Homelessness in Portsmouth Through the Cold Winter Months
As the days become shorter and the nights grow colder, living conditions on the streets of Portsmouth become increasingly dire.
Fortunately, there are organisations and charities which support homeless people through this incredibly difficult period.
Whilst there have always been people living on the streets in Portsmouth, it’s only escalated into such a huge crisis in the last five years or so. Recent figures revealed that 23 homeless people died in Portsmouth over the last six years due to poor living conditions.
Mike Morrell, manager of The Lifehouse food kitchen in Southsea, believes that the worsening situation is partially due to less help available for mental health.
“Over the last 20 years, there seems to have been less provision for the mentally ill.”
Many other reasons for homelessness increasing link back to larger-scale issues affecting the UK.
One of the main factors is the national housing shortage. This is where there are increasing numbers of people attempting to access accommodation, but not enough houses available. According to the National Housing Federation, one in seven people in the country are affected by the national housing shortage.
Another problem is public service cuts, which have led to fewer workers in services like social care and the police. Between 2009 and March 2018, the number of police officers decreased from 144,353 to 122,404. This means that there is less help available when a citizen experiences a crisis, thus making it more likely to worsen and leading to them becoming homeless.
As temperatures plummet, various organisations in Portsmouth are supporting homeless people through this particularly tough time.
The Rucksack Project, for example, are encouraging people to donate backpacks filled with items for surviving on the streets. These will then be distributed amongst homeless people in November.
The Lifehouse food kitchen is also working extra hard to support homeless people during the winter.
Mike said: “We are serving meals on extra nights and we have an additional point of contact at this time to supply essentials.”
To find out more about The Rucksack Project and The Lifehouse, click here.
