Rough sleeping in Oxford is on the rise, the latest report from the Kerslake Commission has shown. In 2022, there were 27 people recorded as rough sleeping in the city, up 13% from 2021.
The UK is currently experiencing the highest rates of people living in temporary or unstable accommodation on record. Rough sleeping, the most visible form of homelessness according to homelessness charity St Mungo’s, increased by 26% nationally in the period June 2021 to 2022, government statistics show. As opposed to other forms of homelessness such as staying in temporary or unstable accommodation, rough sleeping involves sleeping on the streets.
This has led the expert panel consulted in the latest Kerslake Comission report to conclude that the current picture will render the government unable to reach its target to end rough sleeping by 2024. According to the commission, any government attempting to deal with homelessness should take measures to prevent people from being at risk of homelessness; incentivise a cross-sector effort to make timely and effective interventions that prevent those at risk from sleeping rough; and provide a route out of homelessness for those that find themselves on the streets.
The report recommends that the government increase its social housing provision, likening the scale of the problem to that of early 20th century Britain. In the short term, the report advises that the government increase the housing benefit, which has remained frozen since April 2020 amid rent hikes that have “pushed the number of homes on the market that can be paid for through welfare down from 23% to 5%”, the Guardian reported in June.
Overall, figures from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities show that 79 households were homeless in Oxford in the first quarter of 2023. This was an increase of 43 households on the previous year.
The Oxford City Council website states: “We spend more than £143,000 a year to help provide day services for rough sleepers in Oxford. We fund Homeless Oxfordshire, The Porch day centre and The Gatehouse to provide these services.”
Curtis, aged 42, was on the streets in Oxford for just under six months. He said he had no alternative but to sleep on the streets after circumstances changed overnight when his relationship broke down.
He said: “I found myself unexpectedly homeless. After a year of living with my girlfriend our relationship ended, and I found myself homeless overnight. I started rough sleeping and had to switch to survival mode, trying to keep warm and find food to eat. I felt constantly on high alert, I was fearful of getting hurt. You feel invisible and that no one believes your situation.
“I was on the streets for 20 weeks and it felt like forever, the world can be cold, and you could easily find yourself going down the wrong path. Thankfully, I am strong willed and kept myself strong until I was able to get help.
“I am now trying to heal, find myself a job and become part of the community here in Oxford.”
