UCL Student Action Against Homelessness publishes report on how the pandemic affects UK rough sleepers

A new research report published by the UCL Student Action Against Homelessness society highlights the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the homeless population in the UK.

Photo by Tom Parsons on Unsplash

Published in December 2020, the research report by UCL Student Action Against Homelessness covers the plight of migrant rough sleepers, the increased risks of being a victim of crime, housing and eviction policies in light of the pandemic, and the increase of youth rough sleepers.

Most of UK's rough sleepers are in London, with migrants making up about half of the capitapital's homeless population. Migrant rough sleepers experience heightened difficulties, as they may be unable to claim government support if they are asylum seekers still waiting for legal status. Furthermore, even when some form of support is available “many migrant rough sleepers sleeping in shared dormitories or homeless shelters, unable to self-isolate and properly protect themselves from the virus, putting them at a greater risk for infection,” according to the report.

On December 1, 2020, the UK Home Office enacted new immigration rules to criminalise and deport migrant rough sleepers. Many have protested these rules, including London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the Greater London Authority and various Councils. The Public Interest Law Centre is undertaking a legal challenge against the rules.

Rough sleepers are also vulnerable as being homeless increases the risk of becoming a victim of crime, with “violent crime against the homeless population being 17 times more likely compared to the general public,” the report states. The report underlines the need to further investigate the relationships between homelessness, mental health and crime victimisation in order to implement intervention strategies that will alleviate crime and health-related issues within the homeless population. “Collaborative work between organisations such as homeless shelters, health-care services, substance-misuse services and police forces should be strengthened in order to reduce both criminal behaviour and crime victimisation among the homeless population,” the report states.

While some rough sleepers were accommodated in hotels during the first lockdown, securing a safe residence is still a problem. The government’s Coronavirus Act 2020 extended the notice periods that tenants are entitled to receive when landlords claim possession of their homes. The report notes that as of September 2020, 300,000 renters had reported that they were late on their rent payment and were at risk of eviction. Currently, if a landlord is looking to evict a tenant for reasons other than serious outstanding payments, anti-social behaviour, or because the tenant does not have a right to rent, the notice period is six months. This is expected to be in place at least until March, and on top of that, the government has extended the eviction ban until mid-February due to the current lockdown.

Youth homelessness, which is perhaps a less visible phenomenon, has also increased during the pandemic. UCL student Emmanuelle Benjamin is a volunteer at Shelter From The Storm - London’s “only free homeless shelter which is open all year round and receives no help from the government.” She said she was shocked that all the residents who had been there five months ago were not there because they were offered accommodation by the government, yet what was even more shocking was the young age of the new residents. Emmanuelle observed that “a lot of the new residents were [her] age, 20 years old, and they didn’t have a home to go to.” This prompted her to reflect: “While we are complaining about university being online, people our age are living on the streets.”

Members of UCL Student Action Against Homelessness have been helping homeless people by working with charities like ShowerBox, which provides free, safe showers for the homeless, although lockdown has halted their in-person volunteering. Lilla Conte, the society’s president, encourages students to get involved. She says, “Volunteer in shelters, make donations to ShowerBox, Crisis, Shelter and other similar charities, or even smile and greet people you see that are sleeping rough. Offer food or a conversation if you can and just be kind!” 

You can read the full UCL Student Action Against Homelessness report here.