How Leeds charity Turning Lives Around is supporting hidden homeless, after rise in referrals

With nowhere else to go, Nick presented as homeless at Leeds Housing Options, was placed in a hotel and referred to Beacon, a service delivered by West Yorkshire charity Turning Lives Around (TLA) in partnership with other local charities Touchstone and Foundation, for men and women with multiple disadvantages.

Beacon is commissioned by Leeds City Council to provide supported accommodation for those assessed as being in ‘priority need’. This means as well as being homeless, they have other complex needs such as mental ill-health, offending history, drug or alcohol dependency.

“Nick came to Beacon with hardly any personal possessions,” his support worker says. “A cannabis user, he hadn’t taken his prescribed medication for several months, didn’t have a GP, had problems seeing and walking and was generally in poor physical health. Mentally he felt ‘low’ and was talking of ‘not being here’.”

Nick was supported to access medical and dental care and offered help to sort his finances, use a smartphone and set up an email address.

His support worker learned he had previously been a victim of financial abuse and cuckooing – a practice where people take over a person's home and use the property to facilitate exploitation.

Nick received support to bid weekly for tenancies and eventually secured a flat with Leeds City Council, where he continues to live.

But, for a time before he presented to Leeds Housing Options, he was one of a community of hidden homeless people in the city, whose situation goes unseen.

Those seen bedding down in shop doorways or under bridges are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to homelessness, says TLA, which works to prevent homelessness amongst some of the most vulnerable people in society.

There also exists a community of hidden homeless people, sofa surfing with the reliance on the goodwill of family or friends, or sleeping in cars, sheds and garages.

Some later go on to access Beacon’s support, which can be done by referral from Leeds Housing Options, the service’s street outreach worker, other agencies or self-referral via a downloadable form on TLA’s website. The charity says the need for help has risen and so too has the number of self-referrals, with demand now far exceeding the accommodation and support that Beacon has available.

The service can accommodate approximately 250 people at any one time in a range of intensive 24/7 hostel style accommodation, shared houses, and self-contained flats.

It helps more than 200 people a year to move into independent living and more permanent accommodation available through private landlords, Leeds City Council, and housing associations, with most people with the service for between four and ten months.

“It is hard to quantify just how many people are hidden homeless, but the self-referrals tend to be from people in that situation, those who are ‘making do’, living on friends’ floors etcetera and have very little hope of finding a new home for themselves without additional help,” explains Shamyla Sarwar, TLA pathway manager for Beacon Leeds.

“All our clients have some element of complex need and in addition to needing accommodation, require support to address that need and enable them to live independently.

"In some situations where the applicant is assessed as being low risk and is otherwise being missed by the system, we are able to help.

"However, the number of self-referrals we are receiving at the moment is overwhelming. This has led to a very long waiting list and the need to look at more effective ways of managing the referral process.”

Adam is another individual who has been helped by Beacon. He was asked to leave by his family when his drinking got out of control and he found himself sleeping in a friend’s car with deteriorating mental health.

He was originally placed in accommodation away from family support but was later relocated and began to thrive.

He was offered a place on a detox programme and a flat from Leeds City Council. “Adam successfully completed his 13-weeks in rehab and was able to move straight from there into his new home,” says his support worker, who helped him for 18 months.

“He continues to volunteer in peer support and is also training to be an alcohol worker which is fantastic. Beacon supported him to get a roof over his head and find some stability which meant that Adam has been able to address his other issues.”

Shamyla acknowledges Beacon isn’t the right service for everyone. But “there is a lot of work going on in Leeds by a number of different organisations supporting homelessness and trying to prevent it,” she says.

“And by working together we can signpost to other agencies who may be able to help.”

TLA supports people to maintain their tenancy, become tenancy ready or move into their own properties by providing and helps them to live full independent lives.

For more information, visit www.turninglivesaround.co.uk