preston homeless speak out
TRANSCRIPT
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
Preston Homeless Speak Out
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)
Page 1
Preston Homeless Speak Out
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.
Page 2
Co
mp
lex
Nee
ds
Fra
gmen
ted
, O
verl
app
ing
and
Co
nfu
sin
g se
rvic
es
Preston Homeless Speak Out
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