Innovative Ideas to Help Homeless People

We all ache in our hearts, when we see homeless people on the streets (especially with dogs). But with 250,000 people on average officially homeless in England alone (a shocking statistic), what more can be done to help? We have heaps of ideas in the homelessness tag. Plus tips on how to help homeless people with dogs.

But of course the direct everyday reality, is that you go out into a town (or especially a city), see someone sleeping rough (often with a bowl asking for cash and a ‘God bless you’ sign’) and then don’t know what to do.

Your instinct likely wants to give money. But many councils say not to, because the money may be used for drink (although it’s important not to judge – you may want a bottle of whisky if you’re sleeping on a cold pavement all day). And others say that they have plans in place, and giving money just stops people from seeking out official help.

Giving cash also could lead to the homeless person being robbed. And also it encourages ‘lazy councils and governments’, who then refuse to buck their ideas up, and get this huge problem sorted.

The main causes of homelessness these days are simply unaffordable rents that are not in line with wages. Plus many people have mental health issues or perhaps are escaping abuse. You don’t know why that person is homeless. And what’s even worse for many homeless people, is when people won’t even make eye contact with them.

Homeless people can claim benefits, giving the address of a family member/friend, hostel or job centre. This helps to pay for food (and pet food), interview clothes and rent deposits. People without bank accounts can use the government’s Payment Exception Service to collect benefits from a local post office or PayPoint outlet.

If you see someone sleeping rough, send a report to StreetLink, whose outreach teams visit rough sleepers at night, to alert them of support to find benefits and accommodation (if the person is under 18, call 999).

Immediate solutions to help without cash

Having said all that: if you see a person (with or without a dog) on the street, the above help is not going to be immediate, if that person (and/or dog) is hungry, thirst or needs extra help.

It’s not recommended by homelessness charities to give blankets. As these can get wet and heavy very quickly, so are difficult to drag around. Instead donate to organisations that provide comfortable and weather-resistant sleeping options for homeless people.

So the answer on what to do – tokens!

The main one in England is BillyChip, a safe secure ‘currency’ that you can buy from participating shops. If you run a shop, just get involved and receive a free starter pack (you are just charged for chips sold, so you won’t lose any money). The welcome pack includes 25 Billy Chips, window decals and marketing materials.

It works like this. If you see anyone needing help, you simply give a BillyChip, instead of cash. This can then be used to buy a hot drink or meal at participating shops, or even pet food. This way you can give direct help, while still following council advice not to give cash (or increase robbery risk).

The ideas was set up in memory of a man (Billy), a young paramedic from Bristol, who volunteered to help homeless people, and died in a road accident. He would be very proud of his friends.

Keep tokens away from young children and pets.  Pubs and bars are not allowed to join, so the tokens can’t be used to buy alcohol.

In North America, Give Tokens is a similar scheme, good inspiration as it also lets people use the tokens to buy night accommodation, clothing, survival gear, laundry services and even bicycles (as well as food from local street carts).

Other ideas on giving to homeless people

• You could simply pay at the counter for a homeless person to get food or drink. Many cafes these days offer ‘pay-it-forward’ options. So say you bought a sandwich and a coffee, you could then add the price of another meal to the scheme. Then when a homeless person pops in, it’s already paid for.
• Many public libraries now offer free feminine care packs, so anyone on low incomes can pop in and collect them anonymously, for comfort and dignity.
• You can donate unwanted phones to SimPal (these are given to people on low incomes, so they can use them to arrange GP/vet visits, claim benefits and find work.
• Tell homeless people with dogs about Dogs Trust Hope Project, which provides cards to access free vet care (and lists dog-friendly hostels).

Greater Change (personalised cash grants)

Greater Change is a super idea. Its a way to ‘give smarter’. Instead of just giving money to buy a Gregg’s pasty, your donations are used to fund long-term investment in a homeless person.

This has huge cost savings to government too. Because if it helps someone get off the streets and into work and self-financed accommodation, that’s public funds that can be used for other things.

For example, the funds may pay for:

• Deposit for a flat
• Washing machines and sofas
• ID cards and training to get a job

The American man helping to end homelessness

Just take a few minutes to think about what we often see: go into a major town or city, and you’ll see people literally sleeping on the streets. Often with their loyal dogs.

Councils do what? They install ‘hostile architecture’ (with spikes or devices so homeless people can’t lie down on benches). And free toilets are increasingly banned, so then homeless people have nowhere to visit the toilet. If they go to the loo on the street, it’s classed as a public indecency offence.

We have big homelessness charities, and they have good hearts. But in a country of 67 million people, why do we now have over 350,000 people classed as homeless in England? It’s shocking.

Kevin F Adler (he uses the middle initial in memory of his later Joan Farrington) is a social entrepreneur in the USA, whose book and organisation are rewriting how people think about homeless people, and how to help them.

When We Walk By is Kevin’s book, which is being received with great reviews everywhere. It’s a community tool book on ‘how to help in 60 seconds’, with ideas for taking action and making real impact with what Kevin calls ‘unhoused neighbours’.

Kevin also founded Miracle Messages, a wonderful organisation that we could emulate here. Basically, it has three premises:

• A family reunification service so that homeless people can reunite (if they want) with estranged family members, which often is the answer in many cases. It has helped to return many homeless people back to their loving families, often after years of nobody being able to find them.
• A phone buddy program, as ‘nobody should go through homelessness alone’.
• Basic income (this campaigns for the benefits of basic income, and meanwhile has a donation page for people to give online – this money is then used to help find stable homes and training for homeless people)

Creativity is often the answer

Although the big homelessness charities (and often governments) are well-meaning, sometimes it takes a creative mind to find a solution. Think about all the years that Shelter has been around, showing adverts to ask us to give.

Why has none of their staff ever come up with such creative, empowering and simple ideas like Kevin? It’s obvious that in not all cases, homeless people are running from abusive homes. And often their relatives are missing them, and want to take care of them.

The premise is that homeless people are not ‘just lost beings’ that always lived on the streets. Most have histories, and some even had homes and spouses and families and mortgages and good jobs. We should never judge.

Other good books to help prevent homelessness 

They Just Need to Get a Job is the anti-dote to MPs who say ”being homeless was a lifestyle choice’). Being homeless is cold, boring and often dangerous, and many are there due to being widowed, divorced, fallen behind on rent payments, escaping domestic abuse or mental illness.

Unlike in Germany and Italy (where renting is the norm), in England there is little regulation to protect tenants from exploitative landlords (Crisis wants a Local Housing Allowance, so tenants receive help to match higher rents).

Although job centres do a great job helping people to find work, it’s more difficult without an address or bank account. Ask about the Flexible Support Fund, which can help with interview travel costs and work clothes.

Not everyone who’s homeless is a drug addict. Some are normal people who’ve been knocked down, and it can happen to you too. Sherrilyn Kenyon

The Roofless Truth focuses on how to design  towns that help to prevent homelessness, drawing on ground-breaking research and projects from Canada to Switzerland. Includes tips on (avoiding) hostile architecture.

How to use Evidence to End Homelessness again uses evidence to show what works with case studies and policy tools (includes a contribution from Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham).