Figures released today by the Government show that street homelessness remains an issue here in Norfolk.  Despite the recent “Everyone In” policy during the first COVID-19, the Rough Sleeping Snapshot figures show that 2,688 people were estimated to be sleeping rough on a single night in autumn 2020 in England.

70 of these were in Norfolk, with every local authority in the county reporting people sleeping rough in their area. This does not include people in night-shelters or hostels.

Cecile Roberts, CEO of Emmaus Norfolk & Waveney, believes the stats released today do not paint the full picture of homelessness in the region:

“One person sleeping on our streets is one too many, so we are saddened to see that 2,688 people were found to be rough sleeping across England. Experience gained through working with homeless people in the East of England tells us that this figure is actually likely to be much higher.

“This survey only takes into account those people who were seen sleeping rough on just one evening. But we know that many homeless people are hidden from view, choosing to find somewhere out of sight to bed down due to fears for their safety. Others choose not to sleep at night as this is when they feel most at risk so may have been missed in this count.

“Aside from the flaws in the method itself, it fails to address homelessness as a wider issue. We agree that the Everyone In policy got many rough sleepers off the streets. But placing people into hostels, b&bs and other temporary accommodation is not the same as providing a permanent home for them and giving them support they need to rebuild their lives after homelessness.”

These concerns were echoed in research released in January 2021. This showed officials working on the Everyone In scheme used the Rough Sleeping snapshot from 2019 to estimate the support needed. This research found that 4,266 people were sleeping rough around the UK, but between the end of March when the scheme was launched and November 2020, auditors said that in fact 33,139 people participated in the scheme.

Lee spent seven years sleeping rough after losing his home. He now lives at the Emmaus Norfolk & Waveney community in Ditchingham.

“I found myself with nowhere to go; my only option was to sleep rough. For seven years, that was my life. It was very scary, especially at first. Life on the streets was hard; everything was so new, and I didn’t know how to act around people.

“Eventually I started to make friends with the other lads that were out on the street. We formed a little community – homeless people will always help other homeless people, so I was never that far away from somebody’s help.

“It could be quite dangerous though, especially at weekends. When the pubs kicked out at two or three in the morning, I would often see guys who’d had one too many spot a homeless person and start on him for no reason – I’ve seen people kicked, punched and even urinated on.

“Living on the streets was a really difficult thing to do, but in winter the freezing temperatures make it almost unbearable. I used to try and find any shelter I could, but when you’re out in that weather there’s not much you can do to escape the cold.”

If you spot someone sleeping on the streets please contact Street Link by visiting www.streetlink.org.uk or call 0300 500 0914 to send an alert. If you If you think the person you are concerned about is in immediate danger or needs urgent care, please call 999.