Having your tent set on fire by ‘jokers’ – one of the hazards of living rough on London’s streets, amid fears the problem could get worse

By Jacob Phillips, local democracy reporter

Homeless people could be forced back onto the streets of London, despite the Government announcing an extra £66million to help protect rough sleepers.

Alan O’Connor says he has been asked to leave his Central London hostel which has been his home since March 2020 because there is not enough funding.

Homeless charity Connections at St Martin’s helped find Alan a place at the start of the pandemic as part of a scheme to protect the homeless from Covid.

But now Alan and his friend David, who is in the same position, are spending more time outside Oxford Circus tube station to get used to cold nights once again.

Alan said: “They just say that the funding has ended. They are saying they are trying to find us somewhere else and a few people have been moved out to hostels.

“But me and Dave have been here a year now.”

Alan explained his fears of returning to the streets of the West End.

The Londoner, who has been sleeping on the streets of the capital off and on for 20 years, said: “I have been sleeping in a bed and getting used to the warmth.

“[On the streets] I have woken up to people pissing on me. I have seen people set homeless people’s tents on fire in the West End.

“The worst place is Charing Cross. That’s dangerous. There’s going to be so many more people out here.”

Since then, Alan said he could be back on the streets in the cold winter months after being told he must leave his hostel on January 24.

A range of measures have been brought in to protect homeless people from Covid.

In December 2020, £28m was given to support local authorities across England to promote vaccination among people sleeping rough.

Councils were also asked to move homeless residents into temporary accommodation at the start of the pandemic.

Since then, 37,000 people have been supported and 26,000 people have been moved into long-term accommodation.

Although the number of people sleeping rough in London has dropped 37 per cent according to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), Alan has felt abandoned.

Homeless man David was put up in a hostel when the pandemic began but now he is also expecting to return to sleeping on the streets at the end of the month.

Sitting on the ground between a dead pigeon and a puddle of coffee, he previously told the Local Democracy Service: “The moment when I really need everybody I have just been dropped.

“I have been on and off the streets for 30 years. I have no support.”

A recent report says there are 242 people sleeping rough in Westminster, with 8,230 people stranded in temporary accommodation, according to housing charity Shelter.

The charity found nearly 170,000 people were homeless in London right now, including more than 86,000 children.

A DLUHC spokesperson said: “We remain committed to ending rough sleeping for good and we are providing more than £2billion over the next three years to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.

“We also recently announced an extra £66m to help rough sleepers into safe and warm accommodation and access specialist support services this winter, and our £10 million Winter Pressures fund will accommodate up to 3,500 rough sleepers, including people in 16 London boroughs.

“On top of that we’re providing £28m this year to provide emergency accommodation and support to help those sleeping rough to get vaccinated.”

A spokesperson for Connections at St Martin’s said: “The Bridge is a temporary project set up in partnership with Westminster City Council during the second lockdown to offer people sleeping rough short-term accommodation and wraparound support as a ‘bridge’ between the streets and more permanent housing solutions.

“With the support provided by The Connection and our partners, 45 people with a history of sleeping rough have moved on from the project to greater independence.

“The Bridge in its current form will close at the end of January and we are working very closely with each person affected and our local partners to ensure they have a clear plan for moving on from the project into alternative accommodation so no one is left without a place to stay.

“We are in discussions with the local authority about designing a new service to expand the capacity for both temporary and longer-term accommodation for people who have slept rough.

“If suitable longer-term options aren’t found for any individuals by the end of January, they will be offered hotel accommodation while we work with them.

“We continue to provide advice on housing, benefits, access to treatment services and work closely with our partners in the local authority, other charities and in the health service to keep people off the streets.

“The Connection believes no one should be sleeping rough and we work with hundreds of people each year to recover from homelessness and move towards a meaningful future.

“To date we have been running this service temporarily from a commercially-owned hotel property which was available due to the specific circumstances of the first year of the pandemic.

“We’re now working to identify suitable longer-term location/options, with our partners at Westminster City Council.

“The Connection is working hard with our colleagues from across all sectors to keep people off the streets and we welcome the recently-announced additional funding for short stays in hotel accommodation for people sleeping rough during the winter.

“However there is a blockage caused by lack of affordable housing and a gap in long-term accommodation London-wide – we are keen to see continued investment in this area, so that there are more supported tenancies for people sleeping rough.

“We are working with Westminster City Council on a proposal to do this, as are many other charities and local authorities.”