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Nowhere safe to stay: the dangers of sleeping rough
- Author:
- ST. MUNGO'S
- Publisher:
- St. Mungo's
- Publication year:
- 2016
- Pagination:
- 20
- Place of publication:
- London
Based on interviews with 40 of St Mungo's clients, this report presents evidence on the dangers of rough sleeping and the poor service people often receive from council housing options teams. The report also includes an analysis of CHAIN data on rough sleeping in London, data from St Mungo’s Client Needs Survey of 1,036 clients who have previously slept rough, and an analysis of press reports of people who died whilst sleeping rough. The report discusses the high risk to rough sleepers of being victims of crime; experiencing poor physical and mental health; experiencing drug and alcohol problems; and causing damage to their relationships with family and friends. The experiences of people interviewed for the report suggest that assessment at council homelessness or housing options services are often inadequate. The report also found that people asking for help were sometimes are turned away or even instructed to sleep rough in order to access services. It makes a number of recommendations, including for MPs and government to support the Homelessness Reduction Bill which would place new duties on local authorities in England to help prevent and relieve homelessness. (Edited publisher abstract)
Stop the scandal: the case for action on mental health and rough sleeping
- Author:
- ST. MUNGO'S
- Publisher:
- St. Mungo's
- Publication year:
- 2016
- Pagination:
- 36
- Place of publication:
- London
Drawing on evidence from people with a history of rough sleeping and from services and commissioners across England, this report makes the case for developing effective specialist homeless mental health services for rough sleepers. A total of 248 Freedom of Information requests were sent to local authorities and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in areas known to have 10 or more people sleeping rough each night. The results found that over two thirds (68 per cent) of these areas fail to commission specialist mental health services. The data found that specialist mental health services for people sleeping rough were more often commissioned by CCGs than local authorities, and that level and type of service varied. Examples of services identified are included. In-depth interviews conducted with 21 people with a history of rough sleeping and mental health problems found that existing mental health problems were made much worse by sleeping rough, and that rough sleeping also made it more difficult to access mental health services. Five principles are identified to inform how services working with people sleeping rough with a mental health problem should be delivered. These are for services to be: accessible, attentive, understanding, caring and persistent. The report makes recommendations for people delivering services, national and local government, commissioners and health professionals. (Edited publisher abstract)