CALLS have been made to place Brighton and Hove in a "state of emergency" to tackle the city's homeless crisis.

Charities and politicians said the city needs the power to override government housing policy to focus on building social housing for rent for the 4,094 homeless people in Brighton and Hove.

Brighton and Hove City Council agreed that the "government model is not what the city needs right now."

A homeless woman sleeping rough on Brighton's streets yesterday told The Argus she "slept with one eye open" after being raped while homeless.

Lorraine bravely waived her right to anonymity to reveal the harrowing ordeal she had suffered

The 49-year-old said: "People say go look for a flat, but you can’t - I have tried. I don’t want to be sat on the streets. It’s scary and what I’ve been through in the past I’m very aware, so I sleep with one eye open.”

Yesterday the city was revealed to have the worst rate of homelessness outside London, with one in every 69 residents sleeping rough or in temporary accommodation.

Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas said she was regularly contacted by "desperate" constituents who need permanent homes.

Andy Winter, chief executive of Brighton Housing Trust said: "To tackle the homeless crisis we need to be given powers by the Government to overrule national government schemes. Help to buy schemes aren't helping.

"Brighton needs to use the scarce land it has to build social housing for rent.

"We know there are 1,800 children currently in temporary and emergency accommodation."

Ms Lucas added: "The housing situation in Brighton and Hove as an emergency. The number of homeless people has skyrocketed and a shocking 26,000 are on the social housing waiting list.

"Many constituents who contact me are in desperate need of affordable housing; survivors of domestic abuse needing safe and secure accommodation; and wheelchair users needing to move to a new home to be able to live independently.

"These are in addition to the many residents struggling to make ends meet in extortionate private rented properties – like many of the city’s key workers carrying out vital work supporting others.

“The time has surely come for Brighton and Hove to be given special authority to override national schemes like help to buy so we can provide affordable homes for more people."

Mr Winter said that the city was suffering from a "perfect storm" of conditions forcing people onto the streets.

He added: "We are landlocked and attractive city to come to," he said.

"There is a large student population and a lot of those choose to stay in the city.

"Add to that there are a lot of people who come down from London because they can afford much more property in Brighton.

You could describe these people as economic migrants.

"These are people who are very comfortable, not the 'just about making doers' that Teresa May keeps talking about.

"It is a perfect storm of pressures on the city and there is not enough housing.

"The city council is trying to build 1,000 homes with Hyde but there is a debate needed about how a city like Brighton and Hove comes up with a solution .

"But people are being squeezed more and more and now we are desperate for solutions.

"What do we do about it?

"That's the million dollar question."

Whilst Mr Winter suggested that planners would have to compromise, build taller and relinquish some views of green spaces to maximise our limited space, Ms Lucas also called for a a stop to spiralling private rents as well as improving social housing stock.

He added: "To halt spiralling costs smart rent controls (where rents cannot rise above the rate of inflation) should have been adopted as a very first step. But, with people paying vast chunks of their pay packet as rent, it's clear that rents don't just need controlling – they need to fall."

"That's why we need a Living Rent Commission to establish what a Living Rent should be and how to get there – and clearly rent caps must be part of the solution."

'I SLEEP WITH ONE EYE OPEN'

The Argus:

As shoppers picking up Christmas gifts pass by on busy North Street, Lorraine sits in a doorway in a sleeping bag clutching a teddy to escape the harsh cold. “Out here you have to learn to how to survive, it’s amazing how your instincts take over,” she says.

The 49-year-old (pictured above) has been homeless for three-and-a-half years following a sad spiral into life on the streets. It all started when she left her home in Middlesbrough three years ago to live with and care for her mother who had dementia in Leeds.

After her mum's death, Lorraine found herself kicked out of her mother’s council house and on the streets. Five days later she was horrifically attacked by three men who injected her with a date rape drug and raped her in a park. After being kicked out of a temporary accommodation in Leeds she has ended up in Brighton and Hove as one of the 4,095 people sleeping rough in the city according to government figures released this week. 

Now the former chef lives day by day, begging for enough money to buy something to eat and cup of tea. She says: “I’ve had my begging money taken, been spat at and asked for sexual favours, and they think it’s funny. I didn’t think at my age I’d be sat on the street.

“People say to get off your arse and go look for a flat, but you can’t - I have tried. I don’t want to be sat on the streets. It’s scary and what I’ve been through in the past I’m very aware, so I sleep with one eye open.”
Disillusioned by council services, Lorraine can see no way out and chance of a home. She says: “Look at all the empty buildings around that are going to waste - it's ridiculous.

“I’m making do with life at the moment, but a bedsit would do me. I just want the chance to have a bath, watch the telly and not feel scared.”

NO ONE TO LIVE ON THE STREETS BY 2020

THERE are uncountable reasons for why people end up homeless – and for most of us the situation is much closer than we think.

The breakdown of a relationship, losing your job or simply the end of a tenancy can be enough to push people on to the streets.

For many, a series of unresolved health, emotional and financial problems compound – leaving them destitute and sleeping rough problems with health. 

The city council recognises there are “huge pressures” on our limited housing and agrees that the Government’s push to help first-time buyers is making it even harder to build social housing for rent. 

But what help is out there if you find yourself without a home? 

Councillor Anne Meadows, chairwoman of Brighton and Hove’s housing and new homes committee, said: “The shared ownership model the Government prefers is not what the city needs right now, what is really needed is more affordable rented accommodation.

“In Brighton and Hove there are huge pressures on our limited housing. 
“We are a popular city and we know that two thirds of our rough sleepers are not local and don’t have a connection to Brighton and Hove.

“We’re aiming to build 500 affordable council homes under the New Homes for Neighbourhoods building programme, with around 200 already complete or under way. 

“All our new homes are given to those on the local housing register and this frees up our temporary accommodation for more people who find themselves homeless.” 

The first step for anyone who is homeless or in danger of becoming homeless is to make a homelessness application to your local council – but that means the huge number of rough sleepers who migrate to Brighton from other parts of the country do not qualify for support. 

Secondly, the council can refuse help if you are deemed to have intentionally made yourself homeless by leaving accommodation that you could have stayed in.

You may only be offered help for a limited period of time – but the council will still provide some advice and assistance in finding somewhere to live.

Even if you have a priority need – such as being at risk of violence, having a dependant child or if you are under 18 – then you will only be considered for permanent housing once a place is allocated to you via the council’s waiting list. 

The crux of the issue for many of Brighton and Hove rough sleepers is that the council can only provide support to those who have a link to the area. That means those who have not lived in the city for six out of the past 12 months or do not have family or work in the area will be told to return to their own local authority areas. 

From there people are dependent on the support of charitable services to prevent them living on the streets – though some suggest the wealth of support services for the homeless in the city is part of the reason people flock here. 

Brighton Housing Trust (BHT) runs a range of services, including the First Base drop-in centre in Montpelier Place, which saw 955 different clients visit 14,708 times in the 2015/16 financial year. 

BHT provides skills training both at First Base and the Whitehawk Inn and runs an intern placement programme as well as addiction services and the 52-bed Phase One hostel in Oriental Place. 

It also operates Route One, which provides support and accommodation for 60 adults with mental health needs, and Richardson’s Yard, the groundbreaking shipping container development in New England Road. 
During the winter months 11 of the city’s churches work together to offer rough sleepers a home-cooked meal, a bed in a safe place, and a healthy breakfast as part of the The Brighton and Hove Churches Night Shelter. 

The Clock Tower Sanctuary, in North Street, provides drop-in services for homeless people aged 16 to 25. 

The council has vowed to work together with other services to make sure there are no rough sleepers in the city by 2020. 

Cllr Meadows said: “A priority for Brighton and Hove City Council is to make sure no one has the need to sleep rough in the city by 2020.

“The council is working with partners across the city to help achieve this aim.

“Rough sleeping is a complex issue and no two people have the same circumstances. 

“Poverty, ill health and unexpected life events are some of the factors which see people end up on the streets. 

“We know the best chance of people moving away from the streets comes when professional services are involved. 

“We already have a good foundation of professional organisations linking up to provide vital support.

“There’s no doubt national cuts have been harsh but the quality of services in our city remains high and literally saves lives.

“We are also working hard to help those who are homeless or at risk of being homeless in Brighton and Hove.

“This year alone our housing team along with our partners has prevented 562 households from becoming homeless by providing advice and support.”