LIFE ON THE STREETS

The homeless in Cardiff have been speaking about their lives on the streets for a new series to be shown on BBC Wales. Heledd Pritchard reports

THREE men sleeping rough in Cardiff have spoken about life on the streets and why the Welsh capital is attracting more and more homeless people.

Raymond, Dean and Stuart have all been on the streets for many years and describe their struggle with everyday life and finding a place they can call home.

For six months Bafta-Cymrunominated film-maker Chris Rushton has been following the lives of those with nowhere to go as part of a new three-part series which reveals the desperate and heartbreaking stories of the homeless in Wales.

Chris, who has previously followed the plight of the homeless in Swansea, now wants to uncover why Cardiff has become such a draw for homeless people.

One of the men he meets on the streets of the Welsh capital is 31-year-old Stuart, who is known as Smurf.

Stuart, from Derby, has been homeless for most of his life and first found himself sleeping rough at the age of 13 and came to Cardiff to escape family problems in his home town.

He now spends most nights in Alexandra Gardens near the National Museum Cardiff in a tent hidden under the trees or in the doorway of shops on Queen Street.

“It’s not a lot but it’s my home,” he said.

“It’s where I live and where sleep, when I can get to sleep.

“I want to get out of it now. I have had enough.”

He spends his time turning other people’s junk into unusual creations such as the trike he rides around the city made from an office chair, wheelie bin wheels, a unicycle and planks of wood.

When he was 22 Smurf was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and has been on the waiting list for a hostel with specialist support for three months.

For Dean his health reached its lowest point after battling with alcoholism for more than 13 years.

He had been sleeping on the streets of Swansea and Newport before moving to Cardiff.

Dean said people sometimes spit on him or kick him when he’s sleeping and he is often found collapsing in the street and being taken to hospital due to his ill health.

Raymond ended up on the streets following a relationship breakdown and despite hopes he’ll be housed he feels forgotten by the system.

He sleeps rough wherever he can and is constantly trying to guard his possessions to prevent others from stealing them, even at night.

Film maker Chris described Cardiff as the “homeless capital of Wales” and explained that while there are hundreds of supported accommodation places in the city to help people tackle their problems, accessing them can take months.

A spokeswoman for Cardiff council said that at the end of last week there were 38 people sleeping rough in Cardiff – 36 men and two women.

A statement said: “The City of Cardiff Council has plans and services in place to provide for homeless people throughout the year including extra provision over the winter period.

“Between the months of November and February, the authority works with partners across the city to increase the number of available emergency bed spaces.

“An additional 55 bed spaces allow those sleeping rough to come off the streets during the winter.”

The first programme of the series – Cardiff Living On The Streets – will be broadcast on Tuesday on BBC One Wales at 10.40pm.