Tent City in Park Hill

[Ms Macbeth 76]

The homeless are put at the top of the queue (Band A) for accommodation at the council. But some find it difficult to maintain a tenancy agreement for whatever reason.

 

The fatal mistake is that when people apply for housing benefit, they get an option to have the rent paid to them or directly to the landlord.

 

Unfortunately, the temptation of having £400-£500 monthly paid into their account is just too much. They then dont use the money for rent and then get evicted. This then doesnt entitle them to priority accomodation anymore.

 

There would be less homelessness if this option was taken away from housing benefit applications.

 

But you can only do so much to help people. Sometimes they are the only people that can make that change for them.

 

Only people who are classed as priority are put at the 'top of the queue'. People with disabilities; chronic serious health conditions; dependent children; over sixties. There will be some who are unable or unwilling to manage their tenancies, but the reasons for homelessness are complex.

 

---------- Post added 06-11-2016 at 16:37 ----------

 

Is now an appropriate place to post a link to this year's Homeless Christmas Shoe Box Appeal?

 

Sheffield has very few (comparatively) people who sleep rough on the streets, but that means that in the greater scheme of things there are a higher number in temporary accommodation, in shelters, sofa surfing with mates and the like. In our opinion all of these groups should be treated as real human beings, and that includes at Christmas.

 

Our aim is to get a box of presents filled with day to day basics and little luxuries and a Christmas card, to every one of the people who have nothing and are unlikely to receive a present from anywhere else.

 

Members of the public can donate a decorated shoe box (or other similar sized box) of caring things to this appeal by taking their box to one of the drop off points before Saturday 10 December, and we will ensure that it gets taken to one of the organisations that helps them out through the whole year.

 

The appeal can be found here and we look forward to meeting lots of you over the coming weeks.

 

Thanks for the link. I've got the empty shoe box, just need to fill it!

 

---------- Post added 06-11-2016 at 17:34 ----------

 

There is available social housing in Sheffield with no waiting time. Flats and maisonettes, some limited to older age groups but not all. lettings band ' First Come First Served' might be worth a look. https://www.sheffieldpropertyshop.org.uk/data/asppages/1/43.aspx

Edited November 6, 2016 by Ms Macbeth

[Margarita Ma 10]

The poor people living in tents and sleeping in shop doors should in fact be housed in the flats at Parkhill , they were built at our expense and as social housing not luxury apartments for those that can now afford them.

 

I have to agree with this. The only problem is

there was no money to do the necessary work to make them up to current standards so they were doomed. Now it looks like there is no one who wants them at the price they are available for.

 

---------- Post added 06-11-2016 at 19:21 ----------

 

The homeless are put at the top of the queue (Band A) for accommodation at the council. But some find it difficult to maintain a tenancy agreement for whatever reason.

 

The fatal mistake is that when people apply for housing benefit, they get an option to have the rent paid to them or directly to the landlord.

 

Unfortunately, the temptation of having £400-£500 monthly paid into their account is just too much. They then dont use the money for rent and then get evicted. This then doesnt entitle them to priority accomodation anymore.

 

There would be less homelessness if this option was taken away from housing benefit applications.

 

But you can only do so much to help people. Sometimes they are the only people that can make that change for them.

 

You are way behind the times.

I do agree that it would be better if the the policy was changed but then I would as I am a private landlord. However you are wrong about Payment to the landlord being optional. It is only done in the case of someone who has great difficulty in handling their finances for some reason. Health being one good reason. On the homelessness priority scene, Families with children have priority, then people with severe health issues queue up behind. Being made homeless if you are a single adult or a couple gives virtually no chance of being housed by a council anywhere. They will signpost to other providers but rarely have property available to anyone without child or other vulnerable dependents. Look on this site for some of the causes of homelessness. http://www.stwilfridscentre.org/

 

---------- Post added 06-11-2016 at 19:46 ----------

 

St Wilfrid's Residential Project Sheffield

http://www.stwilfridscentre.org/residential-project

or read below

The project needs 1.8 million and when I looked on the fundraising site earlier they had raised only £28,000 through Virgin money. You can also donate through Just giving. not sure if Virgin take any admin fee but just giving take something like 2.5%

 

Our dream for many years has been to build a residential unit to work in conjunction with the day centre. People would live there for up to 2 years whilst attending classes at the day centre Monday to Friday. This would allow them to increase their employable and social skills. Plans have been approved and the fundraising appeal has been launched. We plan to provide safe, fixed term accommodation for clients most in need. Phase One of the project will include a unit containing 20 self-contained flats with communal space, based a short walk from the existing day centre, putting into practice 24 years’ knowledge about vulnerable people, their needs and how these are to be met, breaking the cycle of homelessness and exclusion.

 

The number of people declared homeless in Sheffield rose by 38% in 2011. The majority of the homeless population I believe are in this position because they have mental health needs. The media and government sources have for a long time talked about the possible causes of homelessness which have included lack of money, jobs, insufficient benefits, work pressure and domestic disputes. Mental health may have been mentioned quietly but no one has been able to tackle this issue.

 

For example, some people who become homeless may not be able to read and write and because of their situation their mental health may deteriorate. Moving into a new home for many people can be a traumatic experience and just to give people a council flat does not always work. Within weeks the new tenant may become frightened and because of literacy needs may be unable to read the bills that pop through the door. This causes them to run away, possibly to the next town, Barnsley, Leeds, Manchester, etc. The problem of homelessness is perpetuated and the cycle goes on and on. By breaking this pattern we would be able to give people the necessary support to live independently after spending a two year period in our residential project.

 

The aim of the new project is to improve the quality of life of vulnerable people and help relieve the homelessness situation within the city of Sheffield. The project would be built on land close to the current day centre. The clients would sign a contract to live there for up to two years. During this time they would undertake life and employment skills training next door in the day centre. After this they would be helped to find permanent accommodation and live independently with the ongoing support of St Wilfrid’s Centre.

 

We will be fundraising for £1.8 million, alongside keeping the Centre itself going, so donations this year will be critical as we build for the future. We know that in the current economic climate new build projects are going to be few and far between. However we know that the men and women we serve need this help now, not in 5 years’ time, so all staff and volunteers are determined to “get this built!” hopefully within 18 months.

Kevin Bradley

 

We are appealing for financial help and if you make a donation to the project, you could become part of something really special.

 

Support our Residential development project

 

 

Call 0114 255 5720

Email [email protected]

Copyright © St Wilfrid's Centre 2016

Website design Sheffield by QR8http:

Just Giving Unsung Heroes Investor In People

Edited November 6, 2016 by Margarita Ma

[JanetB62 10]

I'm sorry, but just because you can't find somewhere affordable to live doesn't make you a lowlife.

 

I've got friends who are working but who can't afford to rent at the moment. The bond up front costs of taking on a rented house are over £1000 in bond, rent, paying for checks and references to be done (repeatedly) and some people just don't have that in savings that they can use.

 

I couldn't find £650 a month in rent, which is what houses in our street are being rented for. That would be over half of my income even without insurance, council tax and utilities.

 

If you can't see quite how small the changes in your life would need to be in order for you to find yourself in housing difficulties then you are clearly just refusing to look. For most people the concept of a small change in their life resulting in them being dumped into what most people would call the nightmare of homelessness is very small, and utterly terrifying.

 

Illness (physical and mental), redundancy, injuries from an accident meaning that you can't work (even temporarily), grief from loss of a loved one; there are lots of circumstances beyond our control which could make us suddenly unable to maintain the payment for housing.

 

Do you automatically stop being a member of society and start being a 'lowlife' if your partner dies and you struggle to cope with the loss, or would it be a different case if it happened to you?

 

Well said!! I cant understand how some people cant empathise with homeless people. They say we all or some are only 3 pay days away from being homeless, as you say if were made redundant or couldnt work for some reason and couldnt meet your rent bills etc you could find yourself homeless. Some people have no family or friends to help. I was talking to a homeless man in the station the other day asking for money, he said was £8 short of being able to get a room for the night. I asked him if he tried the Archer Project said he had but could only get a meal there. He said his mother had recently passed away he had bit of breakdown and "they took away his keys". Said he had been sleeping on West Street and some lads thought it was a laugh to urinate on him! I did give him some money coz felt he was genuine. Maybe some people would think i was a sucker but i would like to think someone would help me if was ever in that situation. They are just human beings who fallen on hard times and if you cant show some human compassion no hope!!

[Bob Arctor 11]

The homeless are put at the top of the queue (Band A) for accommodation at the council. But some find it difficult to maintain a tenancy agreement for whatever reason.

 

The fatal mistake is that when people apply for housing benefit, they get an option to have the rent paid to them or directly to the landlord.

 

Unfortunately, the temptation of having £400-£500 monthly paid into their account is just too much. They then dont use the money for rent and then get evicted. This then doesnt entitle them to priority accomodation anymore.

 

There would be less homelessness if this option was taken away from housing benefit applications.

 

But you can only do so much to help people. Sometimes they are the only people that can make that change for them.

 

You are incorrect. A homeless priority is Band B, Band A is primarily for people who are stuck in hospital because they have no accommodation to be discharged to (bed blockers as they are referred to). But in any case, rough sleeping isn't so much about lack of access to housing, although that is part of it, but more to do with trauma and other mental health issues, often with associated substance misuse. There will be some people who should have been offered housing by their local authority but have had terrible decisions made on their homeless case; there are councils that have classed pregnant women and actively suicidal people as "not in priority need", I'll post some links when I'm at my laptop.

[Deedah64 10]

i understand, you are trying to tell everyone that you are a vile person with no empathy or compassion for other people.

 

On the contrary, I have been there. I was out of work for two years in the early eighties when the Tories were hell bent on bringing down society which they managed to do. I was receiving no benefits and my wife child and myself were living on my wife's part time earnings but we managed to keep up (somehow) with the mortgage payments and kept a roof over our heads. There was no support as there is today we just had to suck it in and make ends meet the best we could.

My point was that there is little help for the working class man stuck in the middle of all of this we just have to get on with our lives. Fortunately I am now retired and out of the rat race.

Walk a mile in my shoes before you think of condemning me.

[dangerousedd 10]

Well said!! I cant understand how some people cant empathise with homeless people. They say we all or some are only 3 pay days away from being homeless, as you say if were made redundant or couldnt work for some reason and couldnt meet your rent bills etc you could find yourself homeless. Some people have no family or friends to help. I was talking to a homeless man in the station the other day asking for money, he said was £8 short of being able to get a room for the night. I asked him if he tried the Archer Project said he had but could only get a meal there. He said his mother had recently passed away he had bit of breakdown and "they took away his keys". Said he had been sleeping on West Street and some lads thought it was a laugh to urinate on him! I did give him some money coz felt he was genuine. Maybe some people would think i was a sucker but i would like to think someone would help me if was ever in that situation. They are just human beings who fallen on hard times and if you cant show some human compassion no hope!!

 

it really sucks when people have been caring for their parents and saving the country a bucket load of money then for their selflessness they get kicked out of the house.

[sgtkate 10]

I tend not to give cash to beggars, but I always buy the Big Issue, often ending up with multiple copies, and I'll always try offer to buy a hot drink or a meal for them. I have also supported Shelter in the past as many others have said on here, reasons for homelessness are complex and are often a symptom of a bigger problem. Most of us at one point in our lives have been close to homelessness I'd wager and if it hadn't been for friends and family we would have been, definitely me when I left the army. If it hadn't been for my gf at the time I have no idea where I would have lived and I left on good terms with support and no obvious PTSD, so heavens help the soldiers who leave soon after coming back from a warzone.

[damageandy 10]

On the contrary, I have been there. I was out of work for two years in the early eighties when the Tories were hell bent on bringing down society which they managed to do. I was receiving no benefits and my wife child and myself were living on my wife's part time earnings but we managed to keep up (somehow) with the mortgage payments and kept a roof over our heads. There was no support as there is today we just had to suck it in and make ends meet the best we could.

My point was that there is little help for the working class man stuck in the middle of all of this we just have to get on with our lives. Fortunately I am now retired and out of the rat race.

Walk a mile in my shoes before you think of condemning me.

 

Sounds like a made up story.

 

How can you say something like 'Walk a mile in my shoes before you think of condemning me' yet you have just done exactly that to homeless people.

 

You condemn yourself, your vile previous posts show what kind of person you are.

[Deedah64 10]

Sounds like a made up story.

 

How can you say something like 'Walk a mile in my shoes before you think of condemning me' yet you have just done exactly that to homeless people.

 

You condemn yourself, your vile previous posts show what kind of person you are.

 

I don't have to justify myself to the likes of you. Can you stop spouting your platitudes and explain what you intend to do for the poor homeless

[Bob Arctor 11]

Here's what people are up against:

 

A homeless woman with clear plans of suicide and deemed an active suicide risk by her GP had her homeless application rejected

https://nearlylegal.co.uk/2016/07/facing-the-facts/

 

Young man with Asperger's Syndrome and dyslexia who had left a home environment of physical abuse found not to be in 'priority' need and left to sleep rough http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/turned-away/6517948.article

 

Woman who had fled domestic violence, which had left her with chronic mental and physical health problems, denied accommodation by her local Council when her time at a domestic violence refuge had come to an end https://nearlylegal.co.uk/2016/09/compendium-vulnerability-cases/

 

I wish I could say that these were isolated cases, but as everyone who works in housing and homelessness will know, they aren't. This didn't used to happen; it's got steadily worse since 1979 when Council properties started being sold off under Right to Buy and weren't replaced, it leads Councils to engage in 'gatekeeping' where they routinely break the law in order to reduce the pressure on their housing stock. As a result thousands of people end up sofa surfing or living on the streets.

[Ms Macbeth 76]

Bob, I've carried out homeless assessments, and understand that applicants have to meet very strict criteria. It's not surprising that the legal cases in the links are about London Boroughs. The situation there is dreadful, even for those who do meet the criteria.

 

I've posted a link to Sheffield council property shop (on more than one occasion), highlighting available properties. These change every week, and often include family sized homes right down to bed sits. Anyone who meets the registration criteria can apply, they don't even need to present as homeless! Strangely no one ever responds to that information.

[Bob Arctor 11]

Bob, I've carried out homeless assessments, and understand that applicants have to meet very strict criteria. It's not surprising that the legal cases in the links are about London Boroughs. The situation there is dreadful, even for those who do meet the criteria.

 

I've posted a link to Sheffield council property shop (on more than one occasion), highlighting available properties. These change every week, and often include family sized homes right down to bed sits. Anyone who meets the registration criteria can apply, they don't even need to present as homeless! Strangely no one ever responds to that information.

 

With respect it's been a long time since you finished working there and what you don't point out is that to successfully bid on a family home without having a priority you would need about 10-12 years of waiting time on the housing register.