Homeless in Hull: How people living on the streets are going to cope this Christmas

Regardless of how people are spending Christmas, it is safe to say the vast majority will have a roof over there head at the least. And the recent cold snap will have made them all the more thankful for it. But despite energy bills going up and costs rising for the rest of us, some people face the prospect of Christmas sleeping out on the streets alone.

They have no way of staying warm other than by wrapping up in what little they have while relying on the charity and goodwill of others not even to be comfortable, but to survive. Figures show 11 people were sleeping rough in Hull and seven in the East Riding, according to the latest headcount in Autumn 2021, out of 2,440 across England. Data for England shows while the numbers of rough sleepers was down by 9 per cent compared to the previous year, it has risen by 38 per cent since 2010.

A total of 12 deaths of homeless people, those sleeping rough or living without a fixed address, were recorded in throughout 2021 in Hull. Estimates put the real count as high as 19, and the total number of those dead was the highest since records began in 2013.

A total of 362 people were classed as homeless, living with no fixed address, from April to June 2022 in Hull, while a further 418 faced becoming homeless. In the East Riding, the figures were 207 and 58 respectively.

We spoke to three men sleeping rough in Hull this winter who told us about life on the streets over coffees and sandwiches. Their reasons for being on the streets are varied, but all are united not only by their circumstances but by their determination to keep going and eventually get off them.

Roy’s story

Roy, 43, said he had lived in the best and worst of times. His work on boats previously took him as far away as Thailand and he even spent time living in the Canary Islands. But things took a turn for the worst when he and his girlfriend of 13 years got into drugs and he said it only took six months to lose everything he had.

Now, as he spoke to us, he sat beneath sleeping bags with his friend Paul in the doorway of an empty building they have fashioned into a shelter.

Roy said: “I’ve been on the streets twice since me and my girlfriend split up, this time I’ve been for about a month but I think I might have found a hostel. I was in one before, it was a place for people who couldn’t get into the other homeless hostels. But I’d rather be out here because I’m used to it, it was freezing and horrible in there.

“Because I’ve done it before I know what it’s like now, last time I stayed out longer than I needed to because I got a mate, he was about 26. He was like a bairn to me, I didn’t want to ditch him on his own so I stayed out with him because he needed moral and mental support. Now me and Paul stick together because we give each other that camaraderie, it’s really important.

“And if we both left this spot here all our stuff would get taken and thrown away, and it’s all we have. What I’ve come to realise since being homeless is how much people take having a home for granted, that feeling of opening the door to your own place, going in and just watching TV or something. I took it for granted too, people don’t realise how lucky they are.

“But at the same time I’ve also seen that material possessions don’t make you into a good person, I had everything I wanted or needed before, but now I’m out here. But that made me get clean from the drugs I was taking and I’ll never take anything for granted ever again. I don’t beg for anything, people still try and help anyway the public are brilliant with us.

“And so are the police who work on the outreach team, we see them around most nights, and the council’s good too. Moving into a hostel will be the first step forward for me, then you get to speak to outreach workers more often and they get you on the right track. In the meantime we just try and keep our spirits up, you have to, otherwise you’re on the road to depression it’s as simple as that.”

Paul’s story

Paul originally hailed from the south of England and said he has been homeless and travelling between places for 10 years. He said he has stook with Roy ever since they struck up a friendship and has also come to appreciate the kindness Hull people have shown him compared to how he was treated elsewhere.

Paul said: “Everybody’s got their own problems, it’s important not to judge them. And most of the people sleeping rough in Hull know each other, we all try and look out for each other and look after each other if we can.

“I remember what it was like on my first night on the streets, it was pure fear, you’re so scared because you don’t know what’s going to happen. You think you’re going to get hurt or robbed or something, of course there are some who’ll try and nick something from you while you sleep but most people in our situation are fine with each other.

“We never really have any trouble from people on nights out, where I come from down South you get people trying to do all sorts to you. The people of Hull are diamonds.”

Leon’s story

Leon Bade, 48, was living with his mother and brother though lifelong struggles with mental health meant that he could not support himself. He lost his mother in June leaving him homeless by August, before his brother died in November. Now he wears three coats just to stay warm as he sits out in freezing temperatures, waiting for someone to take pity on him and spare him some change or food.

Leon said: “I don’t have any family left now, I’ve got no one else. My mum died of a heart attach, when that happened we lost our house, I had nowhere else to live. I had to improvise and adapt at first, find places where I took take a shower and I got to know the other homeless people in Hull. But now I don’t know what to do, all I think about right now is that it’s freezing out here, I’ve got three coats on and I’m still cold.

“Instead of asking people just for money I try and ask for food and toiletries so they don’t think I want drugs. I don’t take drugs and I don’t want to have anything to do with people who do, but everyone thinks that because you’re homeless you do things like that. I’m from Hull originally but at first I tried going to Sheffield and then Leeds, but I kept falling in with the wrong crowds.

“People would start trying to get me into drugs but I didn’t want to have anything to do with it, so I moved on and now I’m here. I normally sleep in the doorway of a camping shop further out of town. They’re nice to me there, they gave me a sleeping bag and they don’t mind me because I always get up and nine and I go on my way.

“Sometimes you have good days and bad days, sometimes people will bring you coffees and food. Other days it’s hard, sometimes I don’t get more than 20p. Generally people tend to be quite friendly, at Christmas I’m going to go to the restaurant where they put on food for homeless people.

“I’m determined to get off the streets by January, without a doubt, because I can’t take it any more. Do you think I like being out here?”

If you are sleeping rough, homeless or at risk of homelessness, or know someone who is, then you can contact Hull City Council by phoning: 01482 612 040/01482 300304 or East Riding Council on: 01482 393939.

Charities which help homeless people and those sleeping rough include the following:

Shelter- 0808 800 4444, www.shelter.org.uk

Citizens Advice- 0800 144 8848, www.citizensadvice.org.uk

Emmaus UK- 0300 303 7555, emmaus.org.uk