Vulnerable young woman made homeless in London

This video from England says about itself:

Unseen – a documentary on homeless city walking tours in London

27 September 2012

The documentary revolves around five fascinating individuals who were once homeless on the streets of London, and now lead the Unseen city walking tours as guides along familiar streets. The guides explore unseen aspects of iconic places in London, sharing quirky historical facts combined with personal, ‘unseen’ stories of sleeping rough in these areas – opening up cultural spaces on two distinct levels. Neighbourhoods include Covent Garden, Shoreditch, Mayfair, Brick Lane and London Bridge.

By Joana Ramiro in Britain:

Thrown on the streets

Thursday 31st July 2014

Vulnerable young woman evicted from homeless hostel after benefits slashed

A VULNERABLE young woman has been kicked out of a homeless hostel and left on the streets after becoming the latest victim of Britain’s draconian welfare system.

The 19-year-old, who didn’t want to be named, was marched out of the North London YMCA on Tuesday after being stripped of her housing benefit and falling into arrears.

An EU national, her £250-a-week rent had been paid through housing benefit but she failed a habitual residence test and stripped of all her benefits.

Two dozen fellow residents staged a protest in a desperate bid to save their friend from the streets but they could only stand by after police were called to escort the young woman from the place she called home for the last year.

“I wasn’t allowed back in, not even near the entrance,” she told the Star.

“I just sat there the whole day until 11pm.”

She has been unable to reclaim her possessions since being kicked out.

A hostel spokeswoman said: “We very much regret carrying out evictions and do our utmost to avoid them, but sometimes we have no choice.”

“Any eviction is only ever carried out as a last resort and always with a heavy heart.”

The North London YMCA added that it contacts alternative accommodation agencies for those it removes — but the evicted woman denied this ever happened.

But, as a hard-hitting London Assembly report released today shows, the woman would be far from alone on the streets of London.

The number of rough-sleepers in London has risen by 64 per cent since 2010 but the number of beds in homeless shelters dropped by a quarter between 2011 and 2013, the assembly housing committee said.

The AMs said that the existing support services often failed to address the needs of single homeless people, with the number of projects turning people away because their needs were too complex increasing from 63 per cent to 74 per cent in England last year.

The committee called for London Mayor Boris Johnson to take a more joined-up approach to ending rough sleeping across the city.

Chairman Darren Johnson said: “With increasing pressure on the system, it’s time for the mayor to take a strategic approach to single homelessness in London.

“He must support cross-borough collaboration and ensure the right services are available where vulnerable Londoners need them.”

A recent study has shown that rehabilitating homeless people is actually more cost effective than keeping them on the streets and arresting them: here.