Uniting against rough sleeping

As the Coalition government came to power in 2010, with its austerity agenda, rough sleeping re-emerged to rear its ugly head.

Widespread homelessness is a phenomenon that marches in almost perfect lockstep with Tory governments, as the doubling of homelessness under the Thatcher government makes evident.

But this time around, the situation has become increasingly dire. In fact, this year alone has seen the number of first-time rough sleepers skyrocket by almost 20 per cent, according to Inside Housing.

Most heartbreaking of all is that rough sleeping  has become a distinctly young person’s problem. In the capital alone, the number of young people sleeping rough has doubled in the past four years.

To do their part to fight the scourge of rough sleeping, Unite Community members in Birmingham got together with over 400 other members in the community last Friday (November 28) for youth charity St. Basils annual fundraiser, the BIG Sleepout.

Raising over £2,500 for the charity, Unite Community, together with some of Unite’s young members, joined the Sleepout, in which participants spend an entire night sleeping rough to raise awareness and experience for themselves the harsh realities of homelessness.

The charity sought to bring together at least 414 participants for the Sleepout, to match the number of homeless young people in Birmingham whom the charity houses every single night.

Birmingham is Europe’s youngest major city, where people under 25 make up nearly 40 per cent of the population. This year’s Sleepout was the 25th anniversary of the event, and according to St Basils, its most successful, with 440 people participating.

Unite community member Rik James says he participated because he has had the direct experience of sleeping rough.

“I was made homeless when I lost my business and my home, so I know how hard it is,” he said. “I now help the homeless and I go out and provide the support myself, buying blankets and food for them – it comes from the heart.

“St Basils do such a good job and really don’t get enough recognition for the special work they do with young people,” he added. “It’s about overcoming obstacles to keep going, and that is what they help people to do.”

Unite West Midlands regional secretary Gerard Coyne explained the obstacles young people in particular face.

“Young people are the hardest hit by the policies of this government — cuts to benefits, a lack of investment in jobs and training for young people and a clear bias to benefit the most wealthy in society,” Coyne said. “This means that it is the young people that are bearing the brunt of austerity. It is shocking that 18 per cent of young people have slept rough or in an unsafe place in 2014.”

Unite Community is a new initiative founded by Unite in 2012 to help support people who are not in traditional employment, such as those who are not able to work, who are studying or who are caring, for example.

To find out more about Unite Community, visit its website here.