Direct action on homelessness in Bristol

One of those people is 52-year-old Chris, who is in the Bearpit today with a group of friends from Pill, a village on the edge of Bristol. “It started at the end of November 2016,” says Chris, who doesn’t want to give his surname. “Me and some friends met some guys at a protest who had opened a squat for homeless people in London, and they really inspired us. We took a look around Bristol, saw how bad things were, and decided we’d try and do something.”

Chris and a few others started venturing into the city centre at weekends with food and bottled water. “It all just took off from there,” he explains. “There’s a cracking community spirit where we live. More people started joining in, then the local pub said they’d take donations. We now go out twice a week every week.

“From what we see, the charities don’t do enough. I’ve heard people say no one goes hungry in Bristol, but we manage to give away 30 meals in half an hour.”

“People mean well, but they don’t have any real knowledge.” - Jasper Thompson, Help Bristol’s Homeless

Chris’ group is not the first, or only, one of its kind. Multiple projects like this, usually started by friends using social media, have sprung up in the past few years. Working out how to harness the enthusiasm in a constructive way is causing some challenges.

“The first [project of this kind] I came across was called Keep Bristol Warm,” says Richard Drake, co-chair of Bristol Homeless Forum, which promotes co-operation between organisations working in the field. “It was just one guy who wanted to do something so he started handing out sleeping bags and clothes, then he realised he couldn’t deal with it all himself, so he approached the existing organisations.

“It’s great that the enthusiasm is there, but people don’t necessarily know what to do. They see rough sleepers and assume nothing’s being done, even though a lot is being done… It could be so much more useful if they worked alongside what is already happening.”

Mr Drake says groups such as local businesses or schools often get in touch to ask where they should hand out food. “I try to tell people there’s already a lot of food being given out, and that they should perhaps contact existing organisations to ask where the gaps are that need to be filled and what would be of most use,” he says.

One local man whose have-a-go generosity has evolved into a formal enterprise is Jasper Thompson, founder of Help Bristol’s Homeless. He made national news after converting shipping containers and buses into temporary housing. Having started by handing out donations in the city centre in his spare time, he’s now registered as a community interest company and is working with Bristol City Council to get his accommodation project off the ground.

“I wanted to do something more long term, to help people get off the streets,” he explains.

Mr Thompson had already sourced a disused shipping container and was converting it into a live-in unit when he contacted the council about obtaining planning permission. Although some agencies were sceptical, he worked with Paul Smith, cabinet member for housing at Bristol City Council, to secure a plot of land and will begin housing people this year – evidence that it’s important for established organisations not to dismiss members of the public who are taking it upon themselves to help out.

Now armed with a better understanding of the issues, Mr Thompson is aware of the downfalls of DIY charitable work, warning: “People mean well, but they don’t have any real knowledge – they don’t know numbers or co-ordinate with the police or hospitals.” He even believes some could be putting rough sleepers and volunteers in danger.

“One thing I’ve learned is that you need public liability insurance in case someone gets hurt,” he says. “Some of the groups have no regulations on how food is prepared or kept. They leave it sitting out overnight, or leave it in the Bearpit, which creates a hygiene problem. Sometimes it’s like a trophy for them – they go and take selfies with the homeless people.”

Mr Thompson is making contact with each group working in the space to understand what everyone is doing, and is planning an event to get them all communicating efficiently.

However, Chris isn’t completely convinced. “I’m happy to liaise so we don’t all go out at the same time,” he says. “But Jasper’s a for-profit company, he works in a different way. We do this for nothing, no one’s getting paid – that’s why we get so much support.”

The organisation is a CIC, which means its profits and assets must be used for the benefit of the community.