Troubling patterns of street homelessness and vulnerability to abuse amongst destitute refugees have been uncovered by new research from the Jesuit Refugee Service UK (JRS UK). The study finds that most of the destitute refugees attending the JRS UK Day Centre had slept rough at some point in the previous year, and one in five had been forced to spend more than a month on the streets. More worrying still was that a third of those with accommodation reported not feeling physically safe there.
The research, undertaken just before Christmas, uncovered a widespread pattern of sporadic street homelessness affecting men and women of different ages and backgrounds who had fled to the UK for safety and sought asylum, but struggled to gain recognition of their status as a refugee. Unable to leave the UK, yet barred from working and with no government support they were left destitute, often for many years, as they found themselves subject to the web of policies described by policy-makers as the “hostile environment agenda”.
Key Statistics:
62% experienced street homeless in the last year
36% feel physically unsafe in their
accommodation
47% have no regular place to sleep
87% do not feel in control of their accommodation
42% feel uncomfortable with those they live with
JRS have put together a comprehensive list of recommendations and advocacy actions alongside the report, please take a look below.