Young Homeless Brits Sleeping Rough at nights on the streets

The number of black Britons forced to sleep rough is rising. But, as Xav Judd reports, policy-makers are paying very little attention to the problem

2008 financial crisis and the recession that followed, the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government elected in 2010, imposed a series of austerity measures to try and resurrect the British economy. 

This meant that not only has central government drastically reduced its funding to homeless charities and several other housing organisations, but local councils have also had their ability to help people like Richard curtailed because of budget cuts. 

Many homeless black people in the UK are failed asylum seekers

The government’s own figures point to this having a significant impact on the number of rough sleepers. According to the Office for National Statistics in 2013 there were 2,414, a rise of over 37 per cent since 2010. 

However, experts say they are particularly concerned about how homelessness is dramatically impacting the black community.

Take London as an example. The last census figures (2011) show that although people from BME communities make up 13.3 per cent of the capital’s population, they make up 15 per cent of those who are officially homeless. According to housing and homelessness charity Shelter, people from BME households are more than twice as likely to be homeless as those from white British households.

This means that increasing numbers are finding themselves on the streets. These can be people from the UK, or from Eastern European countries, with no recourse to public funds account, or asylum seekers from the caribbean or other countries.  “other problems” can include having fewer qualifications;

existing in a lower income bracket; experiencing greater unemployment
or experiencing health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure
and kidney failure – all health issues that are disproportionately
likely to affect people from BME communities.

If black people were faced with just one of the aforementioned considerations, it might not make a huge difference.

But put together, it is easy to see why it is frequently harder for people from BME communities to secure decent housing in the first place, and then hold onto it.  Sadly, local authorities do not have dedicated resources to help homeless black Britons. There are organisations which offer tailored advice and support such as the African Caribbean Community Initiative, Ekaya and Steve Biko housing associations.

However, many other homeless charities that also provided these services can no longer do so because of a lack of funding.

Organisations like Centrepoint and St Mungo’s Broadway provide help to people of all ethnic backgrounds.

Many have outreach workers who build up trust with rough sleepers and give them support, in the hope of helping their clients find appropriate accommodation.

In the end, homelessness is a desperate situation with the odds heavily stacked against those unfortunate enough to find themselves there.

Stateless Black Caribbean Children in the uk Forced Into Lives Of Crime And Sex Work

There are two reasons for this problem arising. The first is when a young person is trafficked into the country. Because of the way they have been brought into here they feel they have no control. What often happens is that the person who brings them to the UK withholds their documents. If they manage to get away from the traffickers, it’s not uncommon to find them engaged in illegal activities such as cannabis planting or selling illegal dvds because they feel they can’t do anything else. Then there are other situations where a relative has brought someone to the UK using false documents. They are staying with a family but really they are being exploited as domestic servants. When the relationship breaks down and they are thrown out of the house that’s when they are likely to find themselves homeless or get involved in crime because there is often no way they can prove who they are.”Young people who arrive in the UK without the right documents face danger of exploitation and homelessness.