Homeless people across Wales were given rooms in hostels and hotels at the beginning of the pandemic but for many in Cardiff this is now just a memory.
The current ‘priority need’ housing system prioritises housing for those who fulfil certain criteria. This includes pregnant women, those with children, young people, and victims of domestic abuse.
But campaigners say that this system causes people to fall through the cracks and remain homeless long-term.
Read more: 21-year-old drowned after falling into the sea in Tenby.
Brian Lloyd, 37, has been homeless for 17 years. He said: “I’m 37 years old and I have never had a flat of my own.
“I have had problems with addiction, both drugs and alcohol, for years. I have been clean a couple of times, but it is hard to get clean when you are sleeping outside on the ground.A lot of us want to get clean and better our lives but it feels impossible.
“It is a cycle of prison, addiction and homelessness. I don’t have money to rent privately.
“I was given a hotel room in the pandemic but this was taken away from me after an argument with hotel staff. They were not trained on how to deal with people with complex needs like us. I have now been told that this means I made myself ‘intentionally homeless’ and I am not eligible for council housing.
“I do believe that homeless women especially need to be housed. I know so many women have been sexually assaulted, or even turned to selling themselves because they have no other choice.
“Sleeping on the street is scary. I’ve heard of so many people being assaulted and even killed. I’m scared every day that something like that will happen to me.
“It sounds bad but if one of us die, then that’s one less person the council is responsible for.
“I’ve thought about taking my own life but I don’t want to do that. I want to get better and improve my life for my family.
“I just think that every homeless person should be given a chance and given a place to live. If I had somewhere safe to sleep where I choose who comes in and out, I would be able to turn my life around.
“I have problems with addiction and mental health, but 90% of these issues are caused by my homelessness.”
Brian Lloyd, aged 37, who doesn’t want his face shown, shows his tattoo.
(Image: Richard Swingler)
Liam Hassan, 33, hopes to get back into work. He said: “I have been homeless on and off since I was 22.
“At the start of the pandemic, most of us were given somewhere to stay. I stayed at the Huggard. Now, the streets do seem a bit quieter at night and I do feel safer.
“In the time I have been homeless, I have had work some of the time, but I lose my job as a result of my addictions.
“I used to be a professional chef, like my twin brother. He has children, so his head is screwed on. I don’t see them because I wouldn’t be a good role model.
“My family has always had problems with addiction to drugs and alcohol. I don’t do it everyday, but I’m worse if I have money. I feel like I can treat myself.
“I need someone to teach me how to manage my money. I want to get back into work but who will give a job to a homeless person.”
Liam, aged 33
(Image: Richard Swingler)
Another man who has been homeless long-term is Bladen, 34. He said: “I have been homeless for 10 years. I signed up to the housing waiting list when I was 16, but to this day I have never been given somewhere to live.
“Some of the charities treat us badly. I have been banned from one centre until 2025 and now I can’t even use their toilet or get any food from there
“I was housed in the YHA at the start of the pandemic but kicked out and now can’t go back there. I have nowhere else to go.”
Derek Gabb, 34, said: “I have been homeless for 2 years and I have been on the council waiting list for the whole time. I wasn’t housed at the start of the pandemic.
“I feel like no-one cares.”
Bladen, aged 34
(Image: Richard Swingler)
When some homeless people are finally housed, it can create mixed emotions.
One woman, who wanted to be referred to as ‘Sophie’, 37, was housed by Cardiff council in March last year after four and a half years without a home. She said: “It was hard for the council to find me and my partner a home, as we have our dog, Millie.
“When we were finally given somewhere to live, it was located away from everyone we know. I now live in Tremorfa, where I have no family or friends.
“All of my family are on the other side of Cardiff and you can feel really isolated from the community sometimes.”
Sophie spends her day on Caroline Street, making wool friendship bracelets which she hopes will encourage people to donate money.
Sophie makes friendship bands for people
(Image: Richard Swingler)
Millie, aged 8, sits next to her owner, Sophie, on Caroline Street, Cardiff
(Image: Richard Swingler)
At a conference in July, minister for climate change Julie Morgan announced her intention to change the system used to decide which homeless people get housed in Wales.
Campaigners say that a change in the system would mean councils across Wales would be required to house all homeless people regardless of their circumstances.
Homelessness charity Shelter has been campaigning to change the current system for several years.
A spokesperson for Shelter Cymru said: “Shelter Cymru has long campaigned to end priority need in Wales and we are pleased that the Minister for Climate Change recently confirmed the Welsh Government’s intention to end priority need at our People and Homes conference earlier this month.
“Home is everything, without it we can’t lead happy, healthy and productive lives. That is why we’ve called for the end of priority need, to move away from a system that rations support, to a system where anybody who needs a home, gets what they need.
“Ending priority need will shift councils’ efforts away from administering tests and towards helping people.
“What’s critical to understand, though, is that ending priority need can’t happen in a vacuum. We need to urgently step up provision of homes that are safe and that people can afford to live in.
“If we don’t do that, ending priority need will end up with many more thousands of people stuck in temporary accommodation, which nobody would agree is a good thing.”
(Image: Richard Swingler)
The new system would likely remove the eligibility requirement for housing, and will require councils to seek to provide accommodation for all homeless people.
Lindsay Cordery-Bruce, chief executive of Welsh homelessness charity, The Wallich, said: “At The Wallich, we believe that every member of our society is equally deserving of support.
“The current bureaucracy around who is ‘eligible’ for help leads to too many people falling through the gaps in provision and this needs to change. It’s a system which clearly isn’t working from a practical point of view – people still face sleeping rough as their only option – and too many lives are harmed by not receiving the support they need.
“The tests required by local authorities to ascertain whether or not an individual seeking homelessness relief has a ‘local connection’, whether they ‘intentionally’ became homeless and whether they have ‘recourse to public funds’ were removed during the Coronavirus pandemic on public health grounds and everyone was offered housing, no matter their ‘status’.
“We believe that homelessness is itself a public health challenge, which is why we also believe that the successful cross-departmental public health approach to homelessness, and rough sleeping in particular, must continue after the pandemic.
“A major challenge still remains around housing supply in Wales, making eradicating homelessness more difficult to achieve in the longer term. However, we stand strong in our commitment that everyone in Wales should be afforded the basic dignity of a safe and secure place to call home.”
Millie, aged 8, sits next to her owner, Sophie
(Image: Richard Swingler)
The ‘priority need’ system was abolished in Scotland in 2012, and the nation now has a duty to provide every homeless person with accommodation, irrespective of their circumstances.
A review into whether this would work in Wales took place in October 2020.
Frances Beecher, CEO of Homeless charity Llamau, said: “Llamau welcomes the Minster, Julie James’ announcement of her intention to remove priority need in Wales.
“It is vital, however, in order to make this a success, there needs to be enough funding to ensure permanent accommodation and the right support is available for those who need it.
“It is also important that the removal of priority need does not adversely affect current priority need groups such as young people or women experiencing domestic abuse.
“At Llamau, we look forward to continuing to work with Welsh Government and local authority partners, focusing on the prevention and early intervention agenda, in order to reduce the number of people who become homeless in the first place.”
Latest figures show that there were 6,278 people in temporary accommodation in Wales as of April 2021.
The number of people sleeping rough is difficult to track, but latest Welsh Government data suggests this number is as low as 70.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We are committed to ensuring that everyone has a safe, secure place to call home; that is why we are investing in building new low carbon homes for rent in the social sector.
“In the previous Senedd term, we invested a record £2billion in affordable housing, helping us to meet and exceed our target to deliver 20,000 affordable homes in that time.
“Throughout the pandemic we have worked to ensure that no-one is left without accommodation nor the support they need to stay safe during the pandemic. As a result over 10,000 people have been supported into accommodation since March 2020.
“We have been clear that there is no going back. We have set out our intention to fundamentally reform homelessness services to focus on prevention and rapid rehousing in our Programme for Government. Further announcements on how we will do this will be made by the Minister in due course.”
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