Feature - Homelessness in Lincoln

This was a feature article written in response to the Autumn Budget about homelessness in Lincoln. It was submitted as part of a university assignment.

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Philip Hammond looked fairly proud of himself when he made the announcement in the Autumn Budget. A homelessness task force. They will eliminate rough sleeping by 2027. Who could argue with that policy?

There are 12 people sleeping rough in Lincoln, according to a recent report by Shelter, and there are 80 registered as homeless throughout the city.

"Not a chance." Richard can argue with it. He asked for his surname to not be included.

He lived on the streets for 20 years: “It was horrible, cold, wet.”

He travelled from the top of the country to the bottom, staying in every major city. Despite describing homelessness as awful, he added: "Lincoln is a really nice place to be homeless, the people are nice, kind and really friendly." This is proven by the fact that during our chat, we get interrupted several times by people Richard knows, either buying a copy of the Big Issue, giving him some money or a hot drink. The gratitude he has for these people is clear.

Richard and his dog, Sticks, are a familiar sight in Lincoln's city centre. He is found outside Marks and Spencer most days selling the Big Issue: "I want to give something back. If selling this magazine can do that, I want to do it."

Richard has had Sticks for 13 years. And for much of that time it has been just the two of them: "Before I had him I was on my own. I was an alcoholic. I wouldn't have spoken to anyone. He helps me.

"I would still be on the streets without him. Or I would be dead."

He explained how he tried on his own for nine years to get housed: "They told me to get rid of him [Sticks.] I wouldn’t. So, they pushed me to the bottom of the list. The friends I made here were tired of seeing us homeless. They wrote letters, sent emails and made phone calls. Then Framework got involved. Three weeks later we got housed."

The pair have been "indoors" for three years now. And Richard says this is thanks to his friends who helped.

I asked him what was needed in Lincoln to help the homeless. He pointed to the building above the Waterside shopping centre, above Ernest Jones and Paperchase, above the old BHS. "They're empty. They could house 200 people if they opened up these buildings." And these are just the ones we can directly see.

Lieutenant Huw Dutfield from the Salvation Army cannot see a way around the problem: “You have people who chose to live on the streets. It is an impossible situation. How can you just create homes for these people overnight?

“They [politicians] make these promises and I don’t think that it is achievable. I think they are in denial that it is a big problem.”

The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has just published a report saying that 90% of British MPs think that opening up empty spaces above shop buildings will help solve the housing crisis.

Chris Carr is the joint manager at Carr & Carr Builders. They are based in Lincolnshire and are members of the FMB. He said: “The new homes market has dwindled dramatically, and we need to look at alternatives.

“We need the whole package really. New homes, old homes and renovated homes.”

Before these buildings above shops can be opened, Chris said: “You need fire protection, sound insulation and thermal insulation.”

What then, needs to be done? Huw thinks it is facilities that are needed, and the Salvation Army has plans to help: “We have got plans for next year to build an extension where we are going to create shower rooms and toilet facilities.”

"They need to get their heads out of their a***s" is Richard's opinion. He thinks there need to be more facilitators helping the homeless, more funding, and the empty buildings in Lincoln need to be opened.

Chris sounded fairly positive that empty spaces above shops would be able to be turned into accommodation: “There are not enough builders at the moment to build new homes. The smaller builders need to do renovation work above shops, and it’s what the FMB builders do very well.”

And as for Philip Hammond’s ambition to eradicate rough sleeping by 2027?

Those who deal with homelessness on a daily basis are not sounding positive.

We will have to wait and see if in 10 years this does happen. But for those homeless people, the ones really in need, ten years might just be too long...