The number of people rough sleeping on the streets of Liverpool has almost doubled in the last year, according to new research.
A snap survey has shown a worrying spike in the amount of people sleeping rough on Liverpool’s streets, with this year’s total of 15 up from eight in 2014 and a comparatively minuscule three in 2010.
But Dave Flack, of the Basement charity for the homeless, has admitted that the problem could be even more widepread than the figures suggest, with local council estimates suggesting a 20% increase in homelessness since 2010.
“We have seen a rise in the last 12 to 15 months, when it had been fairly static for a while.
“But there are strict rules about how you count people – they have to be bedded down. Many rough sleepers sleep in the day as they don’t feel safe at night – some have been attacked – so we can’t count them.
“It’s difficult to explain the rise -every person has a unique reason, from relationship breakdown to mental health problems or substance abuse.
“Funding has been squeezed for services like homelessness by the government. We’ve also seen people who received benefit sanctions, but it’s not as huge a factor as we thought it would be.”
Elsewhere, Liverpool council’s cabinet member for housing, Frank Hont, also noted a rise in rough sleepers.
Mr Hont suggested that the recent rise could be as a direct result of governement welfare reforms and the current economic crisis.
He said: “We have noticed a rise in rough sleepers, but it’s difficult to know what it’s down to. It could be welfare reforms, the changing nature of employment, the economic crisis people find themselves in.
“But it’s not a significant rise – it’s not anywhere near the rise in places like Birmingham, Manchester or Bristol.”