The struggle to help Shropshire's homeless

Winter nights are not the time to be out on the streets.

As dusk descends the majority of us retreat to warm homes, pull the curtains tight and settle down on the sofa in front of the box.

For many, however, such luxury is not an option.

Roy, who did not want to give his second name, sleeps rough on the streets of Shrewsbury and has done since he left prison. He spends 365 days of the year outside, whatever the weather - simply trying to survive.

"Living on the streets is hard work," he says. "You can be just sitting somewhere at night and you see people on their way home from pubs or clubs, shouting abuse at you and throwing things. They go ab­out, kicking things over, yet, when the morning comes, we're the people who get the blame.

Nowhere

"It's desperately unfair. We're not doing anything wrong, we're just minding our own business. I ended up on the streets after I came out of prison and I had nowhere to go."

Roy, happily, found the Shrewsbury Ark, a drop-in centre for the homeless, based a stone's throw from the town's train station.

The 40-year-old has been grateful for their assistance, particularly as he is nearing the average life expectancy for rough sleepers, 42, some 32 years below the national average for men.

"Shrewsbury Ark just gives us somewhere to go to stay dry and keep warm," he adds.

More than 450 people are registered as homeless across the UK with tens of thousands more living under the radar, and the problem isn't just confined to the big cities - both Shrewsbury and Telford have a significant homeless population.

Unfair

Tim Compton, leader at the Shrewsbury Ark, is well aware of the problems facing those struggling to survive on Shropshire's streets.

"We want to make sure we can help as many people as possible," says Mr Compton.

"There's an unfair impression that just because someone is homeless they're going to be a problem.

"You sometimes only get this stereotypical view of people living in the streets. We look at them as an equal.

"We can't tell them to get off drugs or stop drinking but if we can help them get off the streets for a few hours and give them some food and a drink then we will.

"Most people we have coming in here are regulars. They come in almost every day because it is the only place for them."

And just by looking around the room there is inspiration and hope from volunteers who have come from the streets and pieced their lives back together.

Bob Smith, 60, now offers help and advice to those who visit the Ark.

He says: "A lot of the people who come in here know me because I have been on the streets. It helps when they come in here that they have someone who they recognise.

"They can see that I have come through it and it can help give them something to aim for.

"I was on drink and drugs by my late 20s. I've been off the drink for the last eight years now. I lived on the streets for about 18 months.

"If there'd been a place like this when I was using it could have helped me out."

And it's that sense of satisfaction from helping others which brought Steve Watkins into the KIP Project in Wellington.

"This is my calling," he says, as he takes a well earned break in his office.

"Since we started KIP in 2005 I think we have had around 1,000 people come through our registration system," Mr Watkins says, explaining the volume of paperwork.

"We are currently getting at least three new people signing up each week. And it doesn't take a genius to work out that 12 people a month equates to an awful lot of homelessness.

"All the people who come through here are non-statutory homeless - which means they have been to the council who have told them they don't need to house them and so they come here. We then try to work with local landlords to help house them and we are lucky to have a couple of landlords in the area who are sympathetic to our cause."

KIP's offshoot charity meninplace (MIP) comes to the fore in such instances. The organisation has 50 places for homeless people to bed down.

"They're all full," added Mr Watkins.

Struggling

"That shows you the demand we have for people needing accommodation. If MIP closed or folded for whatever reason tomorrow then we would have 50 more people on the streets of Wellington.

"The only solution to that is to provide more housing stock. I can understand why funding doesn't become available to help because there are probably people who have worked all their lives who are struggling. I understand the politics of that."

The Government has committed to ending rough sleeping by 2012, an ambitious measure which while looking good on paper may struggle to be borne out in practice.

Government figures show the number of rough sleepers has fallen from about 1,800 to about 500 in the last 10 years - but that only tells part of the story.

Many people who don't want to be found, won't be found and although statistics rarely tell the full story here, they seem to be barely telling a fraction of it.

The Shropshire Housing Alliance (SHA), based in Shrewsbury, is another organisation which feels the figures are distorted.

SHA Chief Officer Mandie Molloy says she feels felt the new guidelines could help paint a clearer picture. She says: "We think homelessness is a bit higher than but obviously it is difficult to put an exact figure on it. We want to help as many people as we can and that's what we try to do here."

And she admits getting someone off the street can be the hardest hurdle.

Begging

"If we see someone begging then there is only so much we can do without them actively engaging," she said.

"We can obviously go and talk to them but we can't force them to find a house or stop living on the streets. There has to be an element of co-operation.

"After that we will actively try and get them to find accommodation.

She adds: "There is often a history to homeless people.

"There might have been problems with parents or step-parents. They might only be in contact with one of the parents and it has caused problems.

"Some might have a history of alcohol or substance abuse and it's about getting over that initial hurdle and making contact.

"We don't want to see anybody homeless and when you see people who have come out the other side and you bump into them in Sainsbury's then it makes it all the more worthwhile. This job can be frustrating but it's also very, very rewarding.

"I've been doing it for 17 years and I've seen a lot of people come through that door in that time. Thankfully the good times far outweigh the bad."

Special report by Alex James