Number Of Rough Sleepers Unknown After Framework Service Withdrawal

Homelessness charity Framework, say they have no idea what the true extent of homelessness is in Mansfield and Ashfield, following the decommissioning of their Homelessness Prevention Work last March.

The charity say the area most affected has been Mansfield and that as result, rough sleeping will have risen.

Andrew Redfearn is the Chief Executive of Framework “Until three or four years ago we were doing street outreach work with rough sleepers in Mansfield and Ashfield, that was funded by central government with a contribution from Framework but unfortunately central government stopped funding that work, which means we no longer have a presence on the streets.”

“We no longer have the same handle on the number of people sleeping rough as we once had. Rough sleeping is a very frightening experience, it means that you are isolated, not in touch with the services you need – it means you don’t have a sense of structure or purpose to your life and what we know is the health of people who sleep rough tends to be very poor compared to the rest of the population and their life expectancy is dramatically cut.”

Statics of rough sleepers have increased dramatically over the past ten years with 3,569 people recorded as sleeping on the streets on a single night in 2015 across the UK. Official figures show eight people were recorded sleeping rough in Mansfield in 2015, but Mr Redfearn says without the outreach service, it’s extremely difficult to be accurate.

“What we are hearing at our hostels and through other agencies that make referrals to us is that number is higher, so there is tremendous pressure on the services that are left. What that means for the people concerned is that if you’re going to sleep rough through the winter with no real recourse to get even a roof over your head, you’re obviously at great risk and frankly you are more likely to die”  

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