Improved assistance promised from homeless charity

Thursday 29 February 2024

Guernsey was “unique” in the British Isles for not having a dedicated charity focused on homelessness, until one was announced this week.

“We don't have a charity whose sole purpose is to combat homelessness. And that changes today with the launch of At Home in Guernsey,” Guernsey Community Foundation CEO Jim Roberts said yesterday.

The short-term objectives of it are to reduce harm to those homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless, and long-term it will aim to shape government policy to tackle the root causes.

It’s now on the hunt for a boss and then two support workers, as well as bespoke premises to work independently of the Foundation, to offer practical support such as helping with references, acting as an intermediary with landlords, and referring people to other agencies or charities for help.

But Mr Roberts said these efforts “won't solve the housing crisis”, and purchasing or managing specialist housing isn't immediately on the cards for the new organisation, but could become necessary in future if demand and funding is there.

The first three years of the charity has been made possible through “substantial” funding from Specsavers, with company CEO John Perkins saying the firm stood ready to offer corporate assistance such as public relations and administration.

Pictured: Former Bailiff Sir Richard Collas has been involved with the project.

Mr Roberts said research to date shows there’s a problem that demands a response, with the Foundation embarking on a two-year project to determine the scale of and solutions to the problem.

Foundation Chair and former Bailiff Sir Richard Collas singled out Maison St Pierre, a housing charity which formerly worked to house homeless women and their dependents, for bankrolling two reports, one produced by Homeless Network Scotland: “Without them, none of this would be possible,” he said.

Mr Roberts said: “In Guernsey people do sleep in shop doorways and in bunkers, and in their cars and in Candie Gardens, and in the toilets by the bus terminus and in garages near Smith Street, and so on.

“There are people living in St Julian's House and other emergency accommodation who have nowhere else to go. And sofa surfers do move from house, to house, to house, dependent on the patience and the charity of their friends who sometimes go on to abuse them.

“Care plans do get torn up, because young people with no address disappear.

“There is a hidden network, an unseen parallel reality of single people - mainly single men - some with addictions, some without and some with work, some who have spent years and years in repurposed hotels, bnb’s, and lodging houses in a state of perpetual housing limbo.

“There are ordinary people who don't present with any particular problem and they're working full-time and they're doing everything right, whose world will be turned upside down after a single text when the landlord tells them that they've got to go.”

Pictured: Annie Ashmead, Deputy CEO of Citizens Advice.

There are estimated to be over 1000 people who are insecurely housed as at 2021, which represents an increase of nearly 50% since 2016.

Data is skewed due to the lack of a statutory definition of homeless, making it difficult to know exactly who to include in the net.

This was explained by Annie Ashmead, Deputy CEO of Citizens Advice Guernsey: “The exact number of people who are homeless in Guernsey are at risk of becoming homeless is still really unknown because data collection can be problematic.

“The evidence from the Citizens Advice Guernsey data is that the trend in the numbers of people experiencing homelessness, or at risk of homelessness has risen significantly; with 30% more clients in 2023 compared to 2022.

“What I would say is the island is experiencing a cost-of-living crisis. We've got rising mortgage interest and rental costs, and it is expected that homelessness will continue to increase without active interventions.”

Sir Richard said the composition of the Foundation, and the launch of the new charity, would mean there would be an impact on the issue.

“If we operated only as a think tank, we would carry out research, make some recommendations and move on. If we were just a grant giver, we would wait for others to come to us for funding. And if we were solely a community organisation, we could not use our knowledge of the third sector to influence broader societal outcomes.”

Pictured (top L-R): Sir Richard Collas, Jim Roberts, Alex Lemon, and John Perkins.