The Passage based in Westminster is among the charities that have refuted Home secretary Suella Braverman’s controversial claim that that rough sleepers were making a “lifestyle choice”.
The Passage, which has Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols as patron, said: “The people we work with have not chosen to be on the streets; circumstances have put them there.”
In a statement, chief executive Mick Clarke, strongly condemned the new enforcement powers outlined by the Home Secretary. “We believe that everyone deserves a place to call home; that no one should ever have to sleep on the streets, or indeed in a tent on the streets,” he said, adding, “This policy risks demonising the poorest in our society without even beginning to address the real issues facing our country regarding poverty and homelessness.”
He called for building more social housing and taking immediate steps to alleviate the homelessness crisis, such as unfreezing Local Housing Allowance and creating more emergency accommodation.
The Passage reports that 2,086 people slept rough for the very first time in London between July and September this year. “This is nothing short of a scandal,” said Mike Clarke.
The Passage was one of 15 homelessness charities which called on the UK home secretary last weekend to “urgently reverse” proposals. They included St Mungo’s, Centrepoint and Crisis. They warned that the proposed crackdown would push more people into destitution without addressing homelessness. “This is not a life people choose,” they said.
Braverman posted on social media, “We cannot allow our streets to be taken over by rows of tents occupied by people, many of them from abroad, living on the streets as a lifestyle choice.
“What I want to stop, and what the law-abiding majority wants us to stop, is those who cause nuisance and distress to other people by pitching tents in public spaces, aggressively begging, stealing, taking drugs, littering, and blighting our communities.” Her proposals include a new civil offence to deter charities from giving tents to homeless people.
St Vincent de Paul Society said, “Our members and centres support thousands of people sleeping rough each year and we urgently call on the government to reverse these proposals and show kindness towards people.” SVP warned that if the proposal to ban tents for rough sleepers was passed, it “could lead to many deaths as we go into winter”.
Anne Peacey, chair of the National Justice and Peace Network of England and Wales, told The Tablet, “The apparent lack of compassion evidenced in the harsh language continually used by the Home Secretary displays a lack of compassion.” She added: “Do we see the vulnerable and rootless within our society as statistics to further a political point or as victims of systems and structures that take little account of the inherent dignity of every individual?”
Fr Dominic Robinson SJ, chair of Justice and Peace in Westminster, said, “The guests we see at our services are not making a lifestyle choice, rather they have no options left. The success of the repeal of the Vagrancy Act is now in danger of being replaced by even harsher legislation which will push the street population further into a subculture of society.”
The annual service of commemoration for those who have died homeless in London in the last year is due to be held at St Martin in the Fields in Trafalgar Square on Thursday, 9 November at 11am.
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