This programme contains
some strong language.
How are you doing, buddy?
You all right?
'I'm Professor Green.
'It's a cold December night
in Manchester
'and a large crowd has gathered
at this soup kitchen.'
How many people are you feeding?
Over 150.
And how often? Every time.
We're out three times a week
and we'll feed anyone.
I know about at least
300 homeless people, and they're...
and they're roughly my age.
And that's Manchester? Yeah. Yeah.
What is the face
of the homeless, then?
Around here, if you said to me,
"Is that person homeless or is that
person homeless?" I wouldn't know,
but you could guarantee,
someone who's dressed really nice,
they probably are homeless.
You wouldn't know you were homeless,
between you two.
I've been homeless for a year,
and it's like...
So, have you been sleeping
rough for a year? Yeah.
'The city has reported one
of the biggest rises in homelessness
'amongst people
under the age of 25.'
I owned 25% shares
of my dad's company.
I had a two-bedroom flat in my name.
I had two cars and
a Ford Transit van and it's, like...
It's gone.
My dad went bankrupt.
That's including myself, as well.
I lost everything so it made me...
I came here.
I keep hearing the term
"hidden homeless" get thrown around.
They're either in hostels,
cos they're still classed
as homeless... Yeah.
..sofa-surfing... Yeah.
..erm, just bouncing
from place to place,
living in squats,
derelict buildings.
Not everyone fits into the same box.
They need help,
cos there's not enough... Yeah.
'I want to find out what life
is like for these young people who
'have no place to call home.'
I want to understand
just how big the problem is,
starting in Manchester.
I'll be spending the night
with 20-year-old Luke,
who has been living on the streets,
on and off, for the past five years.
'One way he keeps warm
during the long, bitter nights
'is to stay on the move.'
Good morning, are you all right?
I'm freezing.
I must walk this city centre about,
easily, 30 times a day. Easily.
I mean, I'm walking about
all day, every day.
Even just walking the streets now,
it's after 2am in the morning...
Yeah. ..and there's still a lot of
homeless out on the street.
It's very visible.
See, these, what are visible now,
these are the ones that have
been out here for years,
that know how to live,
that know how to get by, day...
day by day,
that know how to get by at night,
that know how to get their money.
Whereas, in the younger ones,
and the ones that are
not used to it, they hide.
These streets have damaged
a lot of people out here.
Like, people who I've met out here,
so kind-hearted,
it's unbelievable, and now they're
just a totally different person.
'Ten days ago,
Luke was released from prison
'after handling stolen goods.
'With nowhere else to go,
he's now sleeping rough.
'It's a cycle he's been
caught up in for years.'
What led to this?
It was the people.
It was getting about
with the crowd that I got in with.
Once I got to 14,
I was hanging about with the
28-year-old and the 30-year-olds.
I started doing the harder drugs
at weekends.
I was running away from home a lot,
just cos I wanted to be with
them people.
It must have been hard for Mum.
Oh, of course it was.
The police were taking me back
every weekend.
As soon as the police had let me go,
the car would be off again,
do you know what I mean?
'By 15,
Luke left his mum's for good,
'and moved in with
a local drug dealer.'
Were you selling drugs?
I was doing all kinds -
grafting cars, sorting drugs,
selling weed, selling sniff.
I was quite big in it
and then it all just went to pot.
'Luke was made homeless
when his mate was put away
'for selling class As.
'Half of all homeless people
first take to the streets
'under the age of 21.
'Many don't know where to get help
and will end up sleeping rough.
'While on the streets,
they're exposed to prostitution,
'crime and drugs.'
All right, Andy? What are
you skinning up? What is it?
I'm a Spice-head, me, bruv.
Legal highs.
' "Spice" is the name of
the legal high
'marketed as synthetic cannabis.
'Although cheap, some brands are
as potent and addictive as heroin.'
I've heard a lot about Spice,
and nothing I've heard about
it has been good.
I've been on it for four years,
and it is all bad.
All bad.
I'm not going to lie to you.
Have you been out...?
Stephen, mind if I roll one?
Yeah, sorry? Mind if I roll one?
Mate, you've got to do what
you've got to do, mate.
It's all right. Budge up, Andy.
Spice is easier to get in Manchester
than anywhere else.
You can go to, like, four shops
within five minutes of here.
It's not nice, but you have
to find your coping mechanisms.
I'm starting to shake now,
cos I've not had a spliff. Yeah.
So that's...
that's a coping mechanism?
There's not a single BLEEP sober
homeless person I know.
SIREN WAILS
Luke's BLEEP. Luke's off his nut.
I'll tell you what, I've smoked
a lot of weed in my life,
and weed don't do that,
so, if that's synthetic cannabis,
they've got it a little bit wrong,
cos that was...
That was much more like the effect
of much harder drugs.
It was like watching someone
slip out on...on heroin.
Are you all right, Luke?
Are you all right, bruv?
I was worried about you
for a minute, mate.
'It was ten minutes before
Luke began to come round.
'For so many of the rough sleepers
here, Spice is a way of life.'
Hey, it's open.
I'll go in and I'll buy a bag.
'Being so easy to get hold of
in Manchester,
'and costing as little as
a fiver a bag, it's estimated
'that 80-90% of the city's homeless
are addicted to this legal high.'
And he had a big box of that,
as well.
All different ones, there,
to choose from.
"Pandora's Box". Yeah.
That one's probably the worst one
what come out of the first...
Like, when it first come out.
'Luke tells me he turned to Spice
after his first spell in prison,
'at the age of 17.'
It's that blockage of the past
and the beatings and...
the-the-the-the-the,
the trauma sides of things,
cos, I'm not going to lie,
the first time ever in custody,
it broke me.
My pad mate battered me.
So, what sort of stuff was that,
then? I got punched up.
I got sliced.
Woke up to him suffocating me
with a pillow.
He was slamming my hands
in the windows,
pulling me off my bed
while I'm asleep.
All kinds of stuff, like. There's
stuff you wouldn't even imagine.
'Luke was scared and alone,
'and the first person he turned to
was his mum.'
My mum didn't know I was in there.
I rang her and she knew
straightaway,
in my voice, in...
And I just broke down to her
on the phone.
I just said, "I've been assaulted."
That's all I said,
and she just said, "Oh, no."
She knew straightaway.
She... My mum knows me, innit?
She knows when something's up.
So, she still really cares?
Oh, she cares so much,
and now I think back at it,
I think, "Wow, why have
I put my mum through that?"
All she's tried to do
is keep me safe from this.
That's all she's tried to
keep me doing,
and I just put myself
right in the middle of it.
Mothers are always right, man.
I just wish I would have
listened to her. Yeah.
That's all I needed to do and I know
I wouldn't be in this situation now.
There are going to be people
who are going to throw things
at the television and go,
"Why don't you just BLEEP go home?
Of course,
I know what you're saying.
It's not as easy as that, though.
When you've been through some of
the shit that I've been through,
it's not as easy just to
go home like that,
cos there's a lot of people
in the place where I've grew up
who I've done stuff to and...
had grudges with in the past.
Are you at risk if you go back?
I will be, yeah.
They all know my mum, so my family
would get grief and bother, as well,
so, like, that's why
I just stay out of the way
and let my mum stay safe
and just do what she's doing.
She's all right how she is.
'Luke's a sweet kid.'
You know, he's not gone into detail
about what happened.
'Maybe he's owed people money.
Maybe he's stiffed people.
'Yeah, we can wonder all we want.'
MAN COUGHS
'He's saying he doesn't
want to go home
'because he's worried
about his mother's wellbeing.'
You know, he doesn't want to
take trouble to her door,
and I can understand that. There was
a time I moved out of my nan's,
because I never wanted to
bring trouble to her door,
so I understand that
and I respect it,
but there's also the part of me
that can understand,
or can imagine,
what his mum is going through,
because she does care.
Like Luke, over a third of
young homeless people leave home
before their 15th birthday.
Family breakdown is the biggest
cause of youth homelessness,
with nearly half of those
affected being chucked out
by the head of the household.
SIREN WAILS
'After all night on the streets,
the cold begins to bite.
'It's 6am, and Luke takes me to one
of the few places he can keep warm.'
This is where you see
most of the homeless people.
YOUNG PEOPLE SHOUT HAPPILY
It's sad.
It is really sad.
I'll agree with you on that one -
really sad.
It's unbelievable
how many people are homeless.
Are you going to see your mum?
Hopefully, yeah.
She keeps on telling me to
come and visit, but, obviously,
she doesn't like me on
this shit, man.
She told me, if I'm on this shit,
she's finished.
I mean, it's just...
But that's her way of
trying to get you off it.
I know. Maybe, yeah. It's horrible.
I wish I'd never even touched it,
Stephen, I swear down.
I wish I'd never touched it
in my life.
But if it weren't that,
would it be something else?
Exactly.
LUKE SOBS
Oh, mate.
No, it's good, man.
It just upsets me.
'As we talk about his addiction,
Luke breaks down.'
I just... Do you know what?
LUKE INHALES
It upsets me cos I don't...
I've known you for a very short
amount of time, and I don't...
I don't...
I get no bad vibes from you.
You seem like a good kid.
LUKE SNIFFS
And it's upsetting, mate.
It's... It's... It's hard.
It's hard to see, because I don't...
I don't feel good about
the fact that I'm going to go home
and you're going to be carry...
You're just going to...
You're going to carry on.
Yeah, but that's your life, man.
You've got to do what you've got to
do, you know what I mean? Yeah.
So other people have got to do
what they've got to do.
Shall we go for a wander?
I'll walk you back to where...
Where are you sleeping?
Erm...
I'm trying to think.
Market Street or somewhere?
Just where people are.
It's a really sad reality.
It's, erm...
It's one thing to walk past someone
and, you know,
have a passing thought,
"Who are they? Where do they come
from? How have they ended up there?"
But it's another thing
when you're starting to
meet these people
and talk to these people.
They become human again.
'I'm shocked at how many people
I've seen living on the streets
'in just one night...'
Do you want a spliff?
God bless.
'..and I want to know what's
being done to help them.'
TRAIN RATTLES
PLANE RUMBLES
'In nearby Stockport,
'the number of young rough sleepers
has tripled in the last year.
'I'm joining Kirstie and Nicky,
who work on the front line,
'trying to find and help
the young and homeless.'
Hello, darling. Hi, you all right?
Stephen. Are you all right?
Nice to see you. Nice to meet you.
Yeah, good, thanks.
How are you doing, mate? Hi, you
all right? Nicky, yeah? Not bad.
As we pulled up, we saw that
an ambulance was leaving. Erm...
We've just had one of
our members in.
He's been smoking legal high,
so he's had a fit.
What, Spice?
Yeah. Spice, yeah. Yeah.
That's frightening.
Does it make people aggressive?
Do you see violence from it or...?
Yeah, we've had, erm...
Quite a few of our members
that smoke it quite frequently,
erm, one day, they've had, like,
funny turns on it,
so we've had a guy
who's been scooting around
on his hands and knees,
thinking he's a dog, barking,
lifting chairs up,
throwing chairs round.
So, like, psychosis. Yeah.
Like, they have episodes. Yeah.
'The centre has its own
medical facility,
'and the effects of Spice are a
growing concern for the nurse here.'
I've seen some really
life-threatening seizures
that have been induced by
whatever's in the substance.
And they've got no idea
what's in it? No,
and we have seen somebody
whose respiration rate
had gone down to four a minute,
and that carries some reversal,
and that's an opiate effect
but that was from Spice.
As well as health care,
the centre offers showers,
clean clothes
and a range of support services,
but many young kids,
new to the streets,
don't know there's help out there.
What are the prospects
for kids who are coming here?
If they don't get off the streets,
where are they ending up?
Well, some of them end up,
you know, in accommodation.
Some of them end up in prison.
You know, some of them
end up in a coffin.
What's the fix?
You know, if you gave a house...
Should everyone have a house,
do you believe?
Yeah. Yeah, I believe everyone
should have a house,
but then, there also needs to
be the ongoing support.
You know, we've got
quite a few people who...
Burnt bridges.
..we get accommodated.
We get them secured
in their own tenancies.
They stop engaging with
the service.
You know, no other support
has been put in place,
and they're unable to
maintain their tenancy.
So they end up back at square one?
Yeah. Yeah.
Them behaviours are ingrained
into a person, aren't they?
So, they're not taking into account
the effects of what that
person's been through? Yeah, yeah.
And to watch, you know,
some of them progress,
when you do work with them,
and they've got a better
understanding of stuff, you know,
they can achieve anything.
It's just that right support
being there for them.
And do you find,
with a lot of the people that
come through here,
that's just support
they've never had throughout
their lives? Yeah. Yeah.
'For Kirstie and Nicky,
this is more than a place of work.
'They've both been homeless and
learned to survive on the streets.'
For me, I was homeless at 16
and I didn't get picked up
by social care or,
erm, anyone, anyone else, you know?
At 16? At 16.
I did what I had to, to, sort of,
fit in with everybody else,
and to survive. Survive.
And how did you survive?
Erm, crime, drugs, offending.
What kind of drugs?
Heroin and crack.
And how...?
And is that just commonplace?
Was that what everyone was doing?
Yeah,
and I tried it and I liked it,
because it took me away
from reality.
You know, I didn't have to...
So it wasn't the drugs
that saw you homeless,
it was the homelessness that saw you
take to drugs? Yeah. Pretty much.
'Part of Kirstie and Nicky's work
involves going out
'and checking on the known
rough sleepers in the area.
'They take me to a popular camp
under a shopping centre car park.
'Although there's no-one around,
'there are signs that people
are living here.'
A tent... Oh, right.
It's not just syringes and tin cans
and empty packet of cigarettes.
Hairbrushes,
a picture of Michael Jackson -
it's the little pieces of normality
which people were clinging onto.
Can you imagine the desperation?
That's... That's their connection
with what was civilisation.
You know, they're...
But, yet, they're completely
excluded from that...
that way of life.
It's just heartbreaking.
'Kirstie takes me to another site
under a busy motorway.
'For six months of her life,
this was where she lived.'
So, over in this corner here
was just cardboard on the floor.
Loads of bags, erm...
Like, sleeping bags, quilts...
It's not... It's not a pretty place.
It's not, is it?
No.
You can feel it, here. Yeah.
You really can. Yeah.
Yeah.
How many people would you
have down here at the time?
Erm, so, when I stayed down here,
we had ten people
sleeping down here,
and the sad reality is, you know,
over half of those people
are no longer with us now.
So, death is something that
you see a lot of? Yeah.
What does it do to you,
coming back here?
I think it's processing, right...
..what's actually happened, cos how
I am tonight is not how I was then.
You know, erm...
And, at that time, I never doubted
my feelings and my emotions.
I don't know.
I don't really know why...
You just have to try
and block it out. You don't...
I think everyone's got
a breaking point.
How could you survive in these
conditions without something
to take you away from them?
I'd use drugs.
I'd do anything to block out
what was going on around me.
At a point, even the strongest
person will give up.
What's really shocking is
that many people
living on the streets
aren't counted as homeless.
You have to be lying down
in your sleeping bag
to be an unofficial statistic.
Sitting up doesn't count
as rough sleeping,
so the number is probably
even higher,
and that's not the end of the story.
There are 38,500 hidden homeless
people, living in hostels, B&Bs,
and sofa-surfing around the country
but, over the past five years,
the number of available hostel beds
has dropped by 12%,
whilst the demand
has soared by nearly 40.
'I'm back in Manchester to
catch up with Luke.
'Three weeks ago, he got a place
in a hostel for ex-offenders,
'after relentlessly pushing
his local authority.'
How are you doing, brother.
Are you all right?
Yeah, I'm good, man.
Good to see you, man.
Good to see you. You look better.
It's nice to see you.
I look a lot better, man.
Have you had a haircut?
No, I've not had a haircut, man.
You've not had a haircut? I've
had a shave - totally different.
A shave, that's what it is.
I'm OK, though, yeah?
Good. Want to come through? Go on.
Shall we check into my room, now?
Yeah, yeah, go on. Show me around.
I love it, man. Love it.
This is my little chill-out zone,
where I just come and zone out
and do my own thing.
How was the first night in here?
Amazing. Couldn't... Couldn't...
Couldn't have asked for a better
night's sleep. No? Loved it.
No, seriously, man,
everything about it.
Do you feel a step closer to
normality, then?
I feel like I'm in normality.
When I was sleeping on the streets,
I couldn't have
a good night's sleep.
I would always be sleeping with one
eye, like, twitching or... Yeah.
..I'd be smoking to make sure
that I'm half awake
when someone does touch me
or walk past me.
Has this helped with your anxiety,
then? Not having those worries?
Being able to shut your eyes
and not worry about God knows what?
I know that I'm safe,
so it's great, man. I can...
It's... I can think.
I can think.
I can do things through the day.
'Luke has been in hostels
twice before
'but wasn't able to stick it out.
'This time, he's determined to
make it work.'
What about your mum?
Have you spoken to her?
I've not spoken to my mum.
I can't wait to speak to her,
to be honest.
So, does she know you're here?
She doesn't, I'm just... No idea.
I'm waiting to sort myself fully,
so I can go to her
and I can say,
"Look, this is what I've done."
I've got to do it for her, I know.
Mm-hmm.
Just show her instead of
say to her, this time,
and just, all, fake promises.
'Luke has an initial six-month
placement here, in which time,
'he'll get the support he needs
to turn his life around.'
Last time I saw you,
you were smoking Spice. I know.
What's going on with that?
I'm not going to lie to you,
I'm still dabbling with it -
dibbling and dabbling - but,
as you can tell, I'm looking to...
I'm not smoking it like I was.
How often are you smoking?
Erm, sometimes, I'm going
a night without smoking it,
but it's different, like,
how I'm waking up.
I'm waking up in puddles of sweat,
but I'm, like...
My anxiety kicks in in the morning
when I've not had one -
like, totally, just kicks in.
Just before you come, I puked up
and that's because
I've not had one this morning,
and I had to have one
just before you come in,
and that's levelled me off a bit.
The hostel has set up
drugs counselling to help Luke
conquer his addiction...
..but sharing a hostel
with 38 other ex-offenders
and drug users isn't easy,
as centre manager Jackie explains.
We have quite a few which
have committed offences while
under the influence of alcohol,
and we manage that risk,
to make sure that the staff team
and the other customers that
live in here are safe,
and we'll breathalyse them
twice a day... Mm-hmm.
..which is part of their support.
They agree to that, and they
have to have a zero reading.
They're not allowed to
drink alcohol at all
if they're on a no-drink rule. OK.
Spice is something that
keeps coming up, over and over.
It's totally not allowed on the
project, and if you are using Spice,
part of your support is that you
will link in with the drugs team.
If it's found on the project,
they'll be treated with
the same as any other drug.
And would that result in someone
being kicked out?
It could do, yeah, yeah.
We have a warning procedure, here,
so they do have
quite a lot of chances.
We don't just make people homeless
if we can help it.
We don't ask people to leave.
'But the biggest challenge
Jackie faces is keeping
'the residents off the streets.'
We do find that we do have
quite a lot of customers
coming back around
that have lived here previously.
Ah, so, your doors open to people
who have been here before?
Of course they are, yeah.
Even people that we have rehoused
into their own accommodation
and, for whatever reason,
they've lost their accommodation.
Yes, they come back around
in the system.
I've had some that have been here
three or four times. Four times?
Yeah, yeah.
So how do you break the cycle?
I don't know how you break
the cycle.
Million-dollar question.
Come on, Jackie, tell me the answer.
I don't know how
we can break the cycle.
Again, they've got to be ready to
accept support.
Do you think that, with some people,
just too much has happened?
Probably so, yeah, and maybe
there's not enough help out there
for them, because some of the
issues are quite deep-rooted
and, maybe,
as they're being supported,
it's only touching the surface,
so when they go onto
their own accommodation,
they're sat there again on their
own, and them issues rise again,
so, yeah,
it is quite deep-rooted issues.
Luke paints a really rosy
picture of this hostel,
and I can understand why.
In comparison to the conditions
that he's been living in,
they're night and day, you know.
He has a little bit of security,
here.
It still doesn't feel like
the safest place.
It feels like there's tension
in the air.
MEN SHOUTING
'An argument has just
erupted in the kitchen.'
Well, that wasn't there,
so it's stole, then!
That's what I'm saying.
Luke's milk and sugar is missing.
He's now cooling off
with a cigarette.
KNOCK AT DOOR
Yo. Are you all right?
What happened to you, mate?
Just...people downstairs.
Whoever it was.
No, I saw you switch, bro.
The door got slammed
and then you disappeared.
I can't leave nothing about, man.
It's doing my head in.
Just, it's not even the fact of
leaving milk or sugar about,
is it, really?
It's just a matter of not being able
to go back to where I put it.
It's the principle, yeah,
do you know what I mean?
Like, that's the reality of...
of this place.
But, then,
you've got to be careful,
because them situations will be
what leads you into a situation
where you end up getting kicked
out... Gets you kicked out.
..cos someone takes your milk,
you beat them up or...
That's why I just
thought to come up.
Like, if a pint of milk and a bit
of sugar can cause that to happen,
then you've got to be able to
control your reactions, as well.
I know. I know I need to, but it's
a matter of not having a spliff
and everything rolls in one, man.
That's what I was going to say.
Is it just that you
ain't had no Spice?
Everything rolls in one,
do you know what I mean?
What has to happen for you
to be able to get off it?
Like, how severe does it have to be?
Or is there anything? I don't know.
Or are you just going to
accept that as life?
No, it can't happen.
I can't stay here
where things get taken, man.
It's doing my head in.
I'm going out to town.
I need to grab some more Spice.
I've got none.
'Having seen Luke
so together this morning,
'it's frustrating to now see Spice
putting him back at square one.'
How are you, man?
Give us a tenner, if you want.
A tenner?
'Luke's not just scoring
for himself, but also for his mate.'
All right?
Can I have a bag of
1.5 Black Label?
'Although he buys here regularly,
tonight,
'they're refusing to serve him.'
Yeah, I come here to buy
my legal highs.
I come here every night,
you know that,
but you can't stop me from buying
my stuff.
I didn't... Do you know what?
You're lucky. Very lucky.
Michael, get your arse in there.
What? Very lucky.
Mmm...
Get in... Come round the corner.
Black Kronic - Black Label.
No, wait, don't go in yet.
Let us walk off first
and you get it afterwards.
Hey, I've been coming here
every night.
I know a lot of people, me, mate.
See you later. Just watch yourself.
"See you later"?
Get your arse out there now.
Get your... See you later.
Fuck off, you.
'Luke is now threatening to
beat the guy up.'
Don't worry, I know what time
he finishes work.
I know fucking everything.
He's a fucking muppet.
Come on, bro... It's... He...
He decided not to serve you. Do you
see what I mean? It's madness.
Look at the stuff
you're talking over that.
He knows what it does to me, though.
Got it?
Come! Pass it here!
I need a spliff.
So, this is every night, Luke?
Every night, just, every day,
every minute, every hour -
just getting about in town,
just like we do.
Like, I know... I know a lot of
the hustlers round here.
This is the same shit you were up to
when you were on the street,
though, bruv?
Yeah, but I wouldn't be getting
about in just one set of clothing,
cos I'd know that I'd need another
five sets for when I'm wet later.
So I'd be getting about
with clothes underneath me
plus bags on top of me, but I'm not
getting about with nothing, now.
As you can see, I don't need to.
'I've already spent time
with Luke on Spice
'but, tonight,
he's a totally different person.'
Watch.
'As we wait to cross a busy road,
'he suddenly decides to
stop the traffic.'
I told you to stop, though!
All right...
Hey, the car's stopped, though!
Luke! That's what happens. Come on.
To stop any car in Manchester,
to stop any car in Manchester,
that's all you have to do.
Don't do stuff like that, man.
Stop it, man.
That's why I do things like that,
so people notice me.
Yeah, but, bruv, come on,
that's just stupidness. Yeah, but...
Yeah, but see... No, bruv. No,
because... I can't hear that, bruv.
Yeah, but, Stephen, see what
they used to laugh at me for
outside the town hall? For standing
there and saying nothing.
So, do you know what I do now?
I get out loud and say...
Yeah, but, bro, that's not...
..and say clear, loud and clear,
"I'm Luke, I'm homeless,
I'm from Manchester, and what?"
Stupid behaviour.
Stupid, stupid, stupid behaviour.
Yeah, I don't know what happened.
He went from being a quite humble,
you know, nice person
to just being an idiot.
It was just an absolute switch
in personality
but I don't know
if it was the Spice.
Was it him not having Spice
and that building up to a point?
And if that's his journey,
day in, day out,
you know, there's going to be less
of the person we met this morning
and much more of that person
that we just saw.
The way I see it, people look at me
like they can hurt me.
People look at me like they can
emotionally blackmail me.
No, you can't.
I can do that to myself
just as much as
you can do that to me.
You sound paranoid, Luke.
I am paranoid.
I'm fucked, but this is
what's made me like this.
Town - sleeping next to people
you can't trust,
who will stab you in the back with
a knife the minute that you turn.
This. Yeah, that, definitely.
Luke decides to hang out
with his mates at a squat.
I've seen enough for tonight.
My time with Luke has made me
realise
just how complicated
homelessness is.
Take care.
Homelessness is not
just about not having a home,
it goes far beyond that.
Once people have been
on the streets,
what it does to them
psychologically in who they become,
and how they become accustomed
to living their life
doesn't just go away once
they're given a home.
Being an hostel, you are not
counted as being homeless.
You are very much still homeless,
that's become apparent quickly.
But even still, with a roof
over your head,
there is no difference between him
having a hostel
and a one-bedroom flat at this very
moment in time,
because if he had that
one-bedroom flat,
he would still be coming out
and doing the same shit.
Getting a place in a hostel should
mean accessing help
to recover from the trauma
of sleeping rough.
But if Luke can't let go
of his life on the streets,
overcome his addictions
and accept hostel living,
he could lose his bed once again,
and the cycle of homelessness
will continue.
Luke's situation is an example
of the vicious circle
that many people on the streets
find themselves stuck in.
In London, there is a project taking
a different approach.
I've come to visit a women's hostel
run by a Christian charity.
'I'm meeting 26-year-old Zukina
who has been in hostel care
'for two and a half years.'
Hello. Zukina, how are you doing?
I'm all right, yeah.
Good to see you.
As well as offering emotional
counselling,
this hostel is focused on providing
practical help
in getting the women ready for
independent living.
So who are we meeting today?
We are meeting Becks,
she is the manager.
'Becks is the hostel's
resettlement manager
'and has been working
with Zukina since she got here.'
Hello, Becks. Hey, Zukina.
Hello.
'Together, they work in a catering
business run by the hostel.'
This kitchen is where we have our
social enterprise - Munch In
Marylebone.
The key part of that is to give
the women that live with us
some employment skills, but the
product is professional food.
'As well as counselling
for alcohol addiction,
'Zukina has been gaining practical
skills and work experience.'
Did you find it hard
coming into a group environment?
Yeah, definitely at the beginning,
because you don't know who is there
and what to expect or anything.
But once you get into it,
it kind of changes your mind set.
You become, like, yeah...
You're more able to
go out and do things on your own.
'The hostel will soon be
looking to resettle Zukina
'into a home of her own.'
So, Zukina is getting to a place
where she is ready to move on
to kind of get back on her feet,
start independently again.
But we would never want to resettle
somebody into an empty house
with an empty life,
because it is going to fall apart.
It is very isolating,
it is very difficult.
Young people who have been homeless
often lack life skills,
self-confidence and the ability to
structure their day.
It is about being able to
sustain yourself, sustain your life,
sustain your tenancy.
You need skills,
you need confidence,
you need life skills,
you need employment skills.
Unique things that are going to
give you a sense of worth,
and the ability to rejoin
the community and give back to it.
What has the process been like from
one you were when you got here
to where you are now?
So when I first came in here,
I wanted to get resettled ASAP,
but, like, the fact that it has
taken longer
has actually made me more
appreciative.
I know when I get my flat,
I am definitely not going to...
you know, do anything
to jeopardise that.
There's going to be no losing it.
Yeah, definitely not.
Zukina could only be months from
finally getting rehoused,
but it has been a long
and difficult journey.
Three years ago, her life changed
when her whole family were evicted
and she suddenly found herself
working out how to survive
as a young woman on the streets.
I just used to get on night buses
and just stay on night buses
all night. I just had to do it.
I had no choice other than to just
do what I had to do.
Then what was the progression?
Where did you go from buses?
I kind of got into the wrong crowd
of people just so I can...
To keep a roof over your head? Yeah.
After two months riding
the night buses,
she found a squat with other
homeless people,
where Zukina witnessed heavy drug
use and abusive behaviour.
There was a lot of rape
going on as well.
Like, I was smart enough not to
fall for people's tricks,
like, I was really aware.
So a lot of people turned to
drugs to cope with that situation?
I wasn't strong enough
to just be sober
and just, like, get through it.
Instead of feeling that pain
or whatever you're going through,
get a bottle of vodka -
drink that, drink your pain away.
When do you think you
hit your lowest point?
There were a lot of times
I felt like I just want to...
Like, I don't want to be
here no more.
So you thought about suicide? Yeah.
Quite a few times.
You feel like there is no future,
like that's it, like...
this is what life is going to be
for the rest of your life, so...
A young rough sleeper is
over 30 times more likely
to take their own life.
But with support and counselling,
Zukina has conquered her
alcohol addiction
and is learning to work through her
emotional trauma.
It wasn't until I came into the
hostel and, like, I saw a therapist.
She said to me, "You can change
this. You can turn your life around.
"Life is not over for you."
It wasn't until she said that,
that made me think,
"I have to be strong now."
Zukina's new-found strength
has grown
over the last two and a half years.
She is at a place where she finally
feels ready to reclaim her life.
Just being here, like,
reminds me of being a kid.
She has brought me to the estate
she grew up on
and the only place
she ever called home.
We are just going to go to the shop,
we call it Jack's.
Is it the same people that run
it from when you were little?
I think so, we'll find out now.
Zukina is just showing us around.
She said if she was ever 20p short,
you always let her off.
Yeah, always.
You always used to let me off.
It's nice having that familiarity
though, isn't it?
This is what is pushing me to
get that again. That is all I want.
I want this...again.
This is what I knew for 20 years.
The best memories of my life
were here.
Which one was yours?
It was the third one up.
That one there. Yeah?
A little bit too hard to jump out
of the window
when you want to escape Mum.
THEY LAUGH
Yeah, definitely.
Zukina lost the security
of home and community
when the family suddenly found
themselves being evicted.
The just came with a letter,
and they had the truck already
here to, like, take this stuff away.
We wasn't prepared for it at all.
It was all a bit of a rush.
I just remember everyone just,
like, grabbing
all their most important things.
The things that they need.
Literally, from then, my mum,
she got housed.
But my brothers, they just...
I don't know.
They just did their own thing.
It split us up as a family.
What kind of feelings does it
stir up looking back at it?
Em... Just...
Yeah, sad, because obviously
that is what I know.
That was my home.
Zukina is mum to a
four-year-old little girl.
In the three years
since becoming homeless,
she has not been able to have
her daughter in her care.
So she currently lives with her dad,
Zukina's ex-partner.
This is my primary school,
all my family went to.
Do you look forward to being able to
come and pick up and take her back
to what would be your house?
Definitely, yeah. Your home.
I can't wait for them days.
Like, I do.
I dream about those days.
They would just be amazing.
She needs her mother,
she needs me to be there for her
and take her to school.
She even asks me, like, you know,
the kids at school ask, like,
"Why didn't your mummy come
and pick you up?"
It just breaks my heart, because
I'm not in the position to do that.
The hostel has offered Zukina
the stability
to see a new life for herself,
but for many,
the future is much less certain.
It is estimated there are over
300,000 hidden homeless.
These are the people who fall
outside government statistics -
living in hostels,
on the streets, in squats,
B&Bs or being put up on a sofa.
Many become trapped for years.
'I'm off to a part
of London I know well.'
Today I'm back on the ends.
Back in Clapton, E5 -
Hackney, I suppose,
not just Clapton -
to meet a young guy to find out
about his experiences
as a homeless young man.
Home is a very important place
when you're growing up,
when you are an adult.
I don't think that ever changes.
As a kid, how much of an effect does
it have a new you become?
A massive one.
As I got older, you know,
I've had friends stay with me
when they've been
out of accommodation,
gone back into hostels, had all
their stuff stolen, get beaten up...
..but it is not really
the bricks and mortar
that shape you as a person.
It is people you share
the home with.
Without my nan in my life,
I'm not sure what
would have happened.
I got into enough trouble as it was!
'Today, I am back on home turf
at Hackney Marshes...'
What's happening, buddy?
All right, how are you doing?
Are you all right?
'..and heading
for the football pitches.'
Pro Green! What's going on, mate?
I was a terrible footballer.
I always used to get put in goal.
I saved the ball with my face once.
I am meeting 25-year-old Jerome,
who works full-time in the
bookies but is still homeless.
'Jerome went into care at the
age of 14 due to family breakdown.
'After leaving the care system
two years later,
'he still hasn't been able to find
an affordable place to live.'
There is a big rise in people
between the ages of 18 and 25
that are homeless, but they are not
is sleeping on the street like that.
They are in their friend's house,
or they are in their friend's
mum's sofa
or they are on their...
Do you know what I mean?
Just having a roof over your head
doesn't mean you have a home.
Exactly.
There is a difference between having
a roof and having a home.
When people paint the picture
of a homeless person,
it's not someone that looks like
you or looks like me.
Why is that?
You don't want people to know.
You don't want them
to see that side of you.
Not to be big headed, I dress all
right, I've got my trainers on,
I look fresh, I've had a shower,
I go to work.
When I get paid, I'll go to the
barbers. No-one knows I'm homeless.
It's only the people who know me
and now know how long
I've been sleeping on my sister's
sofa or my nan's sofa
or my aunt's sofa or this
person's sofa, that person's sofa
who really know that I'm homeless.
Homelessness has many faces.
It has every colour,
every creed, every gender.
You can walk past
someone in a business suit,
this guy could be homeless.
You don't know.
Don't give homelessness a face,
that's what I say.
For Jerome, working a full-time job
but not having a fixed address
has brought its own complications.
There were times when I got kicked
out of my nan's house, I'm thinking,
"Listen, I've got three bags,
I've got to go to work today."
Those are the stresses that
really...
These are the reasons why having
a home should be...
It's just essential to everyone.
Jerome joins one in five
16- to 25-year-olds
who have experienced sofa surfing -
moving around, relying on friends
and family for a sofa,
spare bed or a floor to sleep on.
I catch up with Jerome a few days
later before he heads off to work.
What's happening? Are you all right?
What's happening? Are you good?
Yeah, man, I'm good, man.
'Jerome has two young children,
but as he's currently sleeping
'on his aunt's sofa, spending time
with them is difficult.
'Living in London means he can't
afford to rent somewhere
'that would work for him
and his kids.'
A two-bedroom apartment,
a spare room for my children
to stay in when they came over.
£400 a week. So that's, what?
That's £1,600 a month.
How long is it going to take someone
who is on £1,200 a month
who is also providing
for his children,
who is also trying to get to work -
how do you save up for that?
£1,600 a month - how many hours
have you got to work to do that?
Yeah, but then you have got bills.
Exactly. Exactly.
No-one has mentioned that.
Really and truly, you're
looking at...two grand a month.
I don't want to move out of London
when all my family live here.
You are in a proper catch-22.
It just, like, hurts, man.
I think Jerome is probably quite an
accurate picture of a lot of people
who are the hidden homeless -
you would never pick him out
from a crowd as being homeless,
He's very well-kept,
better kept than I am!
He is basically everything that
people would assume homeless isn't.
'In the UK, there is
a real lack of social housing.
'In the last two decades,
demand has increased by 80%,
'which has forced up rental costs
in the private sector.'
What is your situation now?
At the minute,
I am just on my aunt's sofa
trying to find somewhere else to go.
So what are the options?
JEROME EXHALES
Private rent, council...
Private rent...
Council is not an option.
Not in London.
My cousin has been on the
council list for ten years.
The lack of affordable housing
is a major cause of homelessness.
For Jerome, sofa surfing has been
essential to avoid worse.
There have been times at
9, 10 o'clock at night
and I thought,
"Where am I going tonight?"
One of my friends has just saved
me last-minute,
like, "Come to mine.
Sleep on my floor or my sofa."
I don't ever want my children
to go through the things
that I have gone through
and see the things that I have seen
and, like,
spend nights in McDonald's
because they have got nowhere
else to go,
or to walk around the streets
all night
because they have got
nowhere else to go.
I don't want to see my children
in that position, ever.
After you, bruv. Thank you.
Everyone pins the beginning
of the next stage of their life
on when they get accommodation,
and rightly so,
because, without that foundation,
how can you build a life?
Safe, man. Same, fella. All
the best for the future. Thank you.
I appreciate it, man.
Thanks for listening, as well.
Respect.
Jerome is fortunate enough that
he can help himself,
but not everyone can.
Sadly, Jerome's story
is a common one.
Down the road in the
Borough of Islington,
I am meeting another of the growing
number of the UK's hidden homeless.
Hello. Who are you?
Are you Persia?
HE LAUGHS
'Lauren and her four-year-old
daughter Persia
'are staying in her
friend's spare room
'after being evicted from her
two-bedroom house.'
What are you playing? What is that?
'She fell into rent arrears
after being made redundant.'
Have we got to try and get...?
Try and get as many as I can?
I don't think I'm very good at this.
I'm going to...
Are you sitting on a chair?
That chair is too small for you.
You are a big girl now.
PERSIA GIGGLES
Lauren moved here one month ago from
her hometown of Harlow in Essex.
It's hard, because we were
brought up in such
a social network in Harlow. Yeah.
I've got my close, close friend
and her two little daughters.
We would see each other
every single day.
How did Persia find the change?
It's a big thing.
She's four years old,
she was born and raised in Harlow.
But she misses her friends
and she misses the old
nursery that she used to go to.
You miss your friends from Harlow?
I miss... I miss Charlene.
You miss Charlene.
I miss Clariela. Clariela.
I miss... I think she could be going
for a long list of friends.
She's got a lot of friends.
You've got a lot of friends!
Are you popular?
'For a Lauren, it is important to
create some stability for Persia.'
She has just settled into her
second school.
I don't want to move again and then
transition her to a third school,
so ideally I want to
settle in this borough,
but I still don't know how we are
going to do it.
This is our room.
This is where we condense our life.
Mummy... I can't count them.
She was half a day old when that
was taken.
And she is already swearing.
Yeah. I think that is her outlook.
PERSIA GIGGLES
Who's that, Pers? Persia!
PROFESSOR GREEN LAUGHS
She's full of beans, isn't she?
'Lauren and a very energetic
Persia share this one room
'and sleep in the same bed.'
I feel, like, in such a small space,
we've got so much
to try and fit in here.
I mean, do you find it difficult?
Yeah.
When I'm getting her up for school
and I can't remember which pile of
things - I've put it somewhere,
then I end up throwing
everything everywhere
and get myself in a right mad mess.
It might be small, but it is better
than the accommodation
the council were offering her
over 100 miles away
from her support network.
If I didn't have Claire that
opened up her home,
the only option that you are given
is B&Bs in and around the country.
So do you think this is quite
a widespread problem
in that this is splitting up
communities in a lot of places?
I mean, if they were willing to ship
you to Clacton
or to Great Yarmouth, how many
other people are there? Loads.
When we was in temporary
accommodation,
nine sets of families
we got to know.
It's a horrible position to be in -
not being able to
provide for your child,
the child that
I brought into this world.
I know I'm being hard on myself,
but I have let her down
by not being able to provide her
with a secure home.
It's really hard not to get
emotional and involved in that.
Because I have got to step up and
I have got to make things a success
just so she's got a base and place
to call home.
Aw!
You're good girl, aren't you?
Losing the family home
has meant selling off
most of their possessions.
But it is the more personal things
that are the hardest to let go of.
So this is the last bit of your
stuff?
Yeah, the last bit of our lives.
I've sold so much.
We can't fit it all into one room.
My daughter has had to do away with
a lot of her stuff.
Her scooter, that little Hello Kitty
pop-up. Me with my vinyl.
I'm not going to be able to
play that again.
A shame to lose that, though. They
must relate to a point in your life.
For me, that is what the song is.
I was heavily into my music. Yeah.
Absolutely loved it.
50 Cent, In Da Club.
That was his breakthrough,
wasn't it?
I always find they remind me
of moments.
Yeah. When you first heard that song
or who you heard that song with.
Where you were.
I love my records, and the cost
a lot of money at one point,
but I can't feed my daughter
on memories.
Would you consider yourself
to be homeless?
I know there are going to be people
out there
that say you are not
homeless, actually,
because you have a roof
over your head.
But we're homeless in the sense
that we don't have a home of our own
and we don't know
where we could be next week.
Yes, we are relying on a very good
friend that has put us up,
but circumstances change.
You never know what can
happen in the future.
The amount of times I've
been in this garage
and sat down and just looked
at all my stuff and just thought,
"How on earth did I end up
like this?"
It's shocking, really,
you know, to think of the situation
that she has ended up in.
And to think how, actually...
How easily you, I, you at home
could end up in that situation.
None of us are really that far
away from it, are we?
She lost her job
and it was pretty much that simple.
From there on, it was quite
a conceivable series of events.
It's not what I expected to see.
I don't think it is what many people
would deem as being homeless.
But we need to change our perception
of that, cos there is a problem.
And I guess the reason that we think
of homeless as
an old man on the street with a can
of beer is because that is something
that we have all grown up seeing,
it's something we all see day-to-day
when we're out on the streets.
But there is a huge problem,
clearly,
with people that we don't see.
They are virtually invisible.
The hidden homeless have many faces.
From those like Lauren,
teetering on the edge,
to the rough sleepers facing the
dangers of the streets every night.
Back in Manchester,
there has been some shocking news.
One of Luke's friends, Daniel Smith,
was killed while sleeping rough.
Luke's brought me
to some railway arches
where they found Daniel's body.
I'm worried to find out how
Luke's coping.
He was staying there,
he's been battered.
Dragged, actually, in a tent while
he has been dead and set on fire.
So they beat him to death?
Beat him to death and
set him on fire.
23 years of age. Poor kid. 23?!
And to say it was homeless people
who did it, in the community,
it's not nice. It's sick.
'We make our way round to the other
side of the arches.
'When we get there,
'the police have still got the
crime scene cordoned off.'
What a horrible place to die.
It makes you shudder, doesn't it?
Obviously they have dragged all the
stuff out and pulled it to one side.
Clothes, sleeping bags, covers.
Just what would have been going
through his head, the fear.
I can't even imagine what was
going through his head.
It is not a death anyone
should meet, is it?
It must make you think, man.
It does, man.
I go home every night,
I think about it. Trust me.
I was sat in that exact same
room two weeks ago.
Exact same room to where he was
battered. It's fucked. Fucked.
It's sick. It's sick.
You've seen a lot of stuff in
your time on the streets.
Is this the worst?
A boy has lost his life,
a family has lost its son.
'I can see Daniel's death
has deeply affected Luke.'
It's the wind, innit?
Thank you. It's all right.
What does the tent signify?
I came and stayed here last Friday
and Saturday night.
I just... I just thought...
Because I'm allowed out two
nights of my hostel a week,
I just thought I would come
and stay here.
Stayed here Friday and Saturday
night and just paid a bit of
respect.
It's weird to think,
though, once the tent is gone,
once that is taken down, there will
be... There will be nothing of him.
Nothing left of him. No.
I suppose that is a reason not to
end up back on the streets, innit?
It is. It is a good enough reason.
People are stabbing each other
in the backs out here.
It shouldn't be happening.
You should be looking
out for each other out here,
not stabbing each other in the backs
and killing people.
He was a good guy. A top guy.
Does it not make you worried about
what could happen to you?
Yeah, of course it does.
It's not nice, man.
It shouldn't be happening.
Two men have been charged with
the murder of Daniel Smith.
Luke has been off the streets
for a month.
This could be the wake-up call
he needs to keep hold
of his hostel place
and break the cycle of homelessness
before it's too late.
I don't know where Luke is going to
end up. It is anyone's guess.
He is smoking, but he obviously
cares -
to come down and put his tent up for
two nights
when he has got a bed in a hostel.
We have spent
a couple of days in his life.
We don't understand his world
and we don't have to live this
day in and day out.
So many people are homeless
for so many different reasons,
and everyone's case, although there
might be consistencies -
family breakdown, mental health,
drug addiction -
everyone's story is slightly
different.
And the help that people need
is different.
What I have found is that, once you
lose the security of having a home,
the fight to get it back
is incredibly difficult,
made worse by the lack of social
housing and support.
Charities do what they can,
but until we recognise the true
scale of the problem,
often hidden from view,
more and more young people
will find themselves trapped
in these desperate circumstances.
Head fuck.
It is. It is a proper head fuck.
We go back to life now.
And this life that for everyone
who is on the streets
just continues as it does
day in, day out.
I wouldn't say that I am leaving
this with any more hope
than I came into it.
I think, if anything, less so.
The more I understand
about homelessness,
the more I understand how difficult
it is to break that cycle.
