By Alexandra Flores
The number of people sleeping rough in north London has increased over the last few years.
After the Covid-19 pandemic, many people became homelessness due to the cost of living crisis, which has impacted people’s budgets and lifestyle around the capital.
In north London, during the autumn of 2021 alone, there were 183 rough sleepers. This number increased by autumn 2022, with a total of 194 people sleeping rough.
The reasons why people end up being homeless are mainly poor mental health, alcohol and substance addiction, abuse of all kinds, and a lack affordable housing. Most of them are facing major life problems in their lives, which means they have landed up with no place else to stay.
Tomas Sonoiki, 42, Facilities Manager at Resource for London, a social voluntary organisation at Holloway Road said: ‘’There are different reasons why they are here, one definitely is drug addiction, the other could be the lack of economic income or affordable housing.
‘’Homeless people are around in all the area, sadly you will see them quite frequently.’’
Rising bills partly at fault
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan warned that “rising bills and housing costs are forcing growing numbers of people to sleep rough on London’s streets”.
According to GOV.UK, homelessness has increased in every region of the country, with a high percentage in London, which showed an increase of 34% more than previous years.
It is impossible to solve homelessness if there are no homes for people in need. For decades, the government has failed to build and provide enough housing for communities with low-cost rents they can afford long-term.
”On the streets they find money and food that people provide to them to live,” Sonoiki added. “Sadly, most of them use this money to buy drugs and the cycle continues.’’
Suffering from support needs
According to the Streets of London Organisation portal, it is estimated that many homeless people have one or more support needs. It says that 31% have alcohol abuse problems, 34% have substance abuse issues, and 50% are struggling with their mental health.
Ram, 42, who declined to give his surname, owns the Smartshop next to the tube station at Holloway Road. ‘’There is a homeless person that is always in front of the station, I think he’s been here for almost three to four years,” he said.
“Once I spoke to him, never asked his name, and he told me that the reason he is here is because of drug addiction.”
Ram added: “He goes somewhere to sleep at night, he is not here when we close. I assume it is a shelter, but I’m not sure. Maybe he goes into a safer space.’’
‘’They sleep in front of the shops, that is very common, there are shelters but they are very far from here by foot. That is why you would see them frequently sleeping rough in the area,’’ Sonoiki added.
Heather Wheeler, the former housing minister, said in 2018: ‘’We are investing £1.2bn to tackle all of forms of homelessness and our Homelessness Reduction Act will ensure that more people are helped, much sooner.’’
In 2022, local councils tried to meet their duties under the Homelessness Reduction Act, which required them to provide services to end homelessness and also help in the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction. This included financial support for people to find affordable housing.
The Times Series revealed the number of homeless people in north London during autumn 2022 compared to 2021 by local authority:
| Councils | 2022 | 2021 |
| Barnet | 8 | 13 |
| Brent | 23 | 17 |
| Candem | 90 | 97 |
| Enfield | 11 | 21 |
| Hackney | 11 | 11 |
| Haringey | 26 | 10 |
| Harrow | 9 | 1 |
| Islington | 16 | 13 |
The North London Action for the Homeless, is a charity organisation that helps homeless people around the area. They ensure that donations and staple food items go towards supporting their services, to provide healthy meals and services for the homeless.
For more information about how to donate or contribute to the charity in north London, check NLAH website.
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