What it’s really like being homeless in Rochdale

Two years ago, Shane Leith’s relationship broke down.

His ex-partner moved to Ireland with their young daughter, leaving the 30-year-old to pick up the pieces of his life.

Struggling to come to terms with the situation, he turned to drugs to numb the pain, lost his warehouse job, and ended up living on the streets.

It has brought him some of the lowest moments of his life.

“That storm we had last year – the ‘Beast from the East’ – I was homeless through that, that was awful,” Shane says.

“Probably the worst point of being homeless was being homeless through that storm.

“I was just putting a bit of wood up against the wall and crawling underneath it, trying to make the best of it.”

He tells the story while sat in a soup kitchen run by Rochdale Community Partnership from the old magistrates’ court on The Esplanade.

Every Tuesday evening volunteers serve up hot drinks, rice, chicken curry, pizza and cakes for the town’s homeless – as well as those struggling with addictions, mental health issues and social isolation.

Some are also qualified to offer expert advice on mental health, while a dental technician and a hairdresser also make regular visits.

There is also a clothes section which is particularly well-used during the winter months.

Shane says he would go hungry or malnourished without the town’s soup kitchens – which also include Champness Hall on Drake Street.

“If not for places like this I wouldn’t eat. I might eat something, but I would struggle, I would not be eating what I need,” he says.

He explains he is doing his best to get back on his feet but struggling without a roof over his head.

“It’s housing that I need, I’m finding it hard to get off the drugs while I’m on the streets. I’m trying my hardest – I’m on methadone but I need a flat,” he says.

A relationship breakdown is just one of the many and complex reasons people can find themselves on the streets – others include domestic abuse, losing a job or problems with the benefits system.

But Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has pledged to end rough-sleeping here in Rochdale and across the city region by 2022.

He recently extended his A Bed Every Night initiative – initially introduced as a short-term measure over the winter – until June next year.

According to government figures, just three people were rough-sleeping in Rochdale when the annual count was undertaken in November 2018.

But volunteers tell a different story, saying they are seeing increasing numbers turning to them for help.

Chris Furlong – a former Rochdale councillor – says that the numbers have more than doubled over the last 18 months – from around 40 to pushing 100 – and more families with young children are also coming for help.

“It’s definitely getting worse,” he says.

“The cuts are biting more, council services have been decimated, they can’t help as much as they used to. And there’s Universal Credit, obviously.

“Council services such as addiction absolutely have been decimated, there’s a whole host of people here, not just homeless.

“Up until six months ago I had not seen any kids, but we are now seeing more and more families, people bringing their kids which is heart-breaking really.”

Fellow volunteer Denise Chadwick from Heywood says she has noticed a similar trend and has been particularly alarmed by the number of families that have ‘suddenly’ begun to seek help.

In her experience, it’s the government’s much-criticised flagship welfare programme – fully rolled out in Rochdale last May – that is often behind the problem.

“It’s Universal Credit,” she says.

“When we have interviewed these people who have come with children it would seem they have moved into the area, and because they are then waiting to be put on the system  before they can access it, they have a waiting period of five or six weeks with no money.”

It’s a theme fellow volunteer Mohammed Zaheer picks up – adding that many people have ‘not got the life skills’ to deal with how Universal Credit works.

“Before money used to go directly to the landlord, now it goes direct to their account and they have not got the skills to manage the money, they can spend it in one go.

“Some will get an advanced payment and spend that in one go and get into further debt.”

And he has also noticed the rise in families coming to the old courthouse for help.

“Once we had a couple that had brought their child straight from school, two girls and a boy under age 16, that was heart-breaking.

“We gave them pizza, they thought it was a party, they were really happy. That was emotional.

“We took them to one side away from the rest and gave them extra-special treatment.”

But those on Universal Credit are also subject to sanctions if, for example, they miss an appointment or cannot prove they have been looking for work.

Volunteer Zahid Iqbal works for Groundwork, running its Prince’s Trust programme for 16 to 25-year-olds who are not in work.

The youngsters have helped out at the kitchen as part of the 13-week course – and some continue to volunteer after completing the programme.

But Zahid has also seen some of his old charges back at the soup kitchen after they have lost their housing benefits after being sanctioned.

“I don’t think Universal Credit has helped in any way,” he says.

“When people are down, they are looking for housing, not work. Once they get the housing issue sorted, you can build from there.

“My priority is to get out of the homeless shelter, get on the housing list and work from there.”

The courthouse soup kitchen may be run by Rochdale Community Partnership, but is a real team effort with the likes of Michael Bamford of Reuse Littleborough and John Shaw – who is involved with Street Treats and SPIN among others – all contributing to the operation.

Mohammed Sheraz, an organiser and volunteer with RCP, says that ‘more and more organisations are coming on board’.

“It’s about partnership working and seeing how we can share resources and solve problems in terms of meeting the needs of the users we have go,” he says.

“In an ideal world we would not need to be here – our success is if someone comes and shuts us down and says we are not needed.”

A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions said that Universal Credit is a ‘force for good’ through which 2.2 million people are being supported.

“It gives people financial help if they’re unemployed, low-paid or unable to work,” they said.

“People can get their first payment on day one of their claim as an advance and we continue to make improvements.

“Sanctions are only ever used as a last resort when someone fails to fulfil their benefit commitments, and they affect fewer than 3% of all Universal Credit claimants.”

Nick Statham, Local Democracy Reporter