HOMELESS CRISIS: We are facing 'an epidemic' after funding cuts

After the decision to axe Simon House and Julian Housing accommodation due to slashed council budgets - support workers, politicians and volunteers voiced their fears the homeless will simply have nowhere to go.

They warned crime, drug abuse, alcoholism and the number of people sleeping in tents and shop doors would dramatically increase - adding at this time there was no other solution.

The concerns come as Oxfordshire County Council announced more than 200 beds for the homeless would go when Simon House Hostel in Oxford and Julian Housing – based in Oxford and Abingdon – are ‘decommissioned’ by April 2018 because of £1.5m cuts over the next three years.

And despite the county council, all five district councils, and the Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group chipping in to provide £2.94m until 2019 - 154 out of 286 beds will be still be scrapped.

A homeless busker in the city centre, known as Neo, said funding cuts had created a homeless 'epidemic'.

The 44-year-old added: "There are more than 100 homeless people in Oxford which to me is a bit of an outrage for a city this small.

"The Government tells the council that it needs to make cuts and the council have to decide whether it's children's services, which are important, or the homeless sector.

"You see people coming onto the streets everyday. The first time they come onto the streets they are scared, vulnerable, and can get in with the wrong crowd.

"Drug abuse problems start and their issues are not dealt with."

Claire Dowan, chief executive of charity Oxford Homeless Pathways, told the Oxford Mail the decision to withdraw more than half of the county's beds for the homeless was a 'significant cut' to an 'essential and vital service'.

Ms Dowan said she 'did not expect' such drastic reductions, and added about a quarter of the charity's cash currently came from the Government.

She added: "Against a backdrop of ever increasing need in our city for support and accommodation, we are extremely concerned about the on-going decline in government funding and the increasing numbers of rough sleepers.

"As a charity we are working hard to secure new sources of funding and are committed to maintaining a provision in Oxfordshire."

The £2.94m pot for the next three years will fund 56 beds in Oxford, with allocated spaces for people from other parts of the county and between 42 and 50 beds across the city.

It will also support 13 beds in the Cherwell district, 14 in South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse and six in West Oxfordshire.

The local authorities do not have a legal obligation to house or support the homeless.

Lucy Faithfull House, which had 61 beds, closed in January, with spaces provided in other areas of the county.

Dave Child, from East Oxford, who was formerly homeless, said the reality of the shelter closures would lead to 'more deaths' on the streets.

He added: "People will get hypothermia. If we went out now we would find 30 people sleeping rough.

"When I was on the streets I got extremely ill. I managed to drag myself out of it, but I was malnourished and a doctor told me I had trench foot.

"It's already bad and it's going to get worse."

Andrew Smith MP for Oxford East said he had warned the 'danger' of the cuts in the House of Commons.

He added: "This is very bad news for homelessness in Oxford and will mean more people sleeping rough. "It is to the city council’s credit that it is maintaining its support. Government cuts to the county are to blame and make a mockery of ministers’ claims that they want to tackle rough sleeping when they are pulling the rug from under the local providers.

“I will keep up the pressure on the government to put money where its mouth is when it comes to tackling homelessness."

Pete and Carol Bonney from Wood Farm have donated clothes to homeless hostels in the county for a decade.

Mr Bonney, 77, said the whole situation for the homeless was 'one big mess'.

He added: "Of course the number of people on the streets is going to go up. Everyone knows it is getting worse."

More vulnerable people on the streets will have a detrimental impact on Oxford's society and increase crime, a homeless support volunteer has said.

The volunteer worker, who did not want to be named, told the Oxford Mail how she thought the cuts would have an impact on the people she helps on a daily basis.

She warned the cuts would only provide a short-term solution and it could cost services including NHS more in the long run.

She said: "A lot of homeless people are vulnerable people and despite the changes to the homeless pathway last year, there is still an absolute log jam in that there is not enough accommodation to re-house people.

"The impact is there will be vulnerable adults on the streets, crime will go up, more people will need NHS support. The decision does not look at the long-term issues."

Kate Cocker, director of Crisis Skylight Oxford, a charity which tried to help people move on from homelessness, said Crisis and other charities would be forced to 'fill the gaps' left behind by the local authorities.

She added: "We are concerned by more people sleeping rough. We know it is a traumatising experience and huge costs for a person's mental and physical health.

"The average age of death for some who rough sleeping is 47, 30 years below the normal average.

"There is no doubt the closure of the shelters is going to affect a huge amount of people. And it is difficult for those on low incomes and benefits to get housing.

"It's tough in Oxford."

Guy Scotece, project manager at The Porch Steppin' Stone Centre, a service which provides food a shelter during the day, said he understood the cuts, but was concerned about the impact they would have.

He said: "For us we will see an increase in people using the service and it will put a strain on our resources."

The local authorities reponses:

OXFORDSHIRE county council, the five district councils and the county's clinical commissioning group signed a deal to provide for homeless people in the county for the next three years.

The decision means more than 200 beds for the homeless will go when Simon House Hostel in Oxford and Julian Housing – based in Oxford and Abingdon – are ‘decommissioned’ by April 2018.

The agreement comes after the county council - responsible for adult social care - reduced its funding by £1.5m over the next three years.

Both the city and county council have no legal obligation to fund homeless services, but both criticised each other's commitment to the cause.

County councillor Judith Heathcoat, cabinet member for adult social care, said the county council had provided 'disproportionate' funding to homelessness shelters in the past.

She added: "The district councils are the housing authority and therefore have responsibility for the homeless.

"District councils have not faced anything like the funding pressures that county councils in England have had to deal with since 2010."

But Oxford City Council, the housing authority, maintained its £1.4m funding and said it simply did not have the cash to fill the gaps left by the county council's 'myriad' of cuts to homelessness services and elsewhere.

Deputy city council leader Ed Turner said he expected the number of rough sleepers to increase, and added he was 'disappointed' with the county council's cuts.

He said it was a fair assessment that social housing is already short for families looking for homes and not directly face homelessness.

But Mr Turner said housing benefit cuts by the Government were making it difficult for those on low incomes to pay market rent prices.

He added: "It's a massive problem. We the city council are maintaining our funding of £1.4m but unfortunately the county council is reducing their contribution by £500k each year.

"The number of people who have been sleeping rough is creeping up and it is very unpleasant and worrying. This problem is getting more prevalent in Oxford."

The city council said it was doing a 'vast' amount of work to tackle Oxford’s housing crisis which included retaining its 7,800 council houses.

A spokesman added: "On top of this, last year we launched a £10m project with St Mungo’s Broadway to buy about 50 homes near Oxford to house homeless families from the city."