Homeless man’s call to helpline takes over an hour – as experts say govt’s target to end rough sleeping ‘will fail’
Ian’s face is grimy, his hair matted. A cigarette butt picked from a dustbin hangs from his fingers.
He calls out from the pavement asking: “Can you spare any change please?”
Yet, somehow, he is invisible.
People walk on by and in a moment, he is forgotten. It seems too that the government target to end rough sleeping by 2024, has vanished and is too forgotten.
A report today by the Kerslake Commission says the opposite is happening, rough sleeping is on the rise, up 26% on last year. It says clearly: “The government won’t meet its target.”
The panel says this is because “unresolved systemic issues have left the country exposed to rising homelessness”.
It calls for “urgent action to address the rapidly rising rates of homelessness and rough sleeping”.
The study says much of the problems stem from a severe shortage of affordable housing and a lack of appropriate support services. This combined with the cost of living crisis is pushing more people into homelessness.
Ian Harrison struggles with mental health issues and drug addiction. Pic: Andy Portch
From a hostel to Hammersmith flyover
Sky News has followed Ian Harrison’s progress since the pandemic when he was living in a hostel. Now he is back out on the streets surviving in make-shift homes using palettes and cardboard boxes constructed under the Hammersmith Flyover in west London.
Like many rough sleepers across the country, the 33-year-old is struggling with a range of issues, such as mental health problems and drug addiction that have been exacerbated by street life.
He has tried and failed to change his fortunes. In the spring of this year, he managed to get a job at McDonald’s in Skegness and held it for three months before falling out of employment and getting a ticket back to London.
For those four months he says he was clean from the drugs, but being back on the streets means he is also back on heroin and crack.
He says: “It’s pointless trying to stay away from it when you are on the streets – you know it’s on the streets. It’s a part of street life.”
Ian scores some crack cocaine from a dealer and smokes it during the time Sky News is with him. Asked what would get him off it, he says: “Getting in somewhere – meeting the right people. I want to get a job and stuff. I just want a job and a normal life but it’s hard to get.”
For four months, Ian was clean and off the streets. Pic: Andy Portch
A revolving door existence
Ian’s mental health problems and chaotic lifestyle stem from childhood trauma, which if addressed earlier may have transformed his life and saved the taxpayer the cost of his revolving door existence between mental health inpatient services and life on the streets.
During COVID, the “Everyone In” policy rapidly reduced the number of rough sleepers, and the Kerslake Commission was set up to learn the lessons. It suggests three main strategies to end rough sleeping.
Firstly, preventing people from getting to the brink of homelessness. Secondly, ensuring no one needs to arrive on the streets to get help, and thirdly that everyone should have a route out of rough sleeping.
The commission is “urgently calling on the government to increase housing benefit so that it covers local affordable rents”.
During Sky’s time with Ian, we called StreetLink which is a helpline run by St Mungos for rough sleepers or concerned members of the public. The service is designed to connect homeless people with local services and accommodation.
However, Ian warned that we wouldn’t be able to speak to anyone and it turned out we were on hold for over an hour before an operator replied – something you wouldn’t expect a homeless person with limited phone credit to be able to hold on for.
Ian was later put in touch with an outreach worker, but weeks later remained on the streets.
His chaotic lifestyle stems from childhood trauma. Pic: Andy Portch
A chronic shortage of housing
StreetLink says: “Since its launch in 2012, StreetLink has successfully managed over 500,000 alerts, connecting thousands of people with the support and accommodation they need to end their rough sleeping.
“The team works hard under tight resources to make sure every alert and contact with the public is managed efficiently and sensitively to ensure that people who are sleeping rough receive swift support.”
Read more:
Number of homeless people admitted to hospital rises by 60% in four years
Record number of households and children in temporary accommodation
Prince William launches project to help end homelessness in Britain
St Mungo’s Chief Executive, Emma Haddad, who was on the panel of the Kerslake report, said of its findings: “The chronic shortage of affordable housing and appropriate support services means we are just responding to people already in crisis rather than preventing them from reaching that point in the first place.
“The recommendations give a clear set of actions to both the current government and the next administration that would make a big difference to tackling rough sleeping and homelessness.
“We made so much progress on rough sleeping during the pandemic, which clearly demonstrated what can be done when we work together with a shared purpose and dedicated funding. It’s time we applied the same energy to stop this homelessness and rough sleeping crisis spiralling further.”
Ian’s makeshift home is under the Hammersmith Flyover in west London. Pic: Andy Portch
Bob Kerslake died in July 2023 and the report is a tribute to him and his life’s work.
The Kerslake family said: “After over 40 years as a public servant, many of which were spent on delivering quality homes and environments, Bob was saddened and dismayed by the rise of homelessness across our country. He was proud to chair the commission and totally committed to its findings. He would have been vociferous in publishing its conclusions and recommendations.”
What the government says
A spokesman for the department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said it remained focused on ending rough sleeping: “[We] are spending £2bn to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping in the areas that need it most.
“We are making significant progress with over 640,000 households prevented from becoming homeless or supported into settled accommodation since 2018.
“We would like to pay tribute to Lord Bob Kerslake for his life’s work on this issue and we will continue to work with the commission to end rough sleeping for good.”
UK
Reward of £20,000 offered to identify parents of three siblings abandoned as babies over eight years
A £20,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the identification of the parents of three siblings found abandoned in London over eight years.
The Metropolitan Police said that despite more than 450 hours of CCTV being reviewed, the parents of the three children, known as Elsa, Roman and Harry, remain unidentified.
However, it is believed their mother has lived in an area of east London “over the past six years”.
Elsa was believed to be less than an hour old when she was found by a dog walker on 18 January last year, in East Ham, east London.
In the months that followed it was found that she had two siblings who were also abandoned in similar circumstances, in the same area of London, in 2017 and 2019.
On Saturday, police said the independent group Crimestoppers had offered a £20,000 reward for information passed to the charity, which will expire on 18 April.
Detective Inspector Jamie Humm, of the Met’s child abuse investigation team, said: “We have carried out extensive inquiries over the past year to try and locate Elsa’s parents.
Baby Roman. Pic: Met Police/PA
Read more from Sky News:
The Commons venue that changed political history
Link between A&E waiting times and chance of death
Missing sisters made earlier visit to same bridge
“This has involved reviewing over 450 hours of CCTV and completing a full DNA structure of the mother.
“We have serious concerns for the wellbeing of the parents, especially the mother, and are continuing to work closely with Newham Council and appeal for the public’s help for information.
“I believe that someone in the area will have been aware of the mother’s pregnancies and that within the community there may be (or) have been concerns for this mother’s welfare.
“Thanks to the DNA work of forensic colleagues, police will be able to eliminate any unconnected person quickly and easily, as such I would ask you to contact police with confidence.”
The baby was found at the junction of Greenway and High Street South in Newham. Pic: PA
Elsa was found wrapped in a towel in a reusable shopping bag, of which police have also released a new image, and was kept warm by the dog walker. She was uninjured.
Police said at the time that it was “highly likely” that she was born after a “concealed pregnancy”.
The Boots bag in which Baby Elsa was found abandoned by a dog walker in Newham on 18 January 2024. Pic: Met Police/PA
The BBC reported that at an initial court hearing, East London Family Court was told it took doctors three hours to record Elsa’s temperature because of the cold, and the Met Office said that temperatures dropped to as low as -4C on the night she was found.
Hospital staff named her Elsa in a reference to the character from the film Frozen.
The police investigation into the identity of the children’s parents continues, and anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 or post @MetCC ref Operation Wolcott.
People can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously at any time on 0800 555 111 or via Crimestoppers-uk.org.
Fresh appeals have been made for information on what would have been the 20th birthday of Ellis Cox, who was shot dead in Liverpool last June.
A number of people have been arrested in connection with the murder at Liver Industrial Estate, but no one has been charged yet.
The 19-year-old’s family and police have paid tribute to him and called for those with information to come forward.
He was shot in the back after a confrontation between his friends and another group of up to three males on Sunday 23 June.
Ellis Cox who was shot dead in June 2024. Pic: Merseyside Police
His mother Carolyn paid tribute in an appeal to coincide with what would have been his 20th birthday.
“He was so kind… so laid back, so calm, so mature for his age. And he was just funny. Very funny.
“He was my baby… no mum should have to bury a child. He was my life. And I don’t know what to do without him.”
Mum Carolyn Cox (left) and aunt Julie O’Toole (right) are looking for answers
Ellis’ mum described him as ‘kind” and “funny. Pic: Merseyside Police
Meanwhile, his aunt Julie O’Toole said he was “the sort of person I think you’d be hard pressed to find anyone to say anything negative about. He was loyal, fiercely loyal… everything was about his family”.
To pay tribute to Ellis, Liverpool City Council will be lighting up the Cunard Building and Liverpool Town Hall in orange on Saturday.
DCI Steve McGrath does not believe Ellis was involved in criminality
Detective Chief Inspector Steve McGrath, the senior investigating officer, spoke about the information gathered so far, six months on from Mr Cox’s murder.
“I’m satisfied that the group that he was with was probably the target… and I would say that’s got something in relation to do with localised drug dealing in that area. But Ellis had no involvement in that whatsoever,” he said.
He added that police are looking for “really significant pieces of evidence now”, including “trying to recover the firearm that was used in relation to this, looking to recover the bikes that were used by the offenders”.
Read more from Sky News:
The Commons venue that changed political history
Link between A&E waiting times and chance of death
Missing sisters made earlier visit to same bridge
Mrs Cox also appealed for people to come forward with information.
“If you know anything, don’t let us get to [his] next birthday and still know nothing.
“We need to get justice for Ellis. And we need to get the people who took him from us off the streets.”
Former Manchester United and Scotland footballer Denis Law has died, at the age of 84.
In a statement, his family said: “It is with a heavy heart that we tell you our father Denis Law has sadly passed away. He fought a tough battle, but finally, he is now at peace.
“We would like to thank everyone who contributed to his wellbeing and care, past and much more recently.
“We know how much people supported and loved him and that love was always appreciated and made the difference.”
Denis Law in 2005. Pic: PA
The Aberdeen-born footballer previously announced in August 2021 that he had been diagnosed with dementia.
A prolific striker, Law scored 237 goals in 404 appearances for Manchester United, for whom he signed for a then-British record transfer fee in 1962.
He is the only man to have two statues dedicated to him at Old Trafford – one on the Stretford End concourse, the other as part of the United Trinity statue overlooking the stadium’s forecourt beside fellow great George Best and Sir Bobby Charlton.
Denis Law, third from left, as a statue featuring him alongside Sir Bobby Charlton and George Best – known as the ‘holy trinity’ – was unveiled in 2008. Pic: AP
The only Scottish player to have won the Ballon d’Or award, in 1964, he was also part of United’s triumphant campaign in the 1968 European Cup – in which they became the first English club to ever win the competition.
In a statement, the club said: “Everyone at Manchester United is mourning the loss of Denis Law, the King of the Stretford End, who has passed away, aged 84.
“He will always be celebrated as one of the club’s greatest and most beloved players.
Denis Law, centre, during Manchester United’s triumphant European Cup campaign in 1968. Pic: AP
“The ultimate goalscorer, his flair, spirit and love for the game made him the hero of a generation. Our deepest condolences go out to Denis’s family and many friends. His memory will live on forever more.”
Wayne Rooney, former United captain and the club’s all-time record goalscorer, described Law as a “legend”.
“Thoughts with all Denis’s family and friends,” he said in an online post.
Another former United captain, Gary Neville, said: “A great footballer and a great man. It’s a privilege and an honour to have spent time in your company. The King of the Stretford End.”
A tribute from the Scotland national team said Law was “a true great”.
“We will not see his likes again,” it said.
Law also played for Huddersfield Town, Manchester City, and Italian club Torino during his club career, and made 55 appearances for Scotland, scoring 30 goals for his country.
Manchester City said in a post on X: “The whole of Manchester, including everyone at City, is mourning with you. Rest in peace, Denis.”
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports10 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway