September looms… whether you’re looking forward to getting back to your routine or the blues are setting in, this rain is a sharp contrast to the early days of summer, and the drop in temperature has had me bust out the long trousers for the first time in weeks!
Which leads me to thinking homelessness has a seasonal image problem. During the 30-degree nights when people chose to sleep out on their flat roofs to make the heat bearable, the idea of sleeping under the stars carried a romantic connotation. Add to that the pleasures of slow living while on a campsite and the reality, through that lens, “doesn’t look that bad”.
The truth is, of course, that the experience of sleeping rough is not a choice nor is it a holiday at any time of the year. Whatever the weather you are exposed, vulnerable, stressed, anxious and afraid. Questions like “How has it come to this?” and “Is this my reality now?” plague your mind.
Before I went away, we held a focus group of 6 people that we’ve worked with, and what we found echoes the above very clearly. The descriptions of the “house of cards” that tumbled for the participants were varied in the methods of their collapse, from physical and mental health to financial and familial grief. However, the common theme was that a collection of incidents in rapid succession can easily bring someone to the experience of homelessness.
Furthermore, the overarching sentiment regarding the difference KCAH has made for each of the participants was powerfully positive with one person stating “Without these people, you people, I wouldn’t be here today”.
It is obviously gratifying to hear the impact we as an organisation make for people, but more than that, it is an indictment of just how necessary it is that we as a service exist.
So as the reality of British seasonality hits, the children go back to school and we look at the long stretch to Christmas, consider the reality of the experience of homelessness, the importance of our service and join us on the 10th of October this year to spend 1 night sleeping under the stars raising vital funds to ensure we can continue to support people back to a safe and stable home.
