'We help people on the streets – the abuse they get is unthinkable'

31 December 2023 , 08:20

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Some 3,000 Brits are sleeping rough this winter with organisations like Homeless Street Angels helping to keep them warm and fed

“We give out 20 sleeping bags to the homeless on any given night and by the next week we’re giving out the same again.”

Those are the heartbreaking words from Shelley Joyce, one of the many Samaritans gearing up to help some of the 3,000 people living on the streets over the winter months. Along with twin sister Becky, Shelley has been running Homeless Street Angels in Leeds for the past seven years, but says Christmas and the winter months are when the gravity of the situation facing some people is really laid bare.

She spoke as figures released by charity Shelter in December reveal that 309,00 Brits face homeless this Christmas– including 140,000 children – whether that's through temporary accommodation, sofa surfing or sleeping on the streets. Up 14% from last year, rates are at their highest on record.

According to the charity, around 3,000 people are sleeping rough on any given night. And as temperatures are now regularly dipping below zero, the elements make life on the streets unbearable. Speaking to the Mirror, Shelley – who in 2020 gave up her business to help the homeless full time – said: “To sit on a cold, damp floor on the street at this time of year, I don’t think people realise actually how painful that can be.

“One lady I helped one winter needed to go to the toilet one evening, so I sat in her place and told her I'd do my best to get her a bit of money.” It was a period of ten minutes which Shelley said completely changed her outlook. “People were looking at me in disgust, ignoring me,” she said. “I didn’t get a penny and my bum was freezing.”

Evicted family seeking help 'stranded' inside council office after staff go home

Street Angels in Leeds city centre helping rough sleepers over the winter

Shelley (left) and Becky Joyce

She added: “The first time I did this I went home and cried for two hours. Now I’ve become more hardened to it. Christmas time for me is always a very emotional time. So for some of our guys who have nobody, who are sitting there in the rain and watching people walking around with their Christmas shopping and designer handbags, it must be so disheartening for them. It really must hammer home how little you have.”

Steve Nuttall is a volunteer helping rough sleepers in Bradford. He said numbers of people on the streets in recent weeks had noticeably increased, with one part of the city centre having become “almost tent city”. Like Shelley in neighbouring city Leeds, Steve says volunteers regularly give out new sleeping bags to replace ones which are damaged by the elements.

”Sometimes people are urinated on,” he said. ”There is definitely hostility there, particularly if they are hanging around outside nightclubs and bouncers will try to move them away.” Steve said that while it was a stereotype for people on the streets being addicts, the trap was ”incredibly easy” to fall into ”if you're sitting there with nothing to do all day”.

Some homeless outreach organisations such as Shelley's even visit schools to tell young people about the issue and ”teach empathy”. Cities such as Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester have much higher rates of homelessness, with London seeing numbers through the roof. In boroughs such as Newham, as many as 1 in 20 people are homeless right now.

Charities such as Leeds' Homeless Street Angels often get no public funding and rely on the public's generosity. Shelley Joyce's organisation managed to raise more than £10,000 this year after producing a charity Christmas single, Angels on Earth, which includes G4 star Jonathan Ansell and singer Clare Brooke.

Polly Neate, from charity Shelter, said the UK's housing situation was ”out of control”. ”It is appalling that the government has allowed thousands of families to be packed into damp and dirty B&B’s and hostel rooms, which are traumatising children and making people desperately ill,” she said. ”Until the government takes this emergency seriously, our frontline services will do everything they can to help people keep or find a safe home this winter.”

Susie Beever