We are four of nearly 40 people with lived experience of homelessness who have given evidence as part of the APPG for Ending Homelessness’ inquiry into rough sleeping. We passionately believe that with the right political will, rough sleeping in England can, and must, be ended.

We have experienced a wide range of the most acute forms of homelessness including rough sleeping, suffering exploitation and abuse, night-shelters, eating at soup kitchens, sofa surfing and more. These experiences devastated our mental health and compounded the adverse childhood experiences we had already endured.

We have all been failed by the systems that are supposed to help us. We have experienced criminalisation, stigma, discrimination, enforcement, and a lack of support.

We’ve been told we are not a priority, we are “intentionally homeless” and had our appeals for support rejected. We’ve felt alienated from systems that lacked compassion and understanding.

Only with the dedicated support of local organisations and homelessness charities have we been able to begin to put our lives back together.

Is the government on track to end rough sleeping?

Government committed to ending “the blight of rough sleeping in England by the end of the next Parliament,” which is in 2024. The experience of Everyone In at the height of the pandemic taught us that, with the right political will, it is within our grasp.

However, those gains are quickly fading away and without a renewed commitment and the right policies, the goal to end rough sleeping by 2024 will not be met.

If this target is not met, we are deeply concerned about the risk that thousands more, like us, will have their lives destroyed, their mental health damaged – and may even lose their lives altogether. That’s bad for us as a society. When one of us suffers, we all do.

When one of us suffers, we all do.

By contrast, if this Government keeps its promise, all of us will benefit.

That’s why we wholeheartedly support the recommendations in this report which focus on preventing homelessness, ensuring that where rough sleeping does happen, we intervene at the earliest opportunity to end it; and providing sustained support to those with enduring needs so that homelessness does not happen to them again.

What we need to do to end rough sleeping

Preventing homelessness happening in the first place is vital.

We must immediately ensure that support services are readily available to people at times of crisis when homelessness threatens. This must include the expansion of emergency mental health support to ensure people are not left to struggle on the streets without vital help.

Government must make sure that if rough sleeping does happen, it is as brief as possible.

The longer a person is on the streets, the worse their problems become. High-quality assertive outreach which is personalised to meet the needs of the individual is key to ending rough sleeping. And, we need to stop de-humanising and criminalising people who are homeless.

Getting someone off the streets is not always the end of their rough sleeping. Many of us experienced shelters and other temporary accommodation that was so unsuitable and dangerous that we felt we had no option but to sleep on the streets.

When people are housed, they need decent and sustained access to mental health and addiction services, benefits advice and emotional support. It therefore concerns us that key funding streams for local support services are soon ending, with no certainty about the future.

We need to invest in our communities to end rough sleeping, particularly in the supply of genuinely affordable housing. It’s one of the reasons councils turned us away when we asked for help. Benefits need to meet the cost of housing, particularly amidst the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

We agree with the recommendations in the report that the diverse needs of people experiencing homelessness must be met and that tailored provision for specific groups who are most obviously failed now – including women, LGBTQ+ people, those with no recourse to public funds and care leavers – are critical if rough sleeping is to be ended by 2024.

Everyone has a moral right to a safe, secure, and decent home

We have been energised by our involvement in working with the APPG for Ending Homelessness. We’ve been given hope for the future. And we are all determined to be part of this movement for change and to use our expertise of experiencing homelessness to make a positive difference.

We’ve been given hope for the future.

It’s time for government to reflect on their commitment and to deliver the change that people like us need. It’s too late to put this right for us but they have the chance to take decisive action and put this right for others.

We want those who read this report to feel determined, committed and hopeful about ending rough sleeping. We must come together with all who seek to end it and campaign for change. Everyone has a moral right to a safe, secure, and decent home. Together we can make it happen.

Amanda, Robin, Michael and Anne.

Amanda, Robin, Michael and Anne are people with direct experience of homelessness who gave testimony to the APPG for Ending Homelessness' inqury into rough sleeping.

Find out more about the findings of the the APPG for Ending Homelessness's report into rough sleeping.

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