Addressing homelessness in the borough requires a nuanced approach says the CEO of All People All Places, George Dunstall
By George Dunstall

Homelessness has many faces; from those we see sleeping in doorways or parks across the borough to those who ride the buses at night for fear of the streets and to stay warm. Look a little closer though and we find the masses of people in insecure accommodation with the constant threat of homelessness hanging over them, sleeping in their car or reliant on often strained relationships to provide a floor for the night. ccording to the Greater London Authority’s Combined Homelessness and Information Network (Chain), in 2021/22 the single biggest reason rough sleepers in Haringey cited for their homelessness was being “asked to leave”.

Only a local response, delivered in cross-sector partnership, has the agility to bring solutions to homelessness in our community. We at All People All Places (APAP) are proud to be a longstanding part of that partnership working with the council, VCS and health sectors to find and support those facing a housing crisis.

We have been tackling homelessness locally for over 10 years. Firstly, through our winter night shelter provision across Haringey and Enfield, and more recently through our year-round day centre on Fore Street in Edmonton.

Of course, Haringey and Enfield share many of the same issues as other London boroughs; the cost of rent, travel costs, the increasing cost of living and the challenge of in work poverty that many face are universal.

But there are important differences too. Through our centres, we have seen significant numbers of rough sleepers and individuals at immediate risk of rough sleeping. However, most of our visitors come to us not at the point of rough sleeping, but rather with issues of debt, low wage employment and insecure, often informal, housing arrangements. Women whose right to reside is linked to the working visa of an abusive partner. Men whose work is ad-hoc and low wage – their housing precarious, multi-tenanted and transient. Individuals whose asylum claims are caught in the huge backlog and are left in limbo without access to money or a right to work. For many, crises are not one-off events to be overcome. They are lives lived in a perpetual state of crisis, lurching from one to the next. Such people are clinging on, not for hours or days, but months and years until they can cling on no longer. It is only then that the immediate presenting issue becomes one of homelessness across our borough.

APAP recognises the complexity and individual nature of people’s homelessness. That is why we provide immediate access to sheltered accommodation during the coldest months. However, we also recognise that preventative work is key. Our day centre is available for any visitor, whether rough sleeping or precariously housed. Visitors find a warm welcome, an opportunity to relax, charge their phones and have something to eat. Alongside this is specialist and independent casework and advocacy support to address the root causes of their crisis.

As a small, locally-focused charity we are heavily reliant on donations and engagement from our immediate community to deliver our work.

To find out more

Visit www.allpeopleallplaces.org

Follow @APAP_Services on twitter

Email [email protected]

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