“AT LEAST 50% OF ROUGH SLEEPERS ARE STILL OUT”: HOW THE PANDEMIC HAS AFFECTED THE HOMELESS
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“Stay home, stay safe”, they say. But, what about those who don’t have a home?
Crouched in the corners of the usually busy, but now empty London streets, weary-eyed and disheveled-looking men and women look up at mask-clad passers-by scurrying past them to the nearest supermarket. With the pandemic in full swing, no person would risk offering money or food to the homeless anymore.
“I’m a rough sleeper (or was 3 weeks ago),” mentions David, a homeless man who recently moved into a government-funded hotel during the pandemic.
In March, when the pandemic was at its peak, the government offered £3.2 million to councils to help get England’s rough sleepers off the street. The emergency funding helped 5,400 homeless people get a temporary roof over their heads.
“I’ve been in a hotel for 3 weeks and it’s really easy to fall out of stream. The government-funded the homeless charities, but that will end soon (the leases on the hotels are only till the end of May), but I was one of the lucky ones. At least 50% of rough sleepers are still out. It really depended on what borough you were in”, says David.
A story published by The Manchester Evening News mentioned that a leaked report to the region’s combined authority revealed that the emergency scheme known as ‘Everyone In’ would soon be ceased. However, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government denied these claims and mentioned in their blog that they had been clear that councils would continue providing safe accommodation to all those who needed it.
The blog also went on to state the taskforce’s primary objective: “To ensure that as many people as possible who have been brought in off the streets in this pandemic do not return to the streets”.
In the meantime, charities such as Shelter and The Salvation Army UK have taken special measures to battle homelessness during the coronavirus outbreak.
The charity Groundswell has developed a number of resources such as templates and flyers on coronavirus which are being handed out to people who are sleeping rough or residing in temporary accommodations such as hotels and hostels.
These short and accessible guides are in line with the current guidance from the NHS England, Public Health England and the Department for Work and Pensions and have been aimed at spreading awareness and helping the homeless understand the coronavirus better.
Another charity called Under One Sky initiated an Emergency Food Initiative on 4th April 2020. Ever since this initiative began, a group of volunteers have been walking the streets of London every night, delivering free meals to all those people who have been denied accommodation by the government and have continued sleeping rough on the isolated streets of the capital.
With more than 5000 meals being handed out so far, volunteers of the charity have said that the meal provided by Under One Sky was often the only meal they ate every day. In addition to this, the economic crisis brought about by the virus seems to have pushed out more people onto the streets.
Other initiatives organized by religious organizations such as churches and Sikh charities have sparked a glimmer of hope in the lives of the homeless. Trafalgar Square has seen long lines of people waiting in socially distanced queues, not to visit the National Gallery but to collect food.
In an article published in the Independent Catholic News, Anthony Doran, from the lead parish, Farm Street in Mayfair said, “These people need our support. People don’t realize – with this lockdown – even most public toilets are closed. When the weather is warm it’s not so bad – but when it starts raining its miserable out there.”
However, the homeless man David has a different take on the issue:
“That queue you see in the press queueing for food aren’t rough sleepers. I’d rather die than queue up for the SWAT. They’re the fauxmless. 200 people in the queue? Maybe 10 are on the street.”
David also emphasized there was a huge difference between ‘surviving’ and ‘living’ on the street. “There’s a common misconception about the street homeless, we’re not the pathetic sat in a sleeping bag begging stereotype. Most don’t drink, do drugs, claim benefits, or steal. That’s surviving on the street. I live on it. There’s a pretty big difference.
By Madhuri Ramesh
