Shelters are seeing more homelessness ‘than ever’

Views of St Helier town flats houses population urban Picture: ROB CURRIE

The impact of Covid-19 on employment and face-to-face support services, alongside rising house and rental prices have been named as major factors driving the rise of homelessness, with the average price of a home now standing at £629,000 and rents rising by 9% since the spring.

Sarah Tumelty, general manager of the Sanctuary Trust, said the organisation – which supports up to 24 men across two sites – was currently operating at capacity and having to turn people away.

She has also seen an increase in people in full-time employment – mostly labourers and kitchen staff – at the trust, with a lack of affordable housing playing a ‘big part in the problem’.

She said: ‘For the last six months or so we have kept a waiting list of people who have come for an assessment, but been unable to move in because we have had no rooms available. We will always offer food, toiletries, blankets, whatever we can – and contact Customer and Local Services if there are any safeguarding risks – but we are sadly having to turn people away on a weekly basis.

‘Based on feedback from colleagues who have been working here for a while and the experience of trustees, we have never known such a sustained period of pressure on our services.’

She added: ‘We have seen an increase in people who are in full-time employment but are still unable to afford housing because it’s so expensive. Just under 40% of our current residents are in full-time employment. Covid has no doubt played a part in the problem because of the uncertainty it has caused with jobs, relationships, and access to services.’

When asked what happened to those unable to find shelter, she said: ‘People will sometimes sleep in car parks if they have nowhere to go, or if they have a tent or a car they will use that.’

One St Helier resident told the JEP she had discovered a homeless man sleeping outside her front door, after he was turned away by one of the shelters.

‘He told me he had been seeking help for over a month, and that most homeless people choose to sleep in quiet back lanes,’ she said.

While house prices have skyrocketed in the Island, real-terms earnings – factoring in inflation – have remained stagnant, with the latest Index of Average Earnings report highlighting that wages were ‘essentially flat’ and had only increased by 0.5% over the past 20 years.

The Shelter Trust – which provides accommodation, food and support for around 124 people – is also experiencing record demand for its services.

Neville Benbow, chairman of the trust, said: ‘We are almost at capacity at the moment, but we will always find a space for someone. It is not a bed of roses – we do have more people coming through our doors and staying with us than ever before – but we will never say no to someone in need.’

Mr Benbow pointed to the impact of Covid-19 as one of the driving factors behind the problem.

‘If you think about the uncertainty in employment that has been created across a number of sectors, there are many pressure points being experienced both during and in the aftermath of the pandemic.

‘It will be quite some time before the effects [of Covid] are managed.’

He added that the trust was ‘on the cusp’ of opening its women-only shelter, announced earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Marine Oliveira, service manager for Jersey Women’s Refuge, said: ‘Our situation changes daily. We were full a few weeks ago but we’ve had a lot of movement and are now back in a place where we have capacity.’

She added: ‘What we are seeing is people struggling to afford housing in both the social and private sectors. We are in constant communication with our industry partners such as Andium Homes.’

The latest house price index showed that the average price of a home in Jersey was £629,000 – compared to £574,000 for the previous quarter and £532,000 a year earlier.

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