Monthly talk: Peter Stephenson – St Petrock’s
Our guest speaker in October was Peter Stephenson, Director of the charity St Petrock’s which provides support for the homeless and the vulnerably housed. To find out more, you may wish to follow this link https://stpetrocks.org.uk
He started off by inviting his audience to suggest what ‘Home’ means to us. Members talked about many characteristics of a home – warmth, being with people who love us, having our own possessions around us, stability, safety and much else. He also asked us to suggest the reasons why people might become homeless. We came up with a list which included family or relationship breakdown, domestic abuse, unemployment, debt, alcohol and substance abuse, coming out of the prison or care systems and, above all, mental health issues. Peter said we had a very comprehensive list, and of course, many homeless people experience more than one of these factors at the same time.
While we are very conscious of those who are sleeping and living on the streets, he emphasized that in many respects the even bigger problem is ‘the hidden homeless’, those who have no fixed place to live but may be ‘sofa surfing’, frequently staying for short periods with their gran who are major providers of care! Some may be living in a car or a disused building, or even simply living in impossibly crowded situations. Peter pointed out to us that those we see living on the streets are just the tip of the iceberg: rough sleepers are counted but the hidden homeless are not. The scale of that problem can only be estimated and probably accounts for at least 20 people to every person who is on the streets. Interestingly, the vast majority of rough sleepers are male, with women accounting for about 25%.
Peter asked us to consider what we would miss most about ‘home’ if we were living in these situations. All sorts of practical issues came to mind. Being hungry, cold and wet were probably obvious, but we soon came up with concerns about personal hygiene and having to wear dirty clothes, loneliness, boredom, being a victim of crime.
St Petrock’s is mainly based in Exeter and some other local communities. Peter talked about the practical support he and his team provides from their base at St Petrock’s church in the cathedral close. They go out to offer breakfast and a hot meal at lunch time. Their patrols keep in touch with those sleeping rough in the area and to help them to keep safe and to get the help they need. These days, benefits are only paid into a bank account and without a fixed address it is hard to set up an account. Furthermore, without a fixed address, it is difficult to get a job interview. All of this makes it very difficult for a homeless person to get out of the difficult circumstances in which they find themselves. St Petrock’s offers an address which can be used for dealing with the authorities, banks and possible employers, but also for family members who may wish to keep in touch with them. In today’s society, it is almost essential to have a mobile phone to enable you to access support and facilities, including welfare benefits, and so not having somewhere to charge your phone presents a major disadvantage. St Petrock’s has a bank of phone chargers enabling those who need it to keep in touch and access services.
Their building includes shower facilities and a laundry whose washing machines are kept going all hours of the day. This helps the homeless to maintain their dignity and to present themselves better should they have a job interview.
In the pandemic, they worked closely with the NHS to provide vaccinations on the spot, with no need for appointments. For many homeless people, a dog offers hugely important emotional support (and they are warm!) and St Petrock’s provides dog food to ensure that they are looked after as well.
The charity already has a limited amount of shared housing and Peter is trying to increase the amount of accommodation they are able to provide to those who need it. In the early years of this century, the Labour Government had very effective policies to reduce the number of rough sleepers, and for a period it looked as if our society was close to dealing successfully with this seemingly intractable problem. Sadly, these policies have been dismantled so that now the number of homeless people continues to grow.
Peter spoke highly of the work done by homelessness teams at Exeter City Council and the Districts but recognises that they are seriously short of funding. The current economic crisis is likely to make that situation even worse. St Petrock’s is overwhelmingly dependant on financial support from the public, from legacies and support from other non-government sources. Charities which are dependent on contracts from public bodies often feel inhibited in what they say. The main benefits of being independent from public funds are that it allows St Petrock’s to be advocates for homeless people, to speak truth to power, and also to be flexible and innovative in how they work.
It is clear that those of us who were able to listen to Peter’s talk learned a great deal about issues surrounding homelessness in our own community. I am sure that even those who felt that they already knew a lot about this subject came away with a better understanding and a firm belief that our society must do better and not sweep these problems under the carpet, even at times when money is tight and other problems crowd the agenda for our nation’s decision makers.
John Vick