Why our capital city has such high rates of rough sleepers
WALK around Cardiff city centre and the issue of rough sleeping is impossible to miss.
Tents, people asleep in doorways and begging are all common sights in the heart of the capital.
It is an issue that hit the headlines last week, with the Echo reporting how businesses on St Mary Street have called for urgent action to tackle the problem of drug-taking, anti-social behaviour and drug-taking outside their premises.
Of course, it is by no means just a Cardiff issue – it is UK-wide.
But figures reveal that the capital has particularly high rates of rough sleeping – even higher than other larger cities like Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool.
We have broken down the data and spoken to experts to help explain why rough sleeping is so prominent here.
The city is very high on the list of UK towns and cities when it comes to the number of rough sleepers per 10,000 households.
This is also the case for Wrexham Wales’ largest town.
Outside of London, whose numbers dwarf everywhere else, Wrexham is the highest with almost 10 rough sleepers for every 10,000 households. Cardiff lies in third place just after Oxford.
It means Wrexham and Cardiff have higher rates of rough sleeping that large cities like Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool.
In terms of the actual numbers of rough sleepers, Cardiff has around 100 rough sleepers and Wrexham has 57, according to the most recent figures.
The figures across Wales and England show a pretty bleak picture regarding the total amount of rough sleepers.
The last decade has seen an enormous increase in rough sleeping in the UK.
Experts have blamed an erosion of public services for this increase.
In a recent damning report, Philip Alston, the United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, wrote that “austerity policies have deliberately gutted local authorities... eliminated many social services, reduced policing services to skeletal proportions, closed libraries in record numbers, shrunk community and youth centres, and sold off public spaces and buildings”.
He added: “It is hard to imagine a recipe better designed to exacerbate inequality and poverty and to undermine the life prospects of many millions.”
So why does Cardiff have so many rough sleepers?
The fact a city has a large amount of people sleeping rough does not necessarily mean that there is poor provision for rough sleepers in the city. It can actually mean the opposite.
There are a range of factors that make Cardiff such a hotspot for rough sleeping.
One of these is where the city is located. Richard Edwards, the chief executive of the Huggard Centre in Cardiff, which has been helping rough sleepers in the city for 30 years, said Cardiff’s size compared to its neighbours is a key factor.
He said: “It is a mixture of reasons. We have a high population in Cardiff than the surrounding area. Cardiff has a large catchment area.
“It also has a combination of traits that rough sleepers are attracted to.
“Because it is a capital it is seen as more likely to have employment and housing.”
The figures back this up with up to 40% of rough sleepers in Cardiff coming from outside the local authority area.
In addition to employment and housing, the layout of Cardiff makes it easier for people who beg to make money.
Mr Edwards said: “If a person is dependant on street culture activities [begging, sex work or shoplifting] for their livelihoods then Cardiff is also desireable.
“It is also quite a nucleated city. It has quite a small city centre. It is about a square mile and people are drawn into a small area for shopping, entertainment and employment.”
This poses the question of whether it is really financially worthwhile for someone to come into the city to beg.
According to Mr Edwards, the potential return is demonstrated on match days when people who are not rough sleepers will beg in Cardiff.
He said: “We see a huge increase the number of people begging when there is a match day in town. The fact street culture draws people in when the are not homeless shows the attraction there is and how much could be made.”
So, what can be done to tackle the problem?
Homelessness, rough sleeping and the associated anti-social behaviour is a complicated problem and the solutions are not simple.
However one potential solution that services have been crying out for is drug consumption rooms.
The Huggard, for instance, is restricted by the law over who it can help.
For instance, if someone has drugs, or tries to take drugs on the premises, staff have to ask them to leave.
This is because under the Misuse of Drugs Act of 1971 you cannot “facilitate somebody taking illicit substances” and could, in theory, be prosecuted for doing so.
Many, but by no means all, rough sleepers have drug issues. It is therefore not an issue of not being able to find accommodation, it is not being able to sustain accommodation.
Significant research suggests that providing rooms for people to take drugs would make a real difference to helping people but it is seen as a controversial move, with the government refusing to consider the matter.
■ How boxing project is helping homeless get back on their feet:
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