him. He told me he is just so grateful to have a safe place to stay where he is getting support, and he’s looking forward to moving into a new flat soon.
If people see someone who is homeless in Greater Manchester or Lancashire, what should they do?
Make sure they are getting the advice they need. The local council is probably the first port of call, and there are lots of local advice services that can help too, including our Caritas services. And people will probably appreciate having someone to talk to, as it’s very stressful to be homeless.
How else can people help and support our work?
We depend on donations to continue and develop our work. Every donation helps and can help people to move off the streets, improve their health and wellbeing and find new homes in the community. And we’re always looking for volunteers too.
Read more about our campaign to see an end to homelessness and find out other ways to get involved.