There must be no return to rough sleeping

Like all housing providers, Mosscare St Vincent’s (MSV) reacted quickly to the pandemic and focused on doing the decent thing – which is very much our mantra.

This includes pre-coronavirus work of providing a broad range of supported homes and supporting local projects such as A Bed Every Night, moving families out of temporary accommodation in Manchester, and Housing First across Greater Manchester.

Like so many wonderful folk who are driven by their work in our sector, our people have been absolutely brilliant, kind and compassionate – supporting each other and our customers and communities all the way.

We were asked early on by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority to put forward volunteers for the ‘Everybody In’ project – to move all rough sleepers in the area into safe accommodation over one weekend – and the response we got from MSV folk was amazing.

Here is their story: as soon as we announced the volunteering opportunities, Jan, Adele, Matt, Lesley, Holly and Simon put themselves forward without hesitation.

Jan, Adele and Matt work at the Manchester Foyer and are seasoned in support and homelessness work but were already busy as key workers in their own roles, keeping our young residents safe. Holly and Simon were also busy in their neighbourhood roles and Lesley was up to her ears in coronavirus-secure working and risk assessments as our health and safety manager.

“Like so many wonderful folk who are driven by their work in our sector, our people have been absolutely brilliant, kind and compassionate – supporting each other and our customers and communities all the way”

All were united in the call to support more people in this unprecedented time and all have found the experience deeply moving and rewarding.

On the very first night the YHA opened to support rough sleepers in Manchester, Simon did his first shift. Thirty-six people had moved in that day and he told me he met some amazing and inspiring people. One woman who is a lecturer had been renting a room in a house prior to lockdown and the landlord threw her out and changed the locks. She found herself with nowhere to go in the midst of a pandemic – a frightening situation.

He also met a lady who was an author, and chap who was a builder who had got caught up in having nowhere to live in transition from France and had been sleeping in his van. Simon said he got to know everyone so well.

He also said that it had played on his mind for years that we still have people sleeping on the streets. He told me about an area he had walked past years ago which was taped off by police, where a man who had been sleeping there had died and it has haunted him ever since. He asked, “surely people can’t keep just walking past and is someone doing something about this?”

Over the past few months, Jan, Simon, Holly, Lesley, Matt and Adele have really got to know the people who moved in and have formed brilliant bonds with them. They feel that some need more support than others and that all have to be supported into a more permanent home.

They all feel so strongly that it would be a travesty not to use this window of opportunity to do something in this time of tragedy that has a positive and long-lasting impact.

The crew have been very much hands on, working hand in hand with other local associations, the combined authority, local authorities and charities to ensure people had decent meals, basic facilities, support and signposting, and that all-important safe place to stay.

There have been moments of chaos, serious issues to deal with and some very funny moments, but without question, their professionalism and compassion has just shone through with every shift.

Jan said she wanted to help people and use her skills as a support worker and found the experience humbling. She talked about the complexity of some of their issues but also how welcoming and appreciative people were of her support – she said she met some very lovely people. She talked about a young man who had really complex issues and had been consistently sleeping rough since the age of 18 – he said he now wakes up and feels excited to see smiling faces.

Matt said his first reaction when he saw the volunteering ad was, ‘how can I help’ – it was never an option not to do so.

He commented it was striking that within one week we had safe working hostels across the region and felt angry that in this country we have empty homes purchased by speculators, treating housing as a commodity rather than a decent home for all.

Matt and the others have been working with a young man who as a teenager had found his dad’s body, whose mum had died, had been in prison and then found himself sleeping rough. He said the support he has been given has helped him to open up about his situation for the first time and that he loves being in a more stable environment with people to talk to.

Adele felt that she had no option but to help, despite a busy job as our wonderful young person’s services manager. She wanted to draw on her skills and connect with even more people to support them.

She mentioned a couple who had lost their jobs due to the pandemic and their landlord had asked them to leave – they had been living on the street for four weeks before moving to the safety of the YHA.

Lesley wanted to lend her experience with creating safe working and living environments, and this proved invaluable as things happened very fast out of necessity and there were many safeguarding issues to consider. She also had some very heartwarming and funny moments.

“There must be no return to rough sleeping and we must not lose this window of opportunity to do the decent thing”

So what’s next? All of these wonderful people have appointments for move-on support and the YHA project is winding up on 26 June. My colleagues are worried about this, as everyone is looking so much healthier and happier and are feeling more optimistic.

They are keen to ensure that everyone has a positive departure and a more secure future. I asked what they would do now if they were housing minister. They said there should be no return to the streets, more investment in supported and social homes, and more support in place for complex issues. They also said that move-on accommodation should be more permanent and offer high-quality support solutions, with clean spaces, laundry facilities and access to good food – all with long-term revenue funding.

They also spoke about really getting to know people and seeing the person – not the statistic – and really understanding the needs, personality, family ties and history of each person who has sadly found themselves in this situation – which could happen to any of us.

This whole thing has been based on getting to know people, listening and respecting them as fellow human beings, in an open and friendly environment.

There must be no return to rough sleeping and we must not lose this window of opportunity to do the decent thing.

Charlie Norman, group chief executive, Mosscare St Vincent’s