Morethan100 slept rough in city last year

MORE than 100 people in Dundee slept rough last year before seeking help to find a home.

Figures released by the Scottish Government show that 105 homeless applicants in the city slept rough the night before applying for housing assistance with the council in 2016/17 — more than two a week.

The rate — which represents 8% of all applicants — is the third-highest of all councils in Scotland.

Mike Corinder, founder of the Eagles Wings Trust, which helps homeless people in Dundee, said there was “a wide range” of reasons people end up sleeping rough.

He said: “One reason might be that the building where people have to go to apply for accommodation is in Pitkerro Road and quite a distance from the town centre. This may lead people to say, ‘I won’t bother’.

“Other people maybe haven’t got their benefits sorted out yet, so feel they have to sleep rough as they think they can’t access accommodation.

“Some guys have said that they will go to a homeless centre and people knock on their door at night or disturb them in some way and they would rather sleep rough in the city centre instead.

“Then you have sofa surfers who are staying with friends. We find that people get fed up having someone staying with t hem and t hey eventually have to move out and are homeless until they get sorted.”

Mike said there were a few places people go to sleep rough.

He said: “Some people sleep in shop doorways, some in church doorways, while others go to abandoned buildings. We’ve met folk who were sleeping in bin sheds, multi-storey car parks, and communal closes.

“We met one guy who moved from town to town, sleeping in a tent. He said he liked his freedom. That is pretty unusual though. Ultimately, if someone finds a place suitable, they would prefer that but some struggle to hold down accommodation of their own.”

The council’s Homeless Advice Line is 0800 6335843.