Rough sleepers given human rights guide

Volunteers took to the streets to hand out the Rights Guide For Rough Sleepers, which tells people on the streets what their legal position is.

It covers situations such as arrest, stop and search, answering questions, moving on and no drinking zones.

It comes shortly after a human rights action team set up to campaign for better treatment of rough sleepers had its first meeting.

Homelessness charity Housing Justice and the homelessness magazine The Pavement teamed up to produce the guide.

Sally Leigh, London co-ordinator of Housing Justice, said: ‘Housing Justice believes it is crucial to let homeless people know their rights.

‘We hope this guide will help protect some of the most vulnerable people in our society from further trouble with the law and yet more personal misery.’

Val Stevenson, of The Pavement, added: ‘We are inundated with letters from our readers asking whether they are being treated unlawfully. Producing this guide was the obvious solution.’

The charities believe the severity of enforcement measures against people sleeping on the streets in the capital has increased as the authorities aim to hit mayor Boris Johnson’s target of ending rough sleeping by 2012.

Rough sleepers may be woken up and moved along or even stopped and searched several times a night, and certain areas are out-of-bounds for two or more rough sleepers, they say.

The guide was drawn up in collaboration with people who use the Salvation Army drop-in centre and Women at the Well.

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