An estimated 106 people bedding down on the streets of Birmingham now risk ‘deadly’ conditions as temperatures plummet over winter
Some choose sleeping on the streets over a crisis shelter because they’re trying to avoid being around other addicts (Image: Harry Leach)
Scores of people face a grim Christmas and risk ‘deadly’ conditions on the streets of Birmingham as temperatures plummet to freezing this festive period.
New data shows record numbers of rough sleepers were counted for this time of year in England. An estimated 9,292 people were seen sleeping rough across England in September – 299 more than in the same month the previous year, and a 76 per cent increase from the 5,287 rough sleepers recorded in September 2021.
Although the figure here in Birmingham has remained fairly stable, bucking the national trend, an estimated 106 people were still bedding down on the streets in September.
Read more: l slept rough in a Birmingham car park and it opened my eyes to a harsh reality
That’s compared to an estimated 108 rough sleepers the previous year, and 110 rough sleepers counted in 2021.
In Birmingham, the rough sleeping rate – the number of people sleeping on the streets when compared with the size of the population – is much lower than in other big cities.
For every 100,000 people who live in Birmingham, there were nine rough sleepers in September. That’s much lower than in other big cities such as Bristol (36 rough sleepers per 100,000 people), Liverpool (32), and Manchester (23).
It is also the equivalent of about one in every 11,000 people being homeless and sleeping on the streets of Birmingham.You can see how many people are sleeping rough where you live using our interactive map.
Francesca Albanese, executive director of policy and social change at Crisis, said: “With temperatures dropping to freezing in winter, thousands of people across the country will be facing the terrifying prospect of sleeping on the streets, or finding shelter from the cold.
“Rough sleeping is extremely dangerous all year round, but a night spent in freezing temperatures can be deadly.”
In London, more people are sleeping on the streets for longer periods of time as rough sleeping increases across the country, she added.
“This current situation is deplorable,” she said. “We have to do more to help people escape such poverty and destitution, and move onto a life beyond homelessness.
“In the next few weeks the UK Government can have an immediate and decisive impact by publishing an ambitious strategy to end homelessness.
“We really need this strategy to improve coordination across departments, better prevent homelessness when people leave prisons and hospitals, and stop people from losing their homes in the first place.”
A homeless man in St Martin’s Queensway tunnel(Image: Harry Leach)
In England as a whole, the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government say the numbers of people sleeping rough “are at record highs for this time of year”.Of rough sleepers in September, 37 per cent had been sleeping rough long term, and 31 per cent were new to sleeping on the streets. The overwhelming majority were male (81 per cent), and from the UK (78 per cent).
The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) has now urged the government to roll out the Housing First model – an intervention strategy that provides immediate, permanent housing to people experiencing homelessness, alongside wraparound support.A CSJ report found that Housing First is “three and a half times more effective in enabling people to secure and sustain permanent housing than conventional homeless services”.The CSJ estimates that Housing First could take 5,571 people off the streets by 2029/30.
For every £1 invested in the programme, up to £2 would be returned to taxpayers through savings to services like the NHS, homelessness outreach, temporary accommodation and criminal justice.
The CSJ report said: “Housing First has been shown to be the most effective and well-evidenced intervention to end homelessness for Britain’s most disadvantaged and entrenched rough sleepers.”Responding to the latest rough sleeper figures, Matthew Torbitt, senior fellow at the CSJ, said: “These figures are a savage indictment if one was needed that we’re still failing too many people who are sleeping rough.“From first-hand experience, I know the only way to help someone off the streets for good is to provide a safe and stable home alongside the right care and support. That’s why it’s vital that Housing First sits at the heart of the Government’s upcoming homelessness strategy.”
Have you been affected by homelessness? We would like to hear from you. You can contact us by emailing stephanie.balloo@reachplc.com