A recent report, “Closed Doors,” published by King’s College London has revealed a gaping absence of council-run, face-to-face homelessness drop-in services.
Of the 33 London local authorities, 27 responded to a freedom of information request. Only three of those confirmed that a person could present at their offices and complete a housing application on the same day.
For the others, the system has moved behind closed doors, relying on telephone queues or online appointments. As the world takes ever more steps towards being digital-first, a vulnerable section of society is increasingly left behind, especially regarding housing and homelessness.
This demographic is predominantly comprised of those without access to technology, those with a distrust of the digital world, and those without the capacity to navigate complex online systems.
Which leads to the question “Why?” Not “why has everything moved online?”, but a slew of other questions. “Why don’t they have a phone?” “Why aren’t they online?” “Why can’t they just fill in a form?“
As an independent charity operating an Open Door service for single adults, we can answer that. Our drop-in runs from 10am to 1pm every weekday, handling an average of 450 new registrations every year. We see the reality of digital exclusion daily.
Why don’t they have a phone?
Through a grant from the national charity The Good Things Foundation, one of the services we offer is gifting phones and other technology. The people we see without devices are, for the most part, unwell. Whether through unmanaged mental health conditions or substance use, a mobile phone, a vital piece of modern technology, is easily lost, broken, or stolen in the daily chaos of rough sleeping.
Why aren’t they online?
Similarly, we gift SIM cards provided by the National Data Bank. When your income is severely limited, the choice between paying for a data plan and buying something to eat is moot. Add to this the complexity of certain mental health conditions, or a deeply held belief that personal data is being farmed by faceless corporations, and digital isolation becomes inevitable.
Why can’t they just fill in a form?
For inpiduals whose childhood trauma or undiagnosed neuropersity made finishing, or even starting, school impossible, navigating statutory paperwork is a monumental barrier. For those who have fled violence in other countries, reading and writing English are skills that have often been left untaught.
The commonality across all these groups is a set of complex, unmet needs. KCAH exists to fulfil those needs.
Our remit is to support the single adults of Kingston, and we are proud to provide the physical safety net the borough relies upon. But for those in boroughs without similar frontline services, the results of these closed doors are catastrophic.
We need to keep our doors open, and we need you to help us do that. Join the Big Sleep Out now and start fundraising. On World Homelessness Day for 1 night, sleep under the stars and help us reach our fundraising target of £30,000, which will pay for a full year of one-to-one support for hundreds of people.