Dedicated to bringing hope to the homeless
Every day, a team of outreach workers from Cardiff council finds itself at the heart of efforts to help the city’s homeless. Oliver Milne catches up with one of those workers – Charlie Waring – and finds out what it’s like on the frontline of this devasta
WORKING in shifts, the dedicated team offer support to the homeless from seven in the morning until nine at night.
The day starts – as it does for most people – with breakfast.
But this is a very different world from the comfortable morning routines most of us are familiar with.
“The days starts by taking our van to the Wallich Night Shelter – they provide food for our breakfast run, which is our first chance to check in with people,” says Charlie Waring.
“We go out from 7am around the city centre to meet with rough sleepers to give them something to eat.
“It’s also a chance to make sure that they are okay and make sure they know where they can go through the day if they need support or housing.”
The early morning run is often the time when Charlie will first come across people who have just found themselves on the streets.
She says: “The most important things that we do are the kind of stuff you might otherwise take for granted – we get them a hot drink, a shower and something to eat.
“The first thing we do is check they are okay. If we don’t recognise them, we introduce ourselves and explain what services they can access.
“If someone has just spent their first night on the street, it isn’t reasonable to try and get them to fill out a housing assessment there and then, so we try and take care of their basic needs first.
“From there, we help people with as much or as little as they need – and it is guided by them and what they want.
“We spend as much time as we need to with them, explaining various services to them and we offer support to get them to the housing office.”
Out on the streets every day, Charlie says she has noticed that the number of new arrivals on our city’s streets is going up – but that she and her team are ready to deal with it.
“The numbers of rough sleepers have increased in Cardiff, alongside almost every other city in the UK,” she says. “Our team numbers have increased to deal with that, so we are developing what we do to meet the needs.”
After the breakfast run, the bulk of the day is spent meeting homeless people and trying to support them in any way they can.
“Off the back of the breakfast run, we might have agreed to meet people. It might be to take them to the doctor or help them with a housing assessment or with their explains.
“They might come to visit us – we share our building with housing officers and we can help give them a bit of extra support with that if they need it. “Whatever is needed, really” Much of Charlie’s day is spent talking to rough sleepers and trying to develop the relationships that might help convince them to get help.
She says: “Obviously housing issues are there with everybody we come across – but after that, the issues can vary a lot.
“Some people don’t have many issues and they might just need a little bit of support to point them in the right direction.
“Other people come with benefits,” Charlie complicated and enduring issues – that can be drug, alcohol or mental health issues.
“Often it is a combination of things – which can make it more difficult to help them.”
While they do spend time in the office, for outreach workers the bulk of their work is done on the streets, with the people who need them.
Over time, they can develop a relationship with the homeless – earning their trust.
“It is about keeping that relationship open. We are not there to be their friends but we do get to know them well,” Charlie says. “I think one of the advantages is that because we are working on the streets with people, they can be more open and relaxed with you. Because we are there day after day, we develop trust and it makes it easier for people to talk to you.“
But, Charlie explains, getting people to open up can often be incredibly difficult and requires patience.
“People often don’t want to talk about their pasts, for weeks or maybe even for months, so you might just talk about their favourite football team or the weather,” she says.
“Then eventually they might start talking to you about why they are on the streets and from there you can help them into housing or other support.”
Late into the night, the team are out trying to direct people to services that could help them, from the Samaritans bus service to the city’s various night shelters.
“We also work a late shift. We’ve been changing the hours recently, just to see if working later hours might help people.
“We just try and be on the streets for as much of the day as possible, so that we are as open as possible.”
Charlie says it is the successes – big and small – that keep her going.
“I like the variety of the job and the relationships you can develop. I think you can really make a difference and help someone get their life back on track. It is what motivates me to keep doing this job. I live in Cardiff, I have seen people who have been through the homeless process who have come out through the other side and are now living happier lives.
“Seeing things like that is what makes the job worthwhile. Often it is the small changes that are as positive sometimes as the really massive life-changing ones.
“Being able to give someone a little more independence or make somebody happier with their life – that’s a positive that keeps you going.”