Large cities worldwide are usually centres of financial opportunities. With massive population pull and impressive economic might, competition for housing, jobs and the desire to live comfortably, demand certain prerequisites and behavioural patterns amongst competing groups inhabiting these cities. With the combination of these factors at play, whether healthy or not, new unforeseen challenges, one of which is homelessness, eventually comes forth. And in the case of one of the world’s most famous cities, London, the hidden issues that give rise to this social malaise, seem no different from elsewhere
Available statistics show that at the first quarter of 2022 approximately 9,541,000 million people lived in London with just over 3.6 million available dwellings, 11000 homeless people combined, tens of thousands of unemployed people and 32 councillors charged with the duty of making sure the numbers work without war! The problem is, since the figures don’t match, subconsciously everyone is aware of one cold fact but conveniently flee from it. And that is, homelessness for some, will be as certain as day light! So, what to do, if you end up amongst the unlucky 11,000 in London without a home?
Though homeless men outnumber homeless women by ratio 6:1 with the majority being 26 years and above, a young able-bodied male is still the most unlikely recipient for housing, as councils operate a point-based system in awarding social housing to the needy. From those with serious health issues, families with kids and single mothers struggling to survive, a homeless male, it is argued, simply does not fit the pity-picture deserving priority-pick.
Whilst the finger pointing persists amongst government agencies, as ministers pull hairs trying to make sense of insanities; here are your options if the council queue for social housing begins to elicits a desire to puke!
1) Register For Benefit Immediately. The UK government has a welfare system called “benefit”. Officially established in the early 20th century, but believed to date back to the medieval times, this state-run support system helps citizens in need of care. Get on the website below, register and choose the nearest jobcentre to you as address if you are homeless. https://www.universal-credit.service.gov.uk/start
After registering for benefit and you have access to your profile, get on your journal, go to the “Report a Change” section, you might be able to send information about paid hostel bookings that the benefit service might be willing to pay for. On your journal, send information about your intentions and you will get a reply from one of the agents. Check this link for cheap hostels around London: https://www.hostelworld.com/
2) Contact Your Council: London has 32 councils charged with running the affairs of each of the city’s boroughs. They do a lot of work including helping the homeless find temporary accommodation.
This link below takes you to a comprehensive list of all councils in London and the contact detail of everyone that matter, including those in charge of housing: https://directory.londoncouncils.gov.uk/
For example, Havering Council currently has a scheme that helps you pay deposit and rent in advance for private rent. Most councils tend to have some support scheme going on. Check the Havering council link below for inspiration: https://www.havering.gov.uk/info/20001/housing/614/homelessness
Depending on the council, hop on their website, to find specific contacts and schemes dedicated to tackling homelessness, but bear in mind, you must have local connection, and also, councils really can’t get everyone on their housing register, not because they don’t want to, they just simply can’t. There isn’t enough dwellings to go round, the data above coldly confirms this.
3) Look For Private Landlords: ***Best option for men***. The council will pay rent if you find a willing landlord to give you property. Even with your desperation to get out the cold, make sure to check that all bills are clearly stated and everything in the property works, including heating! These websites below give hope to finding landlords willing to take those on benefit. Usually, you must pay deposit and rent in advance but some offer their properties without. Always ask and ask nicely, you might be lucky!
4) Seek Advice: The charity above offers free services run by volunteers. They give crucial advice on nearly all issues regarding homelessness and more. Get on their website link below, go to the search section and type in “homelessness” for tons of resources to help you find accommodation
CRISIS charity office in Algate, east London. Image- Azu Ekpo
5) Homeless Charities: These select list of charities below have decades of experience and connections with landlords and housing associations all over London. Check their websites and make contact to get you of the streets.
6) Night Shelters: These places you can pass the night with breakfast in the morning, plus they are a bridge to meeting homeless charities who give holistic help
7) Night Shelter and Homeless Charity For The Young 16-24:
8) Charities and Advocates for Homeless Young Sexual Minorities: Many documented findings attribute high level of homelessness amongst young people to sexuality issues. Multiple factors including a hostile environment, feeling of shame and insecurity drive many youths away from home. These homeless charities below open their arms particularly to homeless LGBT youths
9) Charities, Advocates For Homeless LGBT Refugees/ Asylum Seekers: Some provide safe temporary housing and others provide legal help for gay asylum seekers
10) Homeless and African?: Unlike all other racial subgroups, tailored care exclusive to homeless people of African descent may be hard to locate, but don’t be despair, mainstream charities are now required by law to adopt policies welcoming to everyone, including Africans.
A quick advice though, inclusive policies give hope and reassurance but it will still have to be dispensed by individuals. So always pay attention to your environment, try to always stay positive, be less emotional and more objective, greetings and a genuine smile softens hearts, communicate clearly, wisely, warmly and focus on what you are there for. Things always work out most times. Try these charities below
11) StreetLinks Alerts Local Authority About Your Location: www.streetlink.org.uk . If you are sleeping rough, the council has a duty to help within the first 56 days. Streetlinks, gets the ball rolling, but first they must be aware you are out there! Call them! Tel: 0300 500 0914
12) Cheap Hostels? My Pick? ( Hostel No8 London) There are lots of cheap hostels in London to lay your head temporarily, but whilst homeless, one of my favourites was Hostel No8 located in Seven Sisters and Wilsden Green. The hostel is cheap compared to most. Staffs are friendly, and the property overall is clean and spacious with a friendly feel… oh and there is a pub and a kitchen for cooking! Go on the hostel world website to book https://www.hostelworld.com/
13) Worried About Germs and Lice Whilst Homeless? Exposure to germs, bacteria, viruses and a whole host of lice are high when homeless. To shield myself from these, I always carried a small antiseptic liquid. My favourite was Dettol! Small and convenient to carry, if I had to use a hostel bed, or any place at all to lay my head, a quick mix of Dettol drops in a quarter cup of water sprinkled sparingly on the sleeping surface area, always put my mind to rest
14) Sofa Surfing: For those with “friends” ask if you could stay for sometime whilst you visibly try getting a permanent home. Offer to help out in the house someway, either by cleaning, cooking, or looking after the kids, this gesture will endear your hosts to you and hopefully allow you stay longer, giving you time to get your own home
15) Night Bus Escape! At your wits end with zero options? Out in the cold feeling frightened and vulnerable? Hop on night buses!! Seek out buses with longer routes heading into central London and out. This gives you enough time to be warm whilst resting those tired legs. I always preferred the back seat on the 25 bus into Ilford East London, or the 453 bus into Lewisham South London. Each opportunity to catch these night buses was a relief! Now warm with a pen and paper in hand, I would scribble affirmations or try some sketches. That was the moment the idea for the OKON tracksuit for the homeless idea came about. The reality of my situation and the desire to maintain dignity had me sketching the perfect outer wear to hide from the cold and shield myself from humiliation without losing style!
16) Buses4Homeless Charity: Still on buses, luckily there is a charity out there holistically dedicated to helping the homeless who sleep rough on busses to reconnect back into society. This unique charity was founded by Dan Atkins. https://buses4homeless.org/:
Okon tracksuit for the homeless gift for Crisis Charity: Image and design by Azu Ekpo
17) OKON Tracksuit for the Homeless: Designed by me, the OKON sports tracksuit for the homeless inspiration came from the personal experience of being homeless, the humiliation that came with it and the harshness of the cold weather demanding a practical outer wear. https://www.okon.uk/ Get a referral from CRISIS charity to get you a free OKON tracksuit
18) Need Bathing, Breakfast and Basic Wears? There are places in London to shower, eat, cloth and get more help to get you out of the street. With Whitechapel Mission and The Manna Centre being my favourites, some others exist and equally give life saving care. Check the comprehensive list for London below and go to the one nearest you
Click hear to listen to the Audio interview with Sonia, she has worked for 15 years there:
19) Skint But Need Food? Try Food Banks: There are dozens of places you could go to in London to get free food, but for some you might need a referral. Emma Revie runs the biggest food bank charity in the UK, The Trussell Trust, https://www.trusselltrust.org/get-help/find-a-foodbank/. With the links below you could still find a lot more food banks scattered all over London
Image: Dunedin Night Shelter Trust chairman Dave Brown tests benches in the Octago, www.odt.co.nz
20) Staying Healthy While Homeless! Give the body a chance to overcome the current adversity. More so with the cold cruel weather, care must be taken to not allow the knees and joints cave in! So, find a private spot if you get the chance, park bench, etc, but when you don’t find privacy, go public! It’s a short life! (Pretend you are a celebrity!) Visuals of you doing this in public will only inspire every onlooker including that CEO in his Porsche driving past! All you need is a quick pound to the body to get your system kickstarted for the day.
21) Herbs For Health Whilst Homeless: A hot cup of water with key lime juice squeezed in with it’s green skin inclusive, cleanses the digestive track, boost immunity and gives the body a kickstart for the day. Some other healthy herbs to consume with less preparation fuss include:
22) Snack On Seeds For Nutrients! Light weight and lifesaving, edible seeds provide needed minerals and nutrition to aid healing of bodily cells taking the pounding of homelessness. When you can, have a stash in your bag. You can always pick some up at the food bank or discounted at local stores. The link below, gives more nutritious seed varieties: https://www.epainassist.com/diet-and-nutrition/9-seeds-that-you-should-be-eating
23) Hydration?: Keeping the body hydrated helps flush out impurities, maintain good skin texture and health. Which water bottle to carry with you? My personal favourite was Volvic!. Very low levels of impurities, if any, near perfect PH balance and light in the mouth. In my time of homelessness, volvic 1.5ltr bottle a day, if not more, was a must!
Homeless meal: Image and culinary by Azu Ekpo
24) Eat Healthy, If You Can: You may not have the option for a healthy diet when homeless but, try as much as you can to avoid, high fat, sugary and overly processed food. The body struggles to break these down. At my favourite hostel ( Hostel No8 ) i crafted a healthy culinary called the Okon Roughsleeper! Each preparation, would last me 2 days
Preparation: Boil don’t fry! Slice and boil the plantains with the skin for 20 mins, boil eggs for 10 minutes, and slice and slightly steam all vegetables for 3 to 5 minutes. Make sure to moderately add salt in all. When ready serve in a plate and add the slightly heated red palm oil. It all takes about 30 minutes to prepare with just £7 to last 2 days
25) Look Beautiful! Attract Love! The pain of homelessness may becloud the mind with despair on end; try as much as possible to alway maintain composure without letting your temporary pain become your outer wear! Smile, look after your physical body and with a gait that tells of pride in what you have accomplished in life, regardless of the temporary setbacks. Don’t shut down the gates to your heart, you will be surprised who you might attract. Uncountable lonely hearts out there in London wishing they knew you, and your life’s baggage inclusive! Some of the drop-in homeless shelters give free haircut and beauty services. The Whitechapel Mission has specific days it gives hair care to its homeless service users. Call and ask. https://whitechapel.org.uk/
26) Sexual Health And Homelessness: Sleeping rough and out in the cold ultimately means you are vulnerable with far less options, but the truth is, most people are quite compassionate and won’t take advantage of you. So what if you had to jump in the sheets with a total stranger for food and warmth? As soon as you can, get a health check immediately. Don’t take chances. Stay far and away from those offering drugs. See links to sexual health clinics in London below. Most are walk-in so you don’t need an appointment.
27) Homelessness With Debt Burden? The link below gives a directory of charities and businesses able to help with debt issues https://www.vulnerabilityregistrationservice.co.uk/advice-organisations/
28) A Charity Giving Men Executive Clothing: Founded by Dr Maria Lenn MBE, suited and booted charity caters to homeless and low-income men looking to have appropriate professional wears for job interviews. Suits, ties, boots, socks you will find here. You might need a referral though. Contact your charity to assist you https://www.suitedbootedcentre.org.uk/
29) Ready To Start Life Again? If and when you succeed in getting accommodation, take time out to mentally process and positively heal from the trauma. You need this for your overall health, reflection on your experiences and lessons learnt. Check that your priorities are in tune with your new reality as you get ready to take life on, once more
30) Finance, Family And Fulfilment: These may be priority for most people, but the value placed on each differ from person to person. To succeed in having all three at once, takes a miracle, but we can only try. As soon as you are psychologically ready, take time to begin visualizing a new path, more reassuring with less chance of you ending back homeless. If you find the will, the way will come
Have a driving licence? Driving gives more job opportunities. You can work in most industries or be self-employed. If you don’t have a driving licence, commit 6 months to getting one. Speak to the charities you are in contact with and be convincing that you need a driving licence for job pursuits. Most likely, they will help. Always remember, the right tone goes a long way. With a driving licence you can:
Learn new skills?
The health care sector is always looking for new hands with a heart, and most times, its very rewarding both financially and mentally. Aside from the specialist jobs like doctor requiring years of study with qualifications, for jobs like carers, support workers and health care assistants, you can start within a fortnight after a few courses. In health care, most important qualities needed from you are patience, tolerance, empathy and attentiveness to work. If you want more, you could go for nursing. Certification takes 3 years and it goes very fast. Job offers for nurses are always available. You will get a lot of support and the pay packet is much higher with greater flexibility
Work remotely from home as freelance?
Programmer/ web developer: If you can commit 3 to 6 months to learning programming and website development, you can find yourself, in no time, working from home, taking basic freelance jobs online, from all over the world. Get your hands on a laptop with the right storage and RAM. Start learning the basics of programming language and website development. When you understand the terms and basic, try to find online courses to take. As time goes, you will improve. The job opportunities for skilled programmers are endless. Be focused and committed to learn, you will become sort after in no time. When you feel ready to start freelancing, At these web sites below, post your ads and start getting jobs: Be sure to check the rates competitors charge, as a newbie, peg your rates slightly lower to be able to compete. Use high resolution images to sell yourself. Visuals pull the eyes, with the combination of an affordable price, you might be getting customers calling instantly. These sights below you can post commercial ads with opportunities for clients around the world
Bank Account Opening? For those with bigger dreams, when you are ready, how about opening a quick online business bank account in minutes! Having a business account opens more doors and the good thing is, most of these online banks are very flexible and would most likely grant you an account. Here are a few:
Research on more opportunities for you as a “small business owner”. Remember there are lots of opportunities to take advantage of, but you must research online…. you won’t regret it
Tax talk already??? Calm down, certainly not when you are sleeping rough but, when your start-up begins taking shape, nothing gladdens the tax man more than to know you simply “recognize “him. This link below gives an idea https://www.gov.uk/set-up-business
Go on websites to read on a lot of opportunities including financial grants for start-ups who set up correctly. Taxes are usually peanuts if you are not making tons of income, but, a wise advice, if you’re getting help from the state, and you are on your way to starting any type of venture including freelance, don’t be so shrewd…… believe me you will benefit a lot more setting up correctly. These companies below will help you set up with few quid’s, possibly throw in business account for free and these online accounts have integrated accounting features, saving you more on accountant fees! Keeping your books in order opens up more opportunities you may not expect so always remember your dreams are bigger now. With the above sorted, your chances of falling homeless again shrinks considerably
Family,finance and fulfilment- Image by Azu Ekpo
31) Still on Finance, Family and Fulfilment? Why not be a Foster Parent! How about creating a heavenly home by fostering? Your own family, a pet and that little angel who consciously calls you Mr initially, and then, that most special moment,….. Papa! Well, nothing is perfect and life is short. Why not foster a child or two and get plenty of weekly financial support from the state? Thousands of lonely children are in foster care staring out the window of their lonely little bedrooms wishing they had you for Mama or Papa! The joy of being a parent is a privilege treasured by many. Cooking, cleaning, taking a child to school or fun filled events maybe all that defines happiness and success for some. And why not? Human connection and the feeling of knowing you are valued by someone, truly has no price tag!
The requirements for fostering are straightforward. Your sexual orientation and relationship status are completely irrelevant. You could be single or married, gay or straight, the most important requirement is that you are an upright individual with good character able to genuinely care for and impact positively on a child’s life. Start with these links below, call and begin the exciting journey of grounding a happy home with some lovely kid out there. Time flies, and when you are old and retired, your years of endearing investment on that precious little child, most likely gets rewarded by same child who now is fully grown.
32) Homeless Outside The UK, But Still in The Western World? The societies in Europe, North America, New Zealand and Australia mirror each other in state welfare delivery with slight differences. So if you are homeless anywhere in these parts of the world, steps applied in London to overcome homelessness, could be safely replicated with success in Los Angeles USA, Lisbon Portugal, Paris France or Perth in Australia
Homelessness in Lagos
33) Homeless in Africa, the Caribbean, South America, or Melanesia?: If you are sleeping rough in these parts of the world, chances are, help from the state might not be entirely available
Note* Homelessness in the third world is primarily caused by weak state laws and policies
Author | Image: Azu Ekpo. Email: azu.ekpo @ theafricanangel.org
Other Images | bbc, abc, seattle times, getty, reuters, daily mail, the sunday times, online news sites
