Homeless left in the cold in affluent west Kent

Shelters are filled to capacity, waiting lists are closed. Homelessness is a problem in west Kent and it's about to get worse.

At least 309 households became homeless across the area in the last year - a shocking figure which only tells half the story.

This includes only those people the local authorities were required to house by law - such as youths, those with children or serious health issues - while others were left in the cold.

There is not a bed to be found in Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge or Sevenoaks, yet numbers of homeless people are expected to grow in the next year as a result of the economic downturn.

I spent a week sleeping rough to find out what it is really like to be without a home. I was shocked - I found that beneath the veneer of wealth in our affluent area lies a huge hidden problem, invisible to most of us.

Speaking to various agencies, from homeless shelters to charities, street workers and local councils, it is clear this dark secret is ignored - not by Government, but by us, the population.

With rising costs hitting families hard and house repossessions on the increase, we could soon have a rude awakening. Tonbridge based homeless charity The Bridge Trust expects the credit crunch and looming recession to result in more of us finding ourselves on the streets.

Manager John Handley told the Kent and Sussex Courier: "Often what happens when things start to get tight within families is the cohesion starts to fall apart. But I don't think we will see the impact for another six months."

Alan Richards, manager of the Crisis Recovery Day Centre in Tunbridge Wells which helps those with addictions, said homelessness could happen to anyone: "It is a very unforgiving world out there. If you slip up once you are blacklisted for debts then it really stacks up against you.

"The current economic climate does not help. We get people who want to work but can't find employment and we believe that will increase. A lot of our guests are basic labourers so they can't get work, they have no money and it makes it much tougher for them."

He said there was simply not enough hostel accommodation in the area, and the problem was vastly underestimated by Government rough sleeper counts.

The 2008 National Rough Sleeping Estimate showed there were 483 people sleeping rough in the whole of England on any single night. This figure was calculated from the street counts for every area in which a count has taken place since 2007.

But where no recent counts have taken place, local authorities must submit an estimate and only estimates of more than 10 rough sleepers are validated by a count.

The Kent and Sussex Courier asked the three west Kent councils for the results of their most recent counts:

*Tunbridge Wells Borough Council: 3 (2006)

*Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council: 12 (2000)

*Sevenoaks District Council: 0 (2008 figure. Recorded as nil because received no reports from community of rough sleepers in district.)

Alan commented: "These counts show how many people you can find on a given night, not how many there are. A lot of people will hide because they are afraid of being beaten up."

John Handley also said the resulting totals have fallen short of the real situation: "The official figure for 2007 was 498 people sleeping rough in the UK. In west Kent they counted one, when The Bridge Trust knew of a minimum of 13 people sleeping rough at that time.

"That's not to say that central government, through their local authorities have not worked very hard and with a deal of success in reducing the numbers of street homeless, but the problem still exists – we know because we meet them and house them."

He said while the councils work to do something about homelessness, the problem is largely ignored by the "population at large".

A joint homelessness strategy was launched by the three councils in February 2007, focusing on lone parents, young people, victims of domestic violence and clients with mental health issues.

But Rob Marsh, YMCA west Kent chief executive, believes this is not enough. He said too many homeless people fell into a vicious cycle of exclusion.

"There is an unwillingness to accept that we have got a problem. The councils' approach is to gate-keep by fobbing off homeless people so they don't appear on their figures. It is potentially taking lives."