Claimants in debt danger
Homeless hotel resident
You’re always thinking something might kick off and sometimes it does.
“The staff check on you twice a day. It’s supposed to be at 10am and 10pm, but it can be later if they’ve been sidetracked running around. People with addictions in here seem to get special attention. If you don’t answer the door then they use a master key to come in and check you’re all right. We call it the death check.
“People have collapsed from overdoses, and there and the role of health and social c a re. Grant Campbell, director of Crisis Skylight Edinburgh, said: “We’re nervous about the increase in unemployment, what will happen to our benefits system, people struggling with the loss of jobs or their hours are cut or wages are reduced. Undoubtedly, for those who are just closer to the edge of poverty it will have a knock- on effect and you may then see a move towards homelessness on the rise, which would be utterly tragic.
“It’s the just- about- copers, if you’re just about managing to make ends meet. have been deaths – not all down to drugs, a lot of people aren’t in good health.
“I don’t look too far to the future, I just try to get through each day but every day is the same. It’s about survival and that’s no way to live.
“It’d be easier to deal with if there was a time limit on it, but some people have been here for months.
“It’s the darkest side of the city. It can sometimes feel like we don’t exist as humans, just numbers, just forgotten numbers.”
“Prevention must be key to all of this. It is always argued as by far the best thing you can d o, not least because of the emotional and physical impact it has on people if you can p re v e n t homelessness from happening. Also for the public purse, I think there’s an argument that prevention is better than cure.
“The people we have worked with have had a touch point with some public body long before they became homeless and we didn’t spot it early enough.
“Without doubt local authorities will have that question, that struggle, that ask over what money is going to be available.
“I f we we re to argue our corner hard with local authorities, even if things were squeezed we w o u l d still be trying to make the argument even with a reduced budget that it’s still better to spend that money on prevention. That’s better than the long- term human impact and economic impact of seeing an increase in homelessness.”
Housing minister Kevin Stewart said the Scottish Government updated its “ambitious strategy to end homelessness last October and had committed £ 37.5 million to help councils implement rapid rehousing, including Housing First. He said: “Preventing homelessness is about more than finding somewhere else to live. People also need to be given the support and opportunities to move on with their lives, whether that’s through mental health support or assistance connecting to the digital world.
“This requires a joined- up approach. The relationship between the Scottish Government, local authorities, the third sector and other public bodies has never been stronger, allowing us to target support at people at risk of homelessness much sooner.”
Nearly a third of people who began claiming Universal Credit since the start of the coronavirus pandemic have taken on additional debt, according to an economic think tank.
The Resolution Foundation revealed that of the more than three million additional claimants since last March, 31% had either taken out new loans or seen their existing debts increase.