Carrot and stick
First published in Inside Housing, 7 January 2000
©Inside Communications
The government is determined to get rough sleepers off the streets. But can the sweeteners on offer work? Asks KATRINA FOX
Homeless people are to be forced to work in winter shelters this year. If they refuse they will be thrown out anyone found sleeping on the streets will be arrested. This is Mayor Rudy Guliani's solution to removing rough sleepers from New York as we enter a new century. The British government's response to the problem is not quite as harsh - yet. But given its habitual desire to emulate America, it is an ominous sign of the possible shape of things to come.
At the end of last year, Rough Sleepers Unit chief Louise Casey unveiled her strategy to reduce the number of homeless people on the streets by two-thirds by 2002. Homelessness campaigners have broadly welcomed the proposals which contain a number of worthy initiatives including new hostel beds, specialist workers for those with drink, drug and mental health problems, funding of day centres, tenancy sustainment teams, and contact and assessment teams to help people off the street.
But despite being a big step in the right direction, most express concerns. Chair of the London Homeless Persons Managers Forum Andy Gale says the strategy is not looking at the broader issue of housing and statutory homelessness. Without this, the government has 'little chance of meeting rough sleepers targets,'he says. This view is shared by Shelter's director Chris Holmes. 'Street homelessness is immediate and visible but unless the hidden problems of families suffering temporary accommodation and severe overcrowding are also tackled, people will continue to end up on the streets,' he says.
Mr Gale says that while local authorities are sympathetic to the problem of rough sleepers, Ms Casey's demands to free up council housing to provide emergency provision for them are unrealistic, particularly in London.
'It is not just down to local authorities or housing associations to provide resources they don't have,' he explains. Targeting resources on the most vulnerable also means those not in that category can lose out, says Crisis' chief executive Shaks Ghosh. 'If those people do not get help, they will in turn become vulnerable, she explains.
Another thing for the government to consider is the possibility that if vulnerable people are seen to be getting priority in social housing, anyone not in that category could sit on the street occasionally in the hope they will be picked up by outreach workers. 'There is evidence that if you sit on the Strand you stand a better chance of being housed than if you're on the street in Bromley,' says National Homeless Alliance's chief executive Jon Fitzmaurice. The concept of there being a plethora of better services in one place, such as London, also brings with it the danger of making it an attractive place for rough sleepers. 'The more you put into London the less there will be for other areas and I don't believe we know the scale of the problem outside the capital,' says Ms Ghosh.
Some places are on the receiving end of the fall-out from London. According to Brighton Housing Trust's director Jenny Backwell, the coastal town now has the highest rough sleepers count in the country, despite having done 'all the things in the strategy for several years'. She believes people come to Brighton to 'bad' places. 'The reason some areas have no rough sleepers is because there are no services for them, 'she says. Putting a far greater emphasis on preventing people becoming homeless is essential, Ms Backwell believes. But, she adds, to resettle everyone who has come to Brighton requires extra resources from government. 'lt is not fair to expect the local services to provide everything.'
Ms Casey says she will be 'trying to make greater linkages between the statutory sector and people on the street' There are some early signs of the much-lauded 'joined up' working. The DSS is to set up a one-stop advice centre to make access to benefits easier for rough sleepers. The Department of Health has earmarked £1 million for social care services in central London for homeless people with mental health problems. Initiatives involving social services, prisons and the armed forces are to look at how people leaving institutions can avoid falling into homelessness. But not everyone is convinced. 'I am very cynical about joint working, says Ms Ghosh. 'We don't see enough of it. I see entrenched dividing lines between government departments.'
One of the problems is that the number of acute bed spaces has plummeted over the years, explains Mr Fitzmaurice. 'People who have been diagnosed with personality disorders are classified untreatable and rejected by statutory services.'
The juggling of budgets is likely to be the easy part of Ms Casey's job. Her major challenge will be convincing homeless people to trust a system that has constantly let them down. As Ms Ghosh points out: 'You can carry on giving homeless people things, but you won't be successful until they want it to work.' While said with probably the best intentions, Ms Casey's comments on getting rid of the 'culture of kindness' and phasing out soup runs have not won her any applause from those living on the streets. John Jarrett, a homeless man in London, accused her on BBC's Newsnight of 'social cleansing' 'There can never be too much help for the homeless,' he told her.
Even those working with rough sleepers are cautious of such radical approaches. 'Small organisations and people must not feel they are being demonised, warns Mr Fitzmaurice. Simon Community director Philip Burke goes further: 'She has blown the whole thing out of proportion and made it a much bigger issue than it is.'
The government is making a determined attempt to tackle the problem of rough sleeping head on. But the stakes are high. At the launch of the strategy, Prime Minister Tony Blair warned: 'We cannot afford to fail.' Therein lies the catch. If, once Ms Casey's proposals are in place, rough sleepers are still not 'coming in from the cold' voluntarily, the police will be instructed to use their powers to 'persuade' them to move on. The only person likely to appreciate such a scenario is the mayor of New York.
Inside Housing is the weekly magazine for social housing professionals. This article is the copyright of the publisher, Inside Communications, a division of the Mirror Group and appears here with their permission. For more information on the magazine, visit their website at www.insidehousing.co.uk
