What has Worthing Council got against homeless people? - Features piece for the Morning Star - April 2016

“I’m signing because I have actually been homeless in Worthing town centre…”

 "All the homeless person really needs is somewhere they can feel safe at night…”

 "In my opinion, fining homeless people for rough sleeping is not proactive to make them feel accepted or good about themselves.”

 This was just a small selection of the many comments made among nearly 5,000 signatures on a petition launched by Worthing People’s Assembly against the introduction of public space protection orders (PSPOs) in Worthing, Sussex.

These by-laws set out to fine people begging, drinking in the street and looking to find shelter for the night.

Opposition came from ordinary citizens of Worthing, those who had been homeless and those responsible for running shelters.

On April 5, the joint strategic committee overlooked these voices, dismissing the petition and pushing through the legislation to be ratified by full council yesterday.

Councillors dismissed petitions, saying that they had not heard of Worthing People’s Assembly and mistakenly claiming that it needed to be registered as a political party.

Since the meeting more and more signatures have been received for the petition, press coverage has increased and organisations working with the homeless have come forward to share their disgust at these measures.

PSPOs have been introduced in Oxford, Newport and Hackney, where they have been met with considerable opposition. Hackney Council withdrew the proposal after a meeting where a petition of over 80,000 signatures was presented.

Liberty has condemned such use of PSPOs, stating they “fast-track vulnerable people into the criminal justice system rather than dealing with the root causes of homelessness.”

Worthing Churches Homeless Project chief executive John Holstrom warned the measures could have “damaging unintended consequences unless planning was very carefully thought through and additional prevention resources identified.”

Similar measures are currently under discussion in Portsmouth, where opposition is growing.

Official figures state that homelessness is on the rise throughout Britain, showing a 30 per cent rise between October 2014 and the same time in 2015.

Shelters looking to support the homeless and meet their needs are often struggling to offer shelters throughout the night all year round.

In Worthing, despite the work carried out by groups such as Worthing Churches Homeless Project, lack of funding means that night shelters are not currently available.

Meanwhile, anecdotes are shared in council meetings with references made to previous awards (that councillors just happen to have brought to a meeting) made in an attempt to give the artifice of a caring response.

Shelter states people should be considered homeless if they have no home in the UK or anywhere else in the world to occupy and that you don’t have to be sleeping on the streets to be considered homeless. This would include people in vulnerable housing situations.

In the discussion around PSPOs at Worthing and Adur council, this seemed to be not taken in to consideration as repeated tropes of “beggars going home at the end of the day” were trotted out and discussed.

Chair of council Daniel Humphreys, when pressed after the meeting for examples of aggressive begging, stated that he only had one example and would not elaborate. One councillor referred to driving past someone who was standing aggressively.

The Local Government Association has said the housing crisis will intensify as a result of right to buy and cuts to housebuilding.

The Chartered Institute of Housing has spoken of a “weakening of the housing safety net for those in greatest need.”

With homelessness on the rise and the suffering caused by regressive Tory policies, along with shelters being stretched to the point of breaking, fining those trying to get by from one day to the next cannot be the way forward.

Fast-tracking vulnerable people into the criminal justice system will damage their chances of securing employment, rental accommodation and a life off the streets.

Local groups around the country will be continuing the fight in standing up for vulnerable members of communities, fighting to make sure that their needs are understood and met rather than being treated as pests to be controlled.

We need to consistently shine a light on regressive policies being introduced, not only nationally but by councils around the country.

Worthing People’s Assembly will continue to fight as well as making connections with other groups uniting against laws that will victimise some of the most vulnerable in our community.

In uniting and fighting these laws and standing up collectively, we are all in this together.