Rough sleeping is something that confronts Londoners daily. Every morning I see people huddled in doorways trying to keep warm. Our human reaction is to wonder what we can do to help.
As Westminster City Council’s cabinet member for housing services, part of my role is to provide help to those who find themselves sleeping on the streets. We spend more than £6.5 million a year on services to help rough sleepers.
At the heart of our approach is persuading those sleeping on our streets to engage with the services that are available to support them. The evidence is clear that the longer they stay on the streets, the greater the risks they face. These include ill health and addiction. The average age of death for a rough sleeper is 47.
This is why Westminster City Council recently launched its “Chat, App, Tap” campaign. It is aimed at enabling the public to help rough sleepers in a way that supports them. A chat can be a powerful way of showing people who have seen their lives fall apart that they still matter. Using the Streetlink app can help outreach workers to find rough sleepers and connect them with long-term support and accommodation.
And in the coming weeks TAP London terminals are being installed in Westminster — a new way to donate money to help people who are sleeping rough. Cash gifted via contactless terminals in shop windows and counters will go straight to charities that help rough sleepers. People can also donate to these charities on the TAP London website.
Outreach teams from charities we work with go out night after night to engage with rough sleepers and encourage them to move into hostel accommodation. It can often take many such contacts to persuade people to start engaging with the services available to help them.
Our hostels provide so much more than just a place to sleep. The focus is on making them feel as much like a home as possible, rather than an institution. The staff are trained to support people who have reached crisis point and help them on the road to recovery.
The focus is on people’s strengths, not dwelling on what has gone wrong. We do this by providing a host of opportunities — from gardening sessions to model-making, bike maintenance to looking after chickens. There’s more behind this than simply a distraction. Staff use activities to help residents to explore what led them to having to live on the streets. That isn’t a choice anyone should have to make.
The focus needs to be on persuading people to engage with the services available to help them. We are determined to do what we can to help people rebuild their lives.
By chatting, using the Streetlink app and tapping, you can do your bit too.
- Andrew Smith is a Westminster councillor and cabinet member for housing services
