Rough sleeper numbers ‘far higher’ than official claims YMCA: Number of people on streets may be four times higher
THE number of people sleeping rough in Birmingham is much higher than official figures show, according to one of the heads of a charity trying to get people off the streets.
The rough sleeper count published by the Government in January suggested there were 57 rough sleepers in the city, up from 55 in 2016.
But this only captured a small part of the problem, according to Peter Stephenson, assistant chief executive of the YMCA in Birmingham.
He said: “Unfortunately nobody really knows the scale of under-counting. But services that deal with rough sleepers know they deal with a lot more people than the official statistics would suggest.”
Rough sleeper figures are published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, based on surveys conducted by local councils.
Officials and volunteers take to the streets overnight and count the number of rough sleepers. But this inevitably means many rough sleepers are missed, said Mr Stephenson.
He said: “Those who do the rough sleeper counts do their best. But certainly, if I was rough sleeping, I would try to sleep somewhere where I am not going to be seen, somewhere where I am not going to be assaulted or urinated on or whatever else might happen to you if you are rough sleeping. So you would tend to hide.
“The rough sleeping teams will know a lot of these places, but in a city the size of Birmingham I doubt they even find a quarter of the actual numbers. That is purely a guess, I have no evidence to back it up other than my sense of the scale of the problem.”
The problem had got worse in recent years because of funding cuts, he said.
“It has steadily got worse over the years, but certainly the last eight or nine years it has massively escalated, across the country but particularly here in Birmingham.”
Catching people early according to the YMCA.
Only a small proportion of homeless people are sleeping on the streets. Others might be staying with neighbours or friends or relatives, and help at this stage can ensure their problems don’t get worse.
Mr Stephenson said: “One of my concerns is that politicians understandably focus on the very visible bits of homelessness, the rough sleeping and the begging. But we need to be dealing with on is key, all kinds of homelessness. People don’t immediately leave wherever they were accommodated and sleep on the streets. “Usually there is a process of decline. “What I would like to see is people being caught at an early stage, before they develop drug or alcohol problems, before mental health problems start to get well entrenched because of the trauma and difficult situation people find themselves in.”
Mr Stephenson welcomed the Gov-
In a city the size of Birmingham I doubt they even find a quarter of the actual numbers
ernment’s announcement that the West Midlands is to be one of three pilot areas receiving funding as part of a new scheme to cut homelessness, based on the Housing First project that has already been successful in other parts of Europe.
Up to 225 rough sleepers in the West Midlands could be helped into permanent homes thanks to the £9.6 million cash grant.
The money will be used to move homeless people straight into a supported property, bypassing hostels and bed and breakfasts.
It means they are more settled and able to secure medical services and benefits, get training or a job, and better respond to treatment for addictions.