17 Oct 2006 - Rough sleepers counts
Rough sleeper counts.Most councils and local Authorities carry out "Rough Sleeper counts" every year. A team of people usually go out onto the streets of towns and city's to count people who are sleeping rough. The number of people found in each count will directly contribute to the number of services available to people who are rough sleeping. This appears to be all well and good until the guild lines on counting rough sleepers are studied.
According to the rough sleeping legislation given to the councils and local Authorities by the government, for a rough sleeper to be counted on the official count the person sleeping rough must be :
Asleep, bedded down under the stars with no cover of any description over head.
So the rough sleepers under a bridge can not be counted.
All rough sleepers staying in unsafe derelict buildings can not be counted.
Anybody not asleep at the time of the count can not be counted.
Anyone sleeping in a shop door way or anywhere that has cover over head can not be counted.
At the last rough sleepers count carried out in Stockport aprox 18 months ago only 2 people were found that could be included in the rough sleepers count.
In Manchester it is a different story as not one rough sleeper was found. Why is this ? are Manchester services super efficient ? are homeless services so successful in Manchester that they manage to house any rough sleeper right away ? The answer to all these questions is NO ! as rough sleeping in the city of Manchester has been made a criminal offence for which a person can be arrested for doing.
Asleep, bedded down under the stars with no cover of any description over head.
So the rough sleepers under a bridge can not be counted.
All rough sleepers staying in unsafe derelict buildings can not be counted.
Anybody not asleep at the time of the count can not be counted.
Anyone sleeping in a shop door way or anywhere that has cover over head can not be counted.
At the last rough sleepers count carried out in Stockport aprox 18 months ago only 2 people were found that could be included in the rough sleepers count.
In Manchester it is a different story as not one rough sleeper was found. Why is this ? are Manchester services super efficient ? are homeless services so successful in Manchester that they manage to house any rough sleeper right away ? The answer to all these questions is NO ! as rough sleeping in the city of Manchester has been made a criminal offence for which a person can be arrested for doing.