Five things students can do to help the homeless
In the first article of our collaboration with UCL Students Action Against Homelessness Society (USAAH), members of the society share five easy ways UCL students can help the homeless.
This short piece runs through simple ways you can help the homeless. We hope it will help you feel more equipped to interact and improve the lives of those struggling on the streets around UCL.
Material impact
There are a multitude of ways you can distribute food to the homeless around UCL. The apps Too Good to Go, or Karma can be used to gain free or reduced-price food that needs to be eaten in your area. Once downloaded, all you need to do is search for nearby restaurants and you’ll be able to choose what food to pick up. The UCL refectory is on Too Good to Go, so if you were to pass by on your way out of uni it would be an easy way to give some hot food to the homeless for less. You’re also helping reduce food waste in the process! As for clothing, we at USAAH recently worked on a collaboration with UCL MODO Fashion Society to donate clothes to the homeless around London at their flagship event: Grounded: Sustainable Fashion Show.
Helping the homeless find shelter
Shelter From The Storm is a free emergency homeless shelter here in London which provides beds for 38 homeless people every night year round. Similarly, St Mungo’s operates in London providing ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ shelters. These are just two examples of charities who can temporarily house the homeless. ‘Wet’ shelters allow the use of drugs/alcohol/unsociable behaviour, whilst ‘dry’ shelters do not, meaning there are different types of accommodation for different people. St Mungo’s shelters are located close to UCL campus in King’s Cross. In order to get people into either of these shelters you will need to use apps/services to refer them. Streetlink, for instance, is an app enabling you to send an alert to local authorities when you come across someone sleeping rough. Especially around this time of year, rough sleepers are at risk of developing hypothermia. Streetlink is managed by St Mungo’s in partnership with Homeless Link, but cannot take charge of people under 18, for whom you would need to call the police. Similarly, Donate Locate is an app through which you can help the homeless. It allows you to donate £1, £3 or £5 on the app. As you make a donation, your location is recorded, which enables professionals from the Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields to find people in need for whom you donated.
Human interaction
Human interactions between strangers are some of the most important connections. Influential Buddhist thinker Thich Nhat Hanh said that ‘your smile is the source of joy’, and as an often forgotten group in our society, the homeless are not afforded this joy. The activity of smiling activates neural messaging that stimulates your health and happiness. The endorphins released lift moods and are a global symbol. Homeless people have commonly stated that the highlight of their day is simply being noticed and not treated just as if they are rock on the street. When you take the time to talk to a homeless person you show them they are not invisible and forgotten, but that they are members of our community, the same as you or I.
Distributing knowledge on rough sleeping rights
Particularly in the winter months, it is important to know what help homeless people can receive from the authorities, as if you see someone in need you can help change their life. As of April 2018, when the Homelessness Reduction Act came into force, the local council is legally obliged to help prevent homelessness and help re-home or provide shelter for rough sleepers. Historically, homeless people have only received help from their council if they are deemed a ‘priority’, recently this has changed thanks to the successful campaigning of charities. This means that when it gets below zero degrees, the council must try and help every rough sleeper find shelter. We think it is important for homeless people to know their right to shelter and other amenities. The homeless also have the right to get free healthcare under the NHS. Despite what people think, the NHS makes clear that you ‘cannot be refused registration [with a GP] because you are homeless, do not have proof of address, identification or because of your immigration status’. So if you see someone who looks like they are in need of medical support, urge them to register with the nearest GP. One of the most important rights homeless people have comes from the EU settlement scheme (as we haven’t left the EU at the time of writing, this still runs). If they’ve been in the UK for 5 years or longer, with ID, an email address and a phone number homeless people can apply to gain benefits and a housing allowance. If someone doesn’t have any of these things, a homeless day centre can apply for them.
Political engagement
This is another important way you can help. It is worth researching your local MP and council — finding out about their record with regards to homelessness, what they have promised, as well as what they are doing to address the issue — and petitioning them to pursue key initiatives in governmental and local policy making. For reference, here is a brief summary of the different policies that each major party had in their manifestos in the recent election:
Labour want to abolish the 1824 Vagrancy Act, which makes it an offense to beg for money or sleep on the streets. With 1,320 prosecutions under this act in 2018, it seems like a no brainer to abolish this to stop villainizing and shaming the homeless. Labour also vow to build 100,000 new council houses, stating that the lack of social housing is a major cause of the current homelessness crisis.
The Liberal Democrats also want to abolish the 1824 Act, build 300,000 new homes by 2024 and set up a wellbeing budget. This means more money allocated not only to homelessness, but mental health and care for children in school; two issues that are also intrinsically linked to homelessness.
The Conservatives do not have a great reputation when it comes to homelessness, many have blamed their policies for the 165% increase in rough sleepers in England since 2010. However, they do commit to ending homelessness using the funds earned by their proposed extra 3% stamp duty on foreign buyers. They have also pledged to expand the Housing First initiative, but they have made no commitment to building more social housing, which homelessness charity Crisis have said is ‘troubling’.