« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
FINAL EVALUATION OF THE ROUGH SLEEPERS
INITIATIVE
CHAPTER 5: SERVICE USERS
Introduction
5.1 This Chapter presents the views of people who have
used RSI funded services. The first part of the Chapter
examines how far people feel that services are effective.
In the second part of the Chapter, service users describe
how far there have been changes in their local area, either
as a result of RSI, or other factors. Finally, the third
part of the Chapter explores the views of service users in
relation to unmet needs and gaps in services for homeless
people in their areas.
5.2 The Chapter is based upon focus groups and
face-to-face interviews with 32 service users, of whom 12
were female. Respondents included a range of ages, although
about half were under 25. Most, but not all, respondents
had some experience of rough sleeping, ranging from one or
two nights to much longer episodes of rough sleeping
stretching over a number of years.
Service effectiveness
5.3 Respondents were asked for their views and
experiences of any services they had used. Respondents
commented on the service where they were interviewed - i.e.
the service in receipt of RSI funding, and also any other
services they had experience of.
Services in receipt of RSI funding
5.4 The majority of respondents expressed strong
positive views towards the services in receipt of RSI
funding, although this trend was not universal amongst all
those interviewed. Some respondents could only comment on
the particular service they were using, as this was the
only service they had had contact with. However, most
respondents had experience of using other services and
could make comparisons and judgements about how services
varied.
5.5 In many instances, respondents made general comments
about how far they valued the RSI funded service, as the
following exchange between three respondents
illustrated:
Respondent 1:
I think this is the best place in [city]
I don't know about youse lads, but I think it's the
best.
Respondent 2:
The best help, whatever the problem is, you can
come here, even if it's not related to homelessness,
you know what I mean? They'll still help you.
Respondent 3:
Whatever help you need, you get it, plus they'll
give you clothes, if you're struggling. Like me, I'm
brand new, I'm alright, but you get people coming and
they're struggling, they've got nothing, they get them
good clothes. It's great, this is a great place, it
really is.
Physical aspects of services
5.6 However, many comments related to specific aspects
of the service that respondents valued. Some of the
comments related to the physical attributes of the places
where they were staying or using, such as warmth,
cleanliness, the level of facilities, or the quality of the
food.
It's not like I expected, 'cos I thought it
would be a run down place. But it's not. It's clean
and that. The rooms are good.
Security
5.7 A safe environment was a key concern for many
respondents. Some respondents contrasted their experiences
elsewhere with the services they were now using. As one
female commented:
I came here from the [hostel]
and I was being bullied up there, and there was me
getting battered and this and that, and the staff did
nothing about it. But if that was happening here, then
there'd be something done about it. You know what I
mean. It's just totally different.
A discussion between two male respondents also
illustrated this point:
Respondent 1:
Waking up on the streets, it's no where near a
substitute for a bed, to know for a fact that you're
going to stay well 'cos you're not freezing, you feel
secure. Doors are locked. Only certain people allowed
in after certain times.
Respondent 2:
It's all cameras, that's another thing I like about
it. You can't get idiots walking in, drunk as a
skunk.
5.8 However, not all respondents felt comfortable with
security arrangements that were highly visible,
particularly in relation to the use of CCTV cameras. One
respondent commented on the changes that had been made to a
daycentre and contrasted the homely feel of the previous
décor of the day centre with the new decoration and changes
in security, and noted that '
now it just feels like the gaol'.
Support
5.9 The most positive responses related to the support
that respondents received from RSI services. The majority
of respondents commented favourably on not only the range
and quality of support received, but also the general
attitude of staff. As two respondents commented:
This place has been really good. I think if I
had gone anywhere else I wouldn't have been as far
as I am. Come off drugs, the staff here are great.
Someone is on hand 24 hours a day - you can always
talk to someone. You can pour your heart out and
tell them what's wrong. But there's some people who
won't go and talk to staff cos they think it's like
talking to a policeman. But it's not like that -
it's all confidential.
It's just the staff. The staff are really, really
good, eh? They know where you're coming from; do their
best to help you out. And the right help. They provide
a lot of support.
5.10 One aspect of support that was mentioned was
helping respondents to deal with other agencies. Some
respondents felt confident about contacting other services
and were happy to deal with service providers on their own
terms. Other respondents valued the support provided by RSI
services acting in an advocacy role, attending meetings, or
visits to other services, or aspects of dealing with other
services such as form filling.
5.11 At the same time, respondents commented about
support they also received from other services that they
were in contact with. Younger respondents often commented
favourably not only about the support they were getting
from the particular service in receipt of RSI funding, but
also services such as Through Care or After Care, from the
Social Work service, or key-workers to help respondents
with drug and/or alcohol dependencies.
Broader context
5.12 However, what was clear from some respondents was
that outcomes could be undermined either by the general
context within which services operated or because services
did not link together particularly well. One respondent
discussed the temporary nature of the accommodation he was
in and the lack of options for people to move to, relating
principally to the lack of available affordable
housing:
You're dreading this letter coming [to tell
the respondent they must leave their temporary
accommodation]
. But when it actually comes you're running round
like a headless chicken trying to sort things out. And
there's not a lot you can do cos there's not a lot
actually offered, as far as what to do
afterwards.
5.13 Another example was highlighted by two respondents
in different case study areas who identified a difficulty
combining employment with staying in hostels or supported
accommodation. These respondents were critical of the
extent to which their benefits were cut if they took up
employment, often leaving them with little disposable
income, whilst they stayed in their current accommodation,
once rent and service charges had been paid.
About six months ago now that was pretty rough
and that. I'm glad there was some place like this.
At that time it was pretty bad, with drugs and that
and what not. But I basically just want to get
myself sorted out again. I used to work. This is
the longest I've been out of work, this last couple
of years. So I really want to get a house and get
back into it. Cos you can't really work while
you're staying here - too much rent and whatever.
So basically just waiting on a house.
My service charge went up just because I was
working. They're saying to us you need to go out and
get a job and find employment, but you can't do it, cos
we can't afford to stay here. That's why everybody here
is on DSS…The council need to be thinking, why are we
taking so much off, cos they are working. If you stay
here it costs 100 pounds a week and if you stay in your
own flat it's only 15 a week. So it makes a big
difference if you go out and get a job.
5.14 Another respondent was critical of the training and
educational opportunities available to people while they
were living in supported accommodation. This respondent
commented that:
The Scottish Executive should give places like
this money to try and get us into courses, d'you
ken? Say if you want to get your HGV licence and
that. You need to pay for like courses, like
bricklaying and things like that, to get us into
work. You have to pay for that yourself. They'll
pay for you to go college and that like, and
university, but….
5.15 Other respondents noted that issues such as drug
and/or alcohol dependencies could undermine the
effectiveness of services in relation to housing. For
example, one male respondent commented:
You've got yourself a house, but if you've got
a habit it's easy to be back on the streets again
isn't it? You need to get yourself straight and
then go through the house process, you know what I
mean, cos I've had my house for three years and I'm
still struggling with it.
Changes
5.16 Respondents commented on any changes they had seen
not only in the type and quality of services provided, but
also in the local areas where they lived. As part of this
discussion, respondents were also asked to comment on how
far they felt that services were currently adequate in the
areas where they lived.
5.17 It was not always clear that improvements could
necessarily be ascribed directly to RSI funding over and
above other changes which may have taken place within case
study areas. For example, one male respondent noted
that:
Well from years ago, they have got better, no?
Cos I've been sleeping rough for quite a few years,
and I've noticed a difference. People want to
help.
5.18 Nevertheless, other respondents were unequivocal in
their views on the services that RSI funding had provided
in their area. As one male respondent commented:
It's better than it was before, when they never
had nothing, man. I never had any support when I
was sleeping in the street, apart from my family.
And they wouldn't let me in when I was on the
drink.
Q:
What's changed to make it better?
Well you've got [RSI funded service]
now haven't you? You never had that
before.
Another respondent noted:
A lot more help, to help us, than they did years
ago, with the social. I mean years ago they didnae have
access to the social, now they've got access to the
social and the council and that. Years ago they didnae
have power, now they're getting the power, today it's
like that [snaps fingers]
you know what I mean? It's a lot better fae us all.
Because at one time, you know what I mean, we could
just come here and get a wee sandwich and that was
it.
5.19 The quote above also highlights a point made by a
couple of respondents about the attitudes of service
providers to homeless people, and how these attitudes might
be changing. However, occasionally respondents were
critical of the attitude that they experienced at the hands
of either mainstream services, or services aimed
specifically at helping homeless people, as a couple of
respondents related:
If you walk in with your own address, they're
alright with you
I had a problem last week and I spoke to the staff
at the hostel. Made me feel so small, it's XXXX,
XXXX…I'm no trying to put them all down, but sometimes
I wonder if I could be a better support worker
myself…
5.20 A couple of respondents noted that whilst the
service they used was valuable, they argued that such
services should be replicated in other areas of Scotland
where it was felt that other homeless people did not enjoy
similar facilities:
Respondent 1:
I just wish there were more places like here, in
this area and in the more rural areas.
Respondent 2:
They should be doing this in the cities.
Another respondent in a different case study area
commented:
I pity people staying out on the streets, I
really do. Especially when there's places like
this, providing help. We need more of them.
Especially in the Glasgow area and the Edinburgh
area. They can put one in Grangemouth, but they
can't put one in certain parts of Glasgow. What's
the point in that?
5.21 The above quote notwithstanding, services in
Edinburgh seemed to be particularly well-regarded, and not
just by respondents who currently used services in
Edinburgh itself. One respondent who now lived in Glasgow
noted:
I think Edinburgh's a bit more advanced than
here, to be honest with you. I'm not gonnae lie
because I've spent a few years in Edinburgh and
I've seen how it's a lot more advanced…It's far
ahead, much more ahead o' us, definitely, it's
just, see the way they link it up, they've got it
all perfect, it was like 'oh, you're homeless, are
you staying near here?' 'Aye', 'here's this, go to
this place', 'right, here's where you gonnae be
staying', away, nae messing about…
5.22 However, there was not universal support for the
changes that RSI funded services had brought. In one case
study area, RSI funding had led to the conversion of a
nightshelter to a day centre. This change was not well
received amongst the respondents of the focus groups in
this case study, since it was felt that there was still a
need for a nightshelter, and that the new service was less
welcoming than the former service which had been run by the
voluntary sector.
5.23 Where respondents felt that things had got worse, a
common view across the case study areas was that this was
because of an increase in the use of drugs within the
population at large. In relation to rough sleepers,
respondents valued the opportunity afforded by services
that welcomed people in, whatever issues they faced:
They try their hardest to get you off the street,
you know what I mean? To find you somewhere….I was
barred from the Council hostels. They got me into
[hostel]
…that's how I got started on my road to recovery.
Just getting intae a hostel, with a doctor in it that
prescribed methadone. I stayed in it for two and a half
years.
5.24 However, some respondents felt that the use of
drugs and/or alcohol was the cause of considerable tensions
within services:
There's a certain, a certain nightlife, in
Glasgow, I suppose that's the way tae put it, with
drugs and that. This place is supposed to be
somewhere to get away from it, a place to come and
get a free meal, soup, anything, some tea, change
o' gear, but there's a lot of people that abuse
it.
See, there's heroin users in here but I'm actually
recovering. Myself, I'm actually off it, so I'm trying
to keep myself away frae that, cos it's easy for me to
relapse. But they're all my pals so I cannae just say
look - OK see you later. That's what I was saying to
staff last night. I feel like I'm in a catch 22
here.
5.25 Certainly providers face a difficult balancing act
in terms of dealing not only with very diverse needs, but
often with people with very complex issues as well, and of
necessity some people have to take one step back to perhaps
make progress in the future, as one respondent
commented:
Some are out of control and get warnings and
get thrown out. But even if they throw you out,
they'll make sure you've got somewhere to go.
Unmet needs and gaps in services
5.26 As noted in the previous section, one of the
changes that respondents commented on in the areas where
they lived was an increase in the use of drugs. A clear
message from a number of respondents was the need for
services to help people deal with drug addictions. It was
felt that there was insufficient provision around detox and
rehabilitation. In particular, as one female respondent
commented, services in this respect seemed to be aimed at
men. A different female commented:
That's the problem with Inverness. There's no
facilities. There's no place you can go for a
rehabilitation, for drugs, you know the place you
go to, detox, there's nothing. I've supported
myself for four and a half weeks. For four and a
half weeks I've been off it. And I think I've done
alright, but there's nobody here.
5.27 As the above quote illustrates, there was a concern
over the amount of specialised accommodation available, but
a further theme amongst some respondents was the extent to
which agencies take ownership of a complex range of
difficulties and issues that single individuals may face.
Some respondents noted a lack of support for people with
mental health issues, and this problem was often linked
with an inability to access mental health services for
people with drug and alcohol dependencies. Respondents felt
that they were falling between two stools in this respect.
As one male highlighted:
I was on the waiting list for three years.
While I was in X which is a hostel. I was in there
for three year. And then I got a house. But they
never helped me with my mental health problems or
anything. Even now nobody has helped me with my
mental health problems. They brought in a couple of
support workers. And they didn't help me. Because
I've got to come off the drink. If I don't come off
the drink, they can't treat me. They expect you to
stop drinking the next day. You cannae do it.
I've been having mental health care since I was
three years old. But they don't seem to want to help
you at all. I've been 17 years under the mental health
Act, but they just seem to shunt us aside. I've got a
heroin addiction 'cos I can't deal with my past, and
psychiatrists were giving us prescription after
prescription for different tablets.
5.28 Across the case study areas, many respondents
commented on the suitability of available tenancies in
relation to their geographical location. In some cases,
respondents commented on the lack of affordable housing
that was available in their area. In other instances,
respondents felt that it was not the lack of available
accommodation that was the issue, but their location in
areas where they had experienced anti-social behaviour. As
one male respondent related:
You can walk about, you ken, and no-one will
give you bother. You couldn't even walk about the
streets without someone starting on you an'
that.
5.29 However, in one of the case study areas, one male
respondent was angry not so much at the lack of available
property, but at a policy of making use of accommodation in
other authorities and sending people there:
These people here will give you a lot of help
but the rules up at the council are just mental.
They're just pissing me off. They don't have a
XXXXing Scooby8. Send them down to Glasgow and tell them to
stay there for a week, they'd find out why I don't
want to go down there.
5.30 The majority of respondents across the case study
areas expressed a firm desire for independent living in a
mainstream tenancy, as one female highlighted, whilst also
stressing the value of support to help people:
I'm 23 years old. I just want a house basically
and to get on with it. But there's a lot in here do
have needs and are here quite a long time. Last
year there was a lot of people self harming, things
like that. And there's a lot of kids been abused
and things that need support.
5.31 In most instances, these respondents wanted to rent
from the local authority or a housing association. A small
number of respondents commented that help to gain access to
privately rented accommodation would be beneficial, in
relation to paying a deposit and/or rent in advance. In
this respect a couple of respondents noted the existence of
rent deposit schemes as being particularly valuable. One
reason that was cited for wanting to rent privately was
greater personal choice over where respondents might live:
private lets tended to be concentrated in the centre of
towns or cities, and away from 'problem' areas.
5.32 However, a couple of respondents felt that other
options and choices should be available. In one instance,
these needs related to long term experiences of
homelessness and support requirements. As one older male
respondent commented:
I've been that dependent on people for most of
my days so.. I've never really thought of getting a
house. I wouldn't be able to manage a budget,
electricity, phone bill, whatever. And plus I can't
cook, so…
5.33 However, a couple of other respondents discussed
the need for accommodation where people could address a
complex range of issues. For example, one female respondent
commented on the need for accommodation where people could
also deal with their drug and/or alcohol dependencies, and
also highlighted a desire for shared accommodation to
combat isolation:
I don't want to move out of here, but I've got
to go cos I'm only young so they've got to put me
into a tenancy. But I know that I'll keeping coming
to these places, because I really don't like living
on my own. But if I do get my own place I want to
try and get put into like supported accommodation.
But I couldn't be without my outreach worker. If it
wasn't for her, you ken, I'd probably still be out
on the street…..What they're doing here is like
making flats for old people cos they're going to be
long term here, they know they're not going away
from here. Some want to be built for young people.
The government should put money into that. Like
sheltered housing for young people, that can't move
on.
5.34 A number of respondents in different case study
areas highlighted the need for advice and information for
homeless people, to let them know what services were
available, and also what level of service they might
reasonably expect from service providers. For example, one
respondent discussed whether things were getting better or
worse in the town where he lived and commented:
What I would say is there's just a lot of people
with drug problems. But I still say they should
advertise. Because a lot of people out there dinnae ken
of them. They're oblivious to what there is until they
go and try and get a house. And then when you put down
homeless they'll tell them about the [access
centre for homeless people]
. That's what you need to find out about.
5.35 The need for information and advice was also
highlighted by a couple of respondents who noted the
perceptions of some rough sleepers towards making use of
the services available. In some instances, respondents
talked about people they knew who preferred to sleep rough
in preference to staying in a hostel out of a concern for
their personal safety and well-being: staying in a hostel
was felt to be worse. However, it was clear that safety was
not the only reason, as one respondent related:
…there should be enough places for everybody
who is homeless to be in some place. Nobody should
be on the street. But some people like it. I ken a
couple of people who say, 'I prefer being on the
street to being in a hostel'.
Interviewer:
Do you think hostels put some people off?
Aha, some people don't like working with staff.
A lot of hostels you have a keyworker, but some
just want to be in overnight and then get out again
- they aren't interested in working with staff or
anybody else.
5.36 The continued need for outreach and streetwork was
also highlighted. As one respondent commented:
There's people that like living on the street.
They like sleeping in graveyards. And I've got
friends that like sleeping in graveyards. They've
done it that long they're used to it. People try so
hard for them to get into a hostel, and they feel
isolated. Or they've been in prison for so long
that they just want to be out in the fresh air. And
it's amazing the number of people you think, 'why
don't you just get up off your bum and get someone
to help to help you'.
Overall findings
5.37 On the whole RSI services were well regarded by
most respondents, although this view was not universal.
Where respondents commented favourably on the services they
were using, these often related to factors such as the
physical attributes of the service such as warmth, safety,
cleanliness and facilities. However, the most positive
comments were focused on the support that respondents had
received and the general attitude of staff.
5.38 Some respondents reported difficulties with the
operation of the benefits system in relation to
maintaining, or taking up, employment whilst living in
accommodation with a high rent and service charge.
5.39 Respondents commented on changes in the areas where
they lived. Some respondents were positive about the
changes in the level of services that were available to
homeless people, although there was a feeling that
insufficient help was available either in the case study
areas themselves, or more broadly across Scotland. The
positive comments about RSI services by some respondents
were tempered with the view that such services should be
replicated elsewhere. However, not all changes brought
about as a result of RSI funding were viewed as positive.
In one case study area there was a general feeling amongst
the respondents that changes had led to a different type of
service, which was viewed as less welcoming.
5.40 In a couple of case study areas, respondents
commented on the lack of available affordable housing as an
important factor that limited their options. Other
respondents, particularly in Glasgow and Edinburgh, noted
that housing may be available, but it was not necessarily
felt to be suitable because it was in areas that were
perceived as 'rough': respondents wanted accommodation in
areas where they could feel safe.
5.41 Most respondents were keen to live in their own
home. However, a small number of respondents preferred
other options such as supported accommodation or shared
living. These latter respondents tended to be either older
people with considerable experience of a chaotic lifestyle,
or younger people with a range of needs that may include
housing, mental health, drug and/or alcohol dependencies
and experience of abuse.
5.42 A key issue for many respondents was the
opportunity to make use of accommodation and support
services where they had drug and/or alcohol dependencies,
sometimes in addition to issues in relation to their mental
health. Respondents commented on gaps in provision such as
rehabilitation services, particularly for women. In part,
these gaps were attributed to a failure by some agencies to
take a rounded view of the complex problems faced by these
respondents.
« Previous | Contents | Next »