Professor Green: Hidden and Homeless

This programme contains some strong language.

How are you doing, buddy? You all right?

'I'm Professor Green.

'It's a cold December night in Manchester

'and a large crowd has gathered at this soup kitchen.'

How many people are you feeding?

Over 150.

-And how often?

-Every time.

We're out three times a week and we'll feed anyone.

I know about at least 300 homeless people, and they're...

-and they're roughly my age.

-And that's Manchester?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

What is the face of the homeless, then?

Around here, if you said to me,

"Is that person homeless or is that person homeless?" I wouldn't know,

but, you could guarantee, someone who's dressed really nice,

they probably are homeless. You wouldn't know you were homeless,

-between you two.

-I've been homeless for a year,

and it's like...

-So, have you been sleeping rough for a year?

-Yeah.

'The city has reported one of the biggest rises in homelessness

'amongst people under the age of 25.'

I owned 25% shares of my dad's company.

I had a two-bedroom flat in my name.

I had two cars and a Ford Transit van and it's, like...

It's gone.

My dad went bankrupt.

That's including myself, as well.

I lost everything so it made me...

I came here.

I keep hearing the term "hidden homeless" get thrown around.

They're either in hostels,

-cos they're still classed as homeless...

-Yeah.

-..sofa-surfing...

-Yeah.

..erm, just bouncing from place to place,

living in squats, derelict buildings.

Not everyone fits into the same box.

They need help cos there's not enough... Yeah.

'I want to find out what life is like for these young people who

'have no place to call home.'

I want to understand just how big the problem is,

starting in Manchester.

I'll be spending the night with 20-year-old Luke,

who has been living on the streets, on and off, for the past five years.

'One way he keeps warm during the long, bitter nights

'is to stay on the move.'

-Good morning, are you all right?

-I'm freezing.

I must walk this city centre about, easily, 30 times a day. Easily.

I mean, I'm walking about all day, every day.

Even just walking the streets now, it's after 2am in the morning...

-Yeah.

-..and there's still a lot of homeless out on the street.

It's very visible.

See, these, what are visible now,

these are the ones that have been out here for years,

that know how to live, that know how to get by, day...

day by day, that know how to get by at night,

that know how to get their money.

Whereas, in the younger ones,

and the ones that are not used to it, they hide.

These streets have damaged a lot of people out here.

Like, people who I've met out here, so kind-hearted,

it's unbelievable, and now they're just a totally different person.

'Ten days ago, Luke was released from prison

'after handling stolen goods.

'With nowhere else to go, he's now sleeping rough.

'It's a cycle he's been caught up in for years.'

What led to this?

It was the people.

It was getting about with the crowd that I got in with.

Once I got to 14,

I was hanging about with the 28-year-old and the 30-year-olds.

I started doing the harder drugs at weekends.

I was running away from home a lot,

just cos I wanted to be with them people.

-It must have been hard for Mum.

-Oh, of course it was.

The police were taking me back every weekend.

As soon as the police had let me go, the car would be off again,

do you know what I mean?

'By 15, Luke left his mum's for good,

'and moved in with a local drug dealer.'

Were you selling drugs?

I was doing all kinds -

grafting cars, sorting drugs,

selling weed, selling sniff.

I was quite big in it and then it all just went to pot.

'Luke was made homeless when his mate was put away

'for selling class As.

'Half of all homeless people first take to the streets

'under the age of 21.

'Many don't know where to get help and will end up sleeping rough.

'While on the streets, they're exposed to prostitution,

'crime and drugs.'

-All right, Andy?

-What are you skinning up? What is it?

I'm a Spice-head, me, bruv.

Legal highs.

' "Spice" is the name of the legal high

'marketed as synthetic cannabis.

'Although cheap, some brands are as potent and addictive as heroin.'

I've heard a lot about Spice,

and nothing I've heard about it has been good.

I've been on it for four years, and it is all bad.

All bad. I'm not going to lie to you.

-Have you been out...?

-Stephen, mind if I roll one?

-Yeah, sorry?

-Mind if I roll one?

Mate, you've got to do what you've got to do, mate.

-It's all right.

-Budge up, Andy.

Spice is easier to get in Manchester than anywhere else.

You can go to, like, four shops within five minutes of here.

It's not nice but you have to find your coping mechanisms.

-I'm starting to shake now cos I've not had a spliff.

-Yeah.

So that's... that's a coping mechanism?

-There's not a single

-BLEEP

-sober homeless person I know.

SIREN WAILS

-Luke's

-BLEEP.

-Luke's off his nut.

I'll tell you what, I've smoked a lot of weed in my life,

and weed don't do that, so if that's synthetic cannabis,

they've got it a little bit wrong, cos that was...

That was much more like the effect of much harder drugs.

It was like watching someone slip out on...on heroin.

Are you all right, Luke?

Are you all right, bruv?

I was worried about you for a minute, mate.

'It was ten minutes before Luke began to come round.

'For so many of the rough sleepers here, Spice is a way of life.'

Hey, it's open.

I'll go in and I'll buy a bag.

'Being so easy to get hold of in Manchester,

'and costing as little as a fiver a bag, it's estimated

'that 80-90% of the city's homeless are addicted to this legal high.'

And he had a big box of that, as well.

All different ones, there, to choose from.

-"Pandora's Box".

-Yeah.

That one's probably the worst one what come out of the first...

Like, when it first come out.

'Luke tells me he turned to Spice after his first spell in prison,

'at the age of 17.'

It's that blockage of the past and the beatings and...

the-the-the-the-the, the trauma sides of things,

cos, I'm not going to lie,

the first time ever in custody, it broke me.

My pad mate battered me.

-So, what sort of stuff was that, then?

-I got punched up.

I got sliced.

Woke up to him suffocating me with a pillow.

He was slamming my hands in the windows,

pulling me off my bed while I'm asleep.

All kinds of stuff, like. There's stuff you wouldn't even imagine.

'Luke was scared and alone,

'and the first person he turned to was his mum.'

My mum didn't know I was in there.

I rang her and she knew straightaway,

in my voice, in...

And I just broke down to her on the phone.

I just said "I've been assaulted." That's all I said,

and she just said, "Oh, no." She knew straightaway.

She... My mum knows me, innit? She knows when something's up.

So, she still really cares?

Oh, she cares so much, and now I think back at it,

I think, "Wow, why have I put my mum through that?"

All she's tried to do is keep me safe from this.

That's all she's tried to keep me doing,

and I just put myself right in the middle of it.

Mothers are always right, man.

-I just wish I would have listened to her.

-Yeah.

That's all I needed to do and I know I wouldn't be in this situation now.

There are going to be people who are going to throw things

-at the television and go, "Why don't you just

-BLEEP

-go home?

Of course, I know what you're saying.

It's not as easy as that, though.

When you've been through some of the shit that I've been through,

it's not as easy just to go home like that,

cos there's a lot of people in the place where I've grew up

who I've done stuff to and... had grudges with in the past.

Are you at risk if you go back?

I will be, yeah.

They all know my mum, so my family would get grief and bother, as well,

so, like, that's why I just stay out of the way

and let my mum stay safe and just do what she's doing.

She's all right how she is.

'Luke's a sweet kid.'

You know, he's not gone into detail about what happened.

'Maybe he's owed people money. Maybe he's stiffed people.

'Yeah, we can wonder all we want.' MAN COUGHS

'He's saying he doesn't want to go home

'because he's worried about his mother's wellbeing.'

You know, he doesn't want to take trouble to her door,

and I can understand that. There was a time I moved out of my nan's

because I never wanted to bring trouble to her door,

so I understand that and I respect it,

but there's also the part of me that can understand,

or can imagine, what his mum is going through,

because she does care.

Like Luke, over a third of young homeless people leave home

before their 15th birthday.

Family breakdown is the biggest cause of youth homelessness,

with nearly half of those affected being chucked out

by the head of the household.

SIREN WAILS

'After all night on the streets, the cold begins to bite.

'It's 6am, and Luke takes me to one of the few places he can keep warm.'

This is where you see most of the homeless people.

YOUNG PEOPLE SHOUT HAPPILY

It's sad.

It is really sad.

I'll agree with you on that one - really sad.

It's unbelievable how many people are homeless.

-Are you going to see your mum?

-Hopefully, yeah.

She keeps on telling me to come and visit, but, obviously,

she doesn't like me on this shit, man.

She told me, if I'm on this shit, she's finished.

I mean, it's just...

But that's her way of trying to get you off it.

I know. Maybe, yeah. It's horrible.

I wish I'd never even touched it, Stephen, I swear down.

I wish I'd never touched it in my life.

But if it weren't that, would it be something else?

Exactly.

LUKE SOBS Oh, mate.

No, it's good, man. It just upsets me.

'As we talk about his addiction, Luke breaks down.'

I just... Do you know what? LUKE INHALES

It upsets me cos I don't...

I've known you for a very short amount of time, and I don't...

I don't... I get no bad vibes from you.

You seem like a good kid.

LUKE SNIFFS

And it's upsetting, mate.

It's... It's... It's hard.

It's hard to see, because I don't...

I don't feel good about the fact that I'm going to go home

and you're going to be carry...

You're just going to... You're going to carry on.

Yeah, but that's your life, man.

-You've got to do what you've got to do, you know what I mean?

-Yeah.

So other people have got to do what they've got to do.

Shall we go for a wander?

I'll walk you back to where... Where are you sleeping?

Erm...

I'm trying to think.

Market Street or somewhere? Just where people are.

It's a really sad reality.

It's, erm...

It's one thing to walk past someone

and, you know, have a passing thought,

"Who are they? Where do they come from? How have they ended up there?"

But it's another thing when you're starting to

meet these people and talk to these people.

They become human again.

'I'm shocked at how many people I've seen living on the streets

'in just one night...'

Do you want a spliff?

God bless.

'..and I want to know what's being done to help them.'

TRAIN RATTLES

PLANE RUMBLES

'In nearby Stockport,

'the number of young rough sleepers has tripled in the last year.

'I'm joining Kirstie and Nicky, who work on the front line,

'trying to find and help the young and homeless.'

-Hello, darling.

-Hi, you all right?

-Stephen. Are you all right?

-Nice to see you.

-Nice to meet you. Yeah, good, thanks.

-How are you doing, mate?

-Hi, you all right? Nicky, yeah?

-Not bad.

-As we pulled up, we saw that an ambulance was leaving.

-Erm...

We've just had one of our members in.

He's been smoking legal high, so he's had a fit.

What, Spice?

-Yeah.

-Spice, yeah.

-Yeah.

-That's frightening.

Does it make people aggressive?

-Do you see violence from it or...?

-Yeah, we've had, erm...

Quite a few of our members that smoke it quite frequently,

erm, one day, they've had, like, funny turns on it,

so we've had a guy who's been scooting around

on his hands and knees, thinking he's a dog, barking,

lifting chairs up, throwing chairs round.

-So, like, psychosis.

-Yeah.

-Like, they have episodes.

-Yeah.

'The centre has its own medical facility,

'and the effects of Spice are a growing concern for the nurse here.'

I've seen some really life-threatening seizures

that have been induced by whatever's in the substance.

-And they've got no idea what's in it?

-No,

and we have seen somebody whose respiration rate

had gone down to four a minute,

and that carries some reversal,

and that's an opiate effect but that was from Spice.

As well as health care, the centre offers showers,

clean clothes and a range of support services,

but many young kids, new to the streets,

don't know there's help out there.

What are the prospects for kids who are coming here?

If they don't get off the streets, where are they ending up?

Well, some of them end up, you know, in accommodation.

Some of them end up in prison.

You know, some of them end up in a coffin.

What's the fix? You know, if you gave a house...

Should everyone have a house, do you believe?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, I believe everyone should have a house,

but then, there also needs to be the ongoing support.

You know, we've got quite a few people who...

-Burnt bridges.

-..we get accommodated.

We get them secured in their own tenancies.

They stop engaging with the service.

You know, no other support has been put in place,

and they're unable to maintain their tenancy.

-So they end up back at square one?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Them behaviours are ingrained into a person, aren't they?

So, they're not taking into account the effects of what that

-person's been through?

-Yeah, yeah.

And to watch, you know, some of them progress,

when you do work with them,

and they've got a better understanding of stuff, you know,

they can achieve anything.

It's just that right support being there for them.

And do you find, with a lot of the people that

come through here, that's just support

-they've never had throughout their lives?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

'For Kirstie and Nicky, this is more than a place of work.

'They've both been homeless and learned to survive on the streets.'

For me, I was homeless at 16

and I didn't get picked up by social care or,

erm, anyone, anyone else, you know?

-At 16?

-At 16.

I did what I had to, to, sort of, fit in with everybody else,

-and to survive.

-Survive.

And how did you survive?

Erm, crime, drugs, offending.

What kind of drugs?

Heroin and crack.

And how...?

And is that just commonplace?

-Was that what everyone was doing?

-Yeah,

and I tried it and I liked it, because it took me away

from reality. You know, I didn't have to...

So it wasn't the drugs that saw you homeless,

-it was the homelessness that saw you take to drugs?

-Yeah. Pretty much.

'Part of Kirstie and Nicky's work involves going out

'and checking on the known rough sleepers in the area.

'They take me to a popular camp under a shopping centre car park.

'Although there's no-one around,

'there are signs that people are living here.'

A tent... Oh, right.

It's not just syringes and tin cans and empty packet of cigarettes.

Hairbrushes, a picture of Michael Jackson -

it's the little pieces of normality which people were clinging onto.

Can you imagine the desperation?

That's... That's their connection with what was civilisation.

You know, they're...

But, yet, they're completely excluded from that...

that way of life.

It's just heartbreaking.

'Kirstie takes me to another site under a busy motorway.

'For six months of her life, this was where she lived.'

So, over in this corner here was just cardboard on the floor.

Loads of bags, erm...

Like, sleeping bags, quilts...

It's not... It's not a pretty place.

It's not, is it?

No.

-You can feel it, here.

-Yeah.

-You really can.

-Yeah.

Yeah.

How many people would you have down here at the time?

Erm, so, when I stayed down here,

we had ten people sleeping down here,

and the sad reality is, you know,

over half of those people are no longer with us now.

-So, death is something that you see a lot of?

-Yeah.

What does it do to you, coming back here?

I think it's processing, right...

..what's actually happened, cos how I am tonight is not how I was then.

You know, erm...

And, at that time, I never doubted my feelings and my emotions.

I don't know. I don't really know why...

You just have to try and block it out. You don't...

I think everyone's got a breaking point.

How could you survive in these conditions without something

to take you away from them?

I'd use drugs.

I'd do anything to block out what was going on around me.

At a point, even the strongest person will give up.

What's really shocking is that many people

living on the streets aren't counted as homeless.

You have to be lying down in your sleeping bag

to be an unofficial statistic.

Sitting up doesn't count as rough sleeping,

so the number is probably even higher,

and that's not the end of the story.

There are 38,500 hidden homeless people, living in hostels, B&Bs,

and sofa-surfing around the country

but, over the past five years,

the number of available hostel beds has dropped by 12%,

whilst the demand has soared by nearly 40.

'I'm back in Manchester to catch up with Luke.

'Three weeks ago, he got a place in a hostel for ex-offenders,

'after relentlessly pushing his local authority.'

How are you doing, brother. Are you all right?

-Yeah, I'm good, man.

-Good to see you, man.

-Good to see you.

-You look better.

It's nice to see you. I look a lot better, man.

-Have you had a haircut?

-No, I've not had a haircut, man.

-You've not had a haircut?

-I've had a shave - totally different.

-A shave, that's what it is.

-I'm OK, though, yeah?

-Good.

-Want to come through?

-Go on.

-Shall we check into my room, now?

-Yeah, yeah, go on. Show me around.

I love it, man. Love it.

This is my little chill-out zone,

where I just come and zone out and do my own thing.

How was the first night in here?

Amazing. Couldn't... Couldn't...

-Couldn't have asked for a better night's sleep.

-No?

-Loved it.

No, seriously, man, everything about it.

Do you feel a step closer to normality, then?

I feel like I'm in normality.

When I was sleeping on the streets,

I couldn't have a good night's sleep.

-I would always be sleeping with one eye, like, twitching or...

-Yeah.

..I'd be smoking to make sure that I'm half awake

when someone does touch me or walk past me.

Has this helped with your anxiety, then? Not having those worries?

Being able to shut your eyes and not worry about God knows what?

I know that I'm safe, so it's great, man. I can...

It's... I can think.

I can think. I can do things through the day.

'Luke has been in hostels twice before

'but wasn't able to stick it out.

'This time, he's determined to make it work.'

What about your mum? Have you spoken to her?

I've not spoken to my mum.

I can't wait to speak to her, to be honest.

-So, does she know you're here?

-She doesn't, I'm just...

-No idea.

I'm waiting to sort myself fully, so I can go to her

and I can say, "Look, this is what I've done."

-I've got to do it for her, I know.

-Mm-hmm.

Just show her instead of say to her, this time,

and just, all, fake promises.

'Luke has an initial six-month placement here, in which time,

'he'll get the support he needs to turn his life around.'

-Last time I saw you, you were smoking Spice.

-I know.

What's going on with that?

I'm not going to lie to you, I'm still dabbling with it -

dibbling and dabbling - but, as you can tell, I'm looking to...

I'm not smoking it like I was.

How often are you smoking?

Erm, sometimes, I'm going a night without smoking it,

but it's different, like, how I'm waking up.

I'm waking up in puddles of sweat, but I'm, like...

My anxiety kicks in in the morning when I've not had one -

like, totally, just kicks in.

Just before you come, I puked up

and that's because I've not had one this morning,

and I had to have one just before you come in,

and that's levelled me off a bit.

The hostel has set up drugs counselling to help Luke

conquer his addiction...

..but sharing a hostel with 38 other ex-offenders

and drug users isn't easy, as centre manager Jackie explains.

We have quite a few which have committed offences while

under the influence of alcohol, and we manage that risk,

to make sure that the staff team

and the other customers that live in here are safe,

-and we'll breathalyse them twice a day...

-Mm-hmm.

..which is part of their support.

They agree to that, and they have to have a zero reading.

They're not allowed to drink alcohol at all

-if they're on a no-drink rule.

-OK.

Spice is something that keeps coming up, over and over.

It's totally not allowed on the project, and if you are using Spice,

part of your support is that you will link in with the drugs team.

If it's found on the project,

they'll be treated with the same as any other drug.

And would that result in someone being kicked out?

It could do, yeah, yeah.

We have a warning procedure, here,

so they do have quite a lot of chances.

We don't just make people homeless if we can help it.

We don't ask people to leave.

'But the biggest challenge Jackie faces is keeping

'the residents off the streets.'

We do find that we do have quite a lot of customers

coming back around that have lived here previously.

Ah, so, your doors open to people who have been here before?

Of course they are, yeah.

Even people that we have rehoused into their own accommodation

and, for whatever reason, they've lost their accommodation.

Yes, they come back around in the system.

I've had some that have been here

-three or four times.

-Four times?

-Yeah, yeah.

So how do you break the cycle?

I don't know how you break the cycle.

Million-dollar question. Come on, Jackie, tell me the answer.

I don't know how we can break the cycle.

Again, they've got to be ready to accept support.

Do you think that, with some people, just too much has happened?

Probably so, yeah, and maybe there's not enough help out there

for them, because some of the issues are quite deep-rooted

and, maybe, as they're being supported,

it's only touching the surface,

so when they go onto their own accommodation,

they're sat there again on their own, and them issues rise again,

so, yeah, it is quite deep-rooted issues.

Luke paints a really rosy picture of this hostel,

and I can understand why.

In comparison to the conditions that he's been living in,

they're night and day, you know.

He has a little bit of security, here.

It still doesn't feel like the safest place.

It feels like there's tension in the air.

MEN SHOUTING

'An argument has just erupted in the kitchen.'

Well, that wasn't there, so it's stole, then!

That's what I'm saying.

Luke's milk and sugar is missing.

He's now cooling off with a cigarette.

KNOCK AT DOOR

Yo. Are you all right? What happened to you, mate?

Just...people downstairs.

Whoever it was.

No, I saw you switch, bro.

The door got slammed and then you disappeared.

I can't leave nothing about, man. It's doing my head in.

Just, it's not even the fact of

leaving milk or sugar about, is it, really?

It's just a matter of not being able to go back to where I put it.

It's the principle, yeah, do you know what I mean?

Like, that's the reality of... of this place.

But, then, you've got to be careful,

because them situations will be what leads you into a situation

-where you end up getting kicked out...

-Gets you kicked out.

..cos someone takes your milk, you beat them up or...

That's why I just thought to come up.

Like, if a pint of milk and a bit of sugar can cause that to happen,

then you've got to be able to control your reactions, as well.

I know. I know I need to, but it's a matter of not having a spliff

-and everything rolls in one, man.

-That's what I was going to say.

Is it just that you ain't had no Spice?

Everything rolls in one, do you know what I mean?

What has to happen for you to be able to get off it?

-Like, how severe does it have to be? Or is there anything?

-I don't know.

Or are you just going to accept that as life?

No, it can't happen.

I can't stay here where things get taken, man.

It's doing my head in.

I'm going out to town. I need to grab some more Spice.

I've got none.

'Having seen Luke so together this morning,

'it's frustrating to now see Spice putting him back at square one.'

How are you, man?

Give us a tenner, if you want.

A tenner?

'Luke's not just scoring for himself, but also for his mate.'

All right?

Can I have a bag of 1.5 Black Label?

'Although he buys here regularly, tonight,

'they're refusing to serve him.'

Yeah, I come here to buy my legal highs.

I come here every night, you know that,

but you can't stop me from buying my stuff.

I didn't... Do you know what?

You're lucky. Very lucky.

Michael, get your arse in there.

-What?

-Very lucky.

Mmm...

Get in... Come round the corner.

Black Kronic - Black Label. No, wait, don't go in yet.

Let us walk off first and you get it afterwards.

Hey, I've been coming here every night.

-I know a lot of people, me, mate.

-See you later.

-Just watch yourself.

"See you later"? Get your arse out there now.

-Get your...

-See you later.

-Fuck off, you.

'Luke is now threatening to beat the guy up.'

Don't worry, I know what time he finishes work.

I know fucking everything. He's a fucking muppet.

Come on, bro... It's... He...

He decided not to serve you. Do you see what I mean? It's madness.

Look at the stuff you're talking over that.

He knows what it does to me, though.

Got it?

Come! Pass it here!

I need a spliff.

So, this is every night, Luke?

Every night, just, every day,

every minute, every hour -

just getting about in town, just like we do.

Like, I know... I know a lot of the hustlers round here.

This is the same shit you were up to

when you were on the street, though, bruv?

Yeah, but I wouldn't be getting about in just one set of clothing,

cos I'd know that I'd need another five sets for when I'm wet later.

So I'd be getting about with clothes underneath me

plus bags on top of me, but I'm not getting about with nothing, now.

As you can see, I don't need to.

'I've already spent time with Luke on Spice

'but, tonight, he's a totally different person.'

Watch.

'As we wait to cross a busy road,

'he suddenly decides to stop the traffic.'

-I told you to stop, though!

-All right...

-Hey, the car's stopped, though!

-Luke!

-That's what happens.

-Come on.

To stop any car in Manchester,

to stop any car in Manchester, that's all you have to do.

Don't do stuff like that, man. Stop it, man.

That's why I do things like that, so people notice me.

-Yeah, but, bruv, come on, that's just stupidness.

-Yeah, but...

-Yeah, but see...

-No, bruv.

-No, because...

-I can't hear that, bruv.

Yeah, but, Stephen, see what they used to laugh at me for

outside the town hall? For standing there and saying nothing.

So, do you know what I do now? I get out loud and say...

-Yeah, but, bro, that's not...

-..and say clear, loud and clear,

"I'm Luke, I'm homeless, I'm from Manchester, and what?"

Stupid behaviour. Stupid, stupid, stupid behaviour.

Yeah, I don't know what happened.

He went from being a quite humble,

you know, nice person to just being an idiot.

It was just an absolute switch in personality

but I don't know if it was the Spice.

Was it him not having Spice and that building up to a point?

And if that's his journey, day in, day out,

you know, there's going to be less of the person we met this morning

and much more of that person that we just saw.

The way I see it, people look at me like they can hurt me.

People look at me like can emotionally blackmail me.

No, you can't. I can do that to myself

just as much as you can do that to me.

You sound paranoid, Luke.

I am paranoid.

I'm fucked, but this is what's made me like this.

Town - sleeping next to people you can't trust,

who will stab you in the back with a knife the minute that you turn.

-This.

-Yeah, that, definitely.

Luke decides to hang out with his mates at a squat.

I've seen enough for tonight.

My time with Luke has made me realise

just how complicated homelessness is.

Take care.

Homelessness is not just about not having a home,

it goes far beyond that.

Once people have been on the streets,

what it does to them psychologically in who they become,

and how they become accustomed to living their life

doesn't just go away once they're given a home.

Being an hostel, you are not counted as being homeless.

You are very much still homeless, that's become apparent quickly.

But even still, with a roof over your head,

there is no difference between him having a hostel

and a one-bedroom flat at this very moment in time,

because if he had that one-bedroom flat,

he would still be coming out and doing the same shit.

Getting a place in a hostel should mean accessing help

to recover from the trauma of sleeping rough.

But if Luke can't let go of his life on the streets,

overcome his addictions and accept hostel living,

he could lose his bed once again,

and the cycle of homelessness will continue.

Luke's situation is an example of the vicious circle

that many people on the streets find themselves stuck in.

In London, there is a project taking a different approach.

I've come to visit women's hostel run by a Christian charity.

'I'm meeting 26-year-old Zukina who has been in hostel care

'for two and a half years.'

-Hello. Zukina, how are you doing?

-I'm all right, yeah.

Good to see you.

As well as offering emotional counselling,

this hostel is focused on providing practical help

in getting the women ready for independent living.

So who are we meeting today?

We are meeting Becks, she is the manager.

'Becks is the hostel's resettlement manager

'and has been working with Zukina since she got here.'

-Hello, Becks.

-Hey, Zukina.

-Hello.

'Together, they work in a catering business run by the hostel.'

This kitchen is where we have our social enterprise - Munch In Marylebone.

The key part of that is to give the women that live with us

some employment skills, but the product is professional food.

'As well as counselling for alcohol addiction,

'Zukina has been gaining practical skills and work experience.'

Did you find it hard coming into a group environment?

Yeah, definitely at the beginning,

because you don't know who is there and what to expect or anything.

But once you get into it, it kind of changes your mind set.

You become, like, yeah...

You're more able to go out and do things on your own.

'The hostel will soon be looking to resettle Zukina

'into a home of her own.'

So, Zukina is getting to a place where she is ready to move on

to kind of get back on her feet, start independently again.

But we would never want to resettle somebody into an empty house

with an empty life, because it is going to fall apart.

It is very isolating, it is very difficult.

Young people who have been homeless often lack life skills,

self-confidence and the ability to structure their day.

It is about being able to sustain yourself, sustain your life,

sustain your tenancy.

You need skills, you need confidence,

you need life skills, you need employment skills.

Unique things that are going to give you a sense of worth,

and the ability to rejoin the community and give back to it.

What has the process been like from one you were when you got here

to where you are now?

So when I first came in here, I wanted to get resettled ASAP,

but, like, the fact that it has taken longer

has actually made me more appreciative.

I know when I get my flat, I am definitely not going to...

you know, do anything to jeopardise that.

-There's going to be no losing it.

-Yeah, definitely not.

Zukina could only be months from finally getting rehoused,

but it has been a long and difficult journey.

Three years ago, her life changed when her whole family were evicted

and she suddenly found herself working out how to survive

as a young woman on the streets.

I just used to get on night buses

and just stay on night buses all night. I just had to do it.

I had no choice other than to just do what I had to do.

Then what was the progression? Where did you go from buses?

I kind of got into the wrong crowd of people just so I can...

-To keep a roof over your head?

-Yeah.

After two months riding the night buses,

she found a squat with other homeless people,

where Zukina witnessed heavy drug use and abusive behaviour.

There was a lot of rape going on as well.

Like, I was smart enough not to fall for people's tricks,

like, I was really aware.

So a lot of people turned to drugs to cope with that situation?

I wasn't strong enough to just be sober

and just, like, get through it.

Instead of feeling that pain or whatever you're going through,

get a bottle of vodka - drink that, drink your pain away.

When do you think you hit your lowest point?

There were a lot of times I felt like I just want to...

Like, I don't want to be here no more.

-So you thought about suicide?

-Yeah.

Quite a few times.

You feel like there is no future, like that's it, like...

this is what life is going to be for the rest of your life, so...

A young rough sleeper is over 30 times more likely

to take their own life.

But with support and counselling,

Zukina has conquered her alcohol addiction

and is learning to work through her emotional trauma.

It wasn't until I came into the hostel and, like, I saw therapist.

She said to me, "You can change this. You can turn your life around.

"Life is not over for you."

It wasn't until she said that, that made me think,

"I have to be strong now."

Zukina's new-found strength has grown

over the last two and a half years.

She is at a place where she finally feels ready to reclaim her life.

Just being here, like, reminds me of being a kid.

She has brought me to the estate she grew up on

and the only place she ever called home.

We are just going to go to the shop, we call it Jack's.

Is it the same people that run it from when you were little?

I think so, we'll find out now.

Zukina is just showing us around.

She said if she was ever 20p short, you always let her off.

Yeah, always.

You always used to let me off.

It's nice having that familiarity though, isn't it?

This is what it pushing me to get that again. That is all I want.

I want this...again.

This is what I knew for 20 years.

The best memories of my life were here.

-Which one was yours?

-It was the third one up.

-That one there.

-Yeah?

A little bit too hard to jump out of the window

when you want to escape mum. THEY LAUGH

Yeah, definitely.

Zukina lost the security of home and community

when the family suddenly found themselves being evicted.

The just came with a letter,

and they had the truck already here to, like, take this stuff away.

We wasn't prepared for it at all. It was all a bit of a rush.

I just remember everyone just, like, grabbing

all their most important things. The things that they need.

Literally, from then, my mum, she got housed.

But my brothers, they just... I don't know.

They just did their own thing.

It split us up as a family.

What kind of feelings does it stir up looking back at it?

Em... Just...

Yeah, sad, because obviously that is what I know.

That was my home.

Zukina is mum to a four-year-old little girl.

In the three years since becoming homeless,

she has not been able to have her daughter in her care.

So she currently lives with her dad, Zukina's ex-partner.

This is my primary school, all my family went to.

Do you look forward to being able to come and pick up and take her back

-to what would be your house?

-Definitely, yeah.

-Your home.

I can't wait for them days.

Like, I do. I dream about those days.

They would just be amazing.

She needs her mother, she needs me to be there for her

and take her to school.

She even asks me, like, you know, the kids at school ask, like,

"Why didn't your mummy come and pick you up?"

It just breaks my heart, because I'm not in the position to do that.

The hostel has offered Zukina the stability

to see a new life for herself,

but for many, the future is much less certain.

It is estimated there are over 300,000 hidden homeless.

These are the people who fall outside government statistics -

living in hostels, on the streets, in squats,

B&Bs or being put up on a sofa.

Many become trapped for years.

'I'm off to a part of London I know well.'

Today I'm back on the ends. Back in Clapton, E5 -

Hackney, I suppose, not just Clapton -

to meet a young guy to find out about his experiences

as a homeless young man.

Home is a very important place

when you're growing up, when you are an adult.

I don't think that ever changes.

As a kid, how much of an effect does it have a new you become?

A massive one.

As I got older, you know, I've had friends stay with me

when they've been out of accommodation,

gone back into hostels, had all their stuff stolen, get beaten up...

..but it is not really the bricks and mortar

that shape you as a person.

It is people you share the home with.

Without my nan in my life,

I'm not sure what would have happened.

I got into enough trouble as it was!

'Today, I am back on home turf at Hackney Marshes...'

What's happening, buddy?

All right, how are you doing? Are you all right?

'..and heading for the football pitches.'

-Pro Green!

-What's going on, mate?

I was a terrible footballer. I always used to get put in goal.

I saved the ball with my face once.

I am meeting 25-year-old Jerome,

who works full-time in the bookies but is still homeless.

'Jerome went into care at the age of 14 due to family breakdown.

'After leaving the care system two years later,

'he still hasn't been able to find an affordable place to live.'

There is a big rise in people between the ages of 18 and 25

that are homeless, but they are not is sleeping on the street like that.

They are in their friend's house,

or they are in their friend's mum's sofa

or they are on their... Do you know what I mean?

Just having a roof over your head doesn't mean you have a home.

Exactly.

There is a difference between having a roof and having a home.

When people paint the picture of a homeless person,

it's not someone that looks like you or looks like me.

-Why is that?

-You don't want people to know.

You don't want them to see that side of you.

Not to be big headed, I dress all right, I've got my trainers on,

I look fresh, I've had a shower, I go to work.

When I get paid, I'll go to the barbers. No-one knows I'm homeless.

It's only the people who know me and now know how long

I've been sleeping on my sister's sofa or my nan's sofa

or my aunt's sofa or this person's sofa, that person's sofa

who really know that I'm homeless.

Homelessness has many faces.

It has every colour, every creed, every gender.

You can walk past someone in a business suit,

this guy could be homeless. You don't know.

Don't give homelessness a face, that's what I say.

For Jerome, working a full-time job but not having a fixed address

has brought its own complications.

There were times when I got kicked out of my nan's house, I'm thinking,

"Listen, I've got three bags, I've got to go to work today."

Those are the stresses that really...

These are the reasons why having a home should be...

It's just essential to everyone.

Jerome joins one in five 16- to 25-year-olds

who have experienced sofa surfing -

moving around, relying on friends and family for a sofa,

spare bed or a floor to sleep on.

I catch up with Jerome a few days later before he heads off to work.

-What's happening? Are you all right?

-What's happening? Are you good?

Yeah, man, I'm good, man.

'Jerome has two young children, but as he's currently sleeping

'on his aunt's sofa, spending time with them is difficult.

'Living in London means he can't afford to rent somewhere

'that would work for him and his kids.'

A two-bedroom apartment,

a spare room for my children to stay in when they came over.

£400 a week. So that's, what? That's £1,600 a month.

How long is it going to take someone who is on £1,200 a month

who is also providing for his children,

who is also trying to get to work - how do you save up for that?

£1,600 a month - how many hours have you got to work to do that?

-Yeah, but then you have got bills.

-Exactly. Exactly.

No-one has mentioned that.

Really and truly, you're looking at...two grand a month.

I don't want to move out of London when all my family live here.

You are in a proper catch-22. It just, like, hurts, man.

I think Jerome is probably quite an accurate picture of a lot of people

who are the hidden homeless - you would never pick him out

from a crowd as being homeless,

He's very well-kept, better kept than I am!

He is basically everything that people would assume homeless isn't.

'In the UK, there is a real lack of social housing.

'In the last two decades, demand has increased by 80%,

'which has forced up rental costs and the private sector.'

-What is your situation now?

-At the minute,

I am just on my aunt's sofa trying to find somewhere else to go.

So what are the options? JEROME EXHALES

-Private rent, council...

-Private rent...

Council is not an option. Not in London.

My cousin has been on the council list for ten years.

The lack of affordable housing is a major cause of homelessness.

For Jerome, sofa surfing has been essential to avoid worse.

There have been times at 9, 10 o'clock at night

and I thought, "Where am I going tonight?"

One of my friends has just saved me last-minute,

like, "Come to mine. Sleep on my floor or my sofa."

I don't ever want my children to go through the things

that I have gone through and see the things that I have seen

and, like, spend nights in McDonald's

because they have got nowhere else to go,

or to walk around the streets all night

because they have got nowhere else to go.

I don't want to see my children in that position, ever.

-After you, bruv.

-Thank you.

Everyone pins the beginning of the next stage of their life

on when they get accommodation, and rightly so,

because without that foundation, how can you build a life?

-Safe, man.

-Same, fella. All the best for the future.

-Thank you.

I appreciate it, man. Thanks for listening, as well.

Respect.

Jerome is fortunate enough that he can help himself,

but not everyone can.

Sadly, Jerome's story is a common one.

Down the road in the Borough of Islington,

I am meeting another of the growing number of the UK's hidden homeless.

Hello. Who are you?

Are you Persia?

HE LAUGHS

'Lauren and her four-year-old daughter Persia

'are staying in her friend's spare room

'after being evicted from her two-bedroom house.'

-What are you playing?

-What is that?

'She fell into rent arrears after being made redundant.'

Have we got to try and get...? Try and get as many as I can?

I don't think I'm very good at this.

I'm going to...

Are you sitting on a chair? That chair is too small for you.

You are a big girl now. PERSIA GIGGLES

Lauren moved here one month ago from her hometown of Harlow in Essex.

It's hard, because we were brought up in such

-a social network in Harlow.

-Yeah.

I've got my close, close friend and her two little daughters.

We would see each other every single day.

-How did Persia find the change?

-It's a big thing.

She's four years old, she was born and raised in Harlow.

But she misses her friends

and she misses the old nursery that she used to go to.

You miss your friends from Harlow?

I miss... I miss Charlene.

You miss Charlene.

-I miss Clariela.

-Clariela.

-I miss...

-I think she could be going for a long list of friends.

She's got a lot of friends. You've got a lot of friends!

Are you popular?

'For a Lauren, it is important to create some stability for Persia.'

She has just settled into her second school.

I don't want to move again and then transition her to a third school,

so ideally I want to settle in this borough,

but I still don't know how we are going to do it.

This is our room.

-This is where we condense our life.

-Mummy... I can't count them.

She was half a day old when that was taken.

-And she is already swearing.

-Yeah. I think that is her outlook.

PERSIA GIGGLES

-Who's that, Pers?

-Persia!

PROFESSOR GREEN LAUGHS She's full of beans, isn't she?

'Lauren and a very energetic Persia share this one room

'and sleep in the same bed.'

I feel, like, in such a small space, we've got so much

to try and fit in here.

-I mean, do you find it difficult?

-Yeah.

When I'm getting her up for school and I can't remember which pile of things - I've put it somewhere,

then I end up throwing everything everywhere

and get myself in a right mad mess.

It might small, but it is better than the accommodation

the council were offering her

over 100 miles away from her support network.

If I didn't have Claire that opened up her home,

the only option that you are given is B&Bs in and around the country.

So do you think this is quite a widespread problem

in that this is splitting up communities in a lot of places?

I mean, if they were willing to ship you to Clacton

-or to Great Yarmouth, how many other people are there?

-Loads.

When we was in temporary accommodation,

nine sets of families we got to know.

It's a horrible position to be in -

not being able to provide for your child,

the child that I brought into this world.

I know I'm being hard on myself, but I have let her down

by not being able to provide her with a secure home.

It's really hard not to get emotional and involved in that.

Because I have got to step up and I have got to make things a success

just so she's got a base and place to call home.

Aw!

You're good girl, aren't you?

Losing the family home has meant selling off

most of their possessions.

But it is the more personal things that are the hardest to let go of.

So this is the last bit of your stuff?

Yeah, the last bit of our lives.

I've sold so much. We can't fit it all into one room.

My daughter has had to do away with a lot of her stuff.

Her scooter, that little Hello Kitty pop-up. Me with my vinyl.

I'm not going to be able to play that again.

A shame to lose that, though. They must relate to a point in your life.

-For me, that is what the song is.

-I was heavily into my music.

-Yeah.

-Absolutely loved it.

-50 Cent, In Da Club.

That was his breakthrough, wasn't it?

I always find they remind me of moments.

-Yeah.

-When you first heard that song or who you heard that song with.

Where you were.

I love my records, and the cost a lot of money at one point,

but I can't feed to my daughter on memories.

Would you consider yourself to be homeless?

I know there are going to be people out there

that say you are not homeless, actually,

because you have a roof over your head.

But we're homeless in the sense that we don't have a home of our own

and we don't know where we could be next week.

Yes, we are relying on a very good friend that has put us up,

but circumstances change.

You never know what can happen in the future.

The amount of times I've been in this garage

and sat down and just looked at all my stuff and just thought,

"How on earth did I end up like this?"

It's shocking, really,

you know, to think of the situation that she has ended up in.

And to think how, actually...

How easily you, I, you at home could end up in that situation.

None of us are really that far away from it, are we?

She lost her job and it was pretty much that simple.

From there on, it was quite a conceivable series of events.

It's not what I expected to see.

I don't think it is what many people would deem as being homeless.

But we need to change our perception of that, cos there is a problem.

And I guess the reason that we think of homeless as

an old man on the street with a can of beer is because that is something

that we have all grown up seeing, it's something we all see day-to-day when we're out on the streets.

But there is a huge problem, clearly,

with people that we don't see. They are virtually invisible.

The hidden homeless have many faces.

From those like Lauren, teetering on the edge,

to the rough sleepers facing the dangers of the streets every night.

Back in Manchester, there has been some shocking news.

One of Luke's friends, Daniel Smith, was killed while sleeping rough.

Luke's brought me to some railway arches

where they found Daniel's body.

I'm worried to find out how Luke's coping.

He was staying there, he's been battered.

Dragged, actually, in a tent while he has been dead and set on fire.

So they beat him to death?

Beat him to death and set him on fire.

-23 years of age.

-Poor kid. 23?!

And to say it was homeless people who did it, in the community,

it's not nice. It's sick.

'We make our way round to the other side of the arches.

'When we get there,

'the police have still got the crime scene cordoned off.'

What a horrible place to die.

It makes you shudder, doesn't it?

Obviously they have dragged all the stuff out and pulled it to one side.

Clothes, sleeping bags, covers.

Just what would have been going through his head, the fear.

I can't even imagine what was going through his head.

It is not a death anyone should meet, is it?

-It must make you think, man.

-It does, man.

I go home every night, I think about it. Trust me.

I was sat in that exact same room two weeks ago.

-Exact same room to where he was battered.

-It's fucked. Fucked.

It's sick. It's sick.

You've seen a lot of stuff in your time on the streets.

Is this the worst?

A boy has lost his life, a family has lost its son.

'I can see Daniel's death has deeply affected the Luke.'

It's the wind, innit?

-Thank you.

-It's all right.

What does the tent signify?

I came and stayed here last Friday and Saturday night.

I just... I just thought...

Because I'm allowed out two nights of my hostel a week,

I just thought I would come and stay here.

Stayed here Friday and Saturday night and just paid a bit of respect.

It's weird to think, though, once the tent is gone,

-once that is taken down, there will be...

-There will be nothing of him.

Nothing left of him. No.

I suppose that is a reason not to end up back on the streets, innit?

It is. It is a good enough reason.

People are stabbing each other in the backs out here.

It shouldn't be happening.

You should be looking out for each other out here,

not stabbing each other in the backs and killing people.

He was a good guy. A top guy.

Does it not make you worried about what could happen to you?

Yeah, of course it does. It's not nice, man.

It shouldn't be happening.

Two men have been charged with the murder of Daniel Smith.

Luke has been off the streets for a month.

This could be the wake-up call he needs to keep hold of his hostel place

and break the cycle of homelessness before it is too late.

I don't know where Luke is going to end up. It is anyone's guess.

He is smoking, but he obviously cares -

to come down and put his tent up for two nights

when he has got a bed in a hostel.

We have spent a couple of days in his life.

We don't understand his world

and we don't have to live this day in and day out.

So many people are homeless for so many different reasons,

and everyone's case, although there might be consistencies -

family breakdown, mental health, drug addiction -

everyone's story is slightly different.

And the help that people need is different.

What I have found is that once you lose the security of having a home,

the fight to get it back is incredibly difficult,

made worse by the lack of social housing and support.

Charities do what they can,

but until we recognise the true scale of the problem,

often hidden from view, more and more young people

will find themselves trapped in these desperate circumstances.

Head fuck.

It is. It is a proper head fuck.

We go back to life now.

And this life that for everyone who is on the streets

just continues as it does day in, day out.

I wouldn't say that I am leaving this with any more hope

than I came into it. I think, if anything, less so.

The more I understand about homelessness,

the more I understand how difficult it is to break that cycle.