Britain's Hidden Homeless

I want to change your mind about what it means to be homeless.

It's not just about down and outs and sleeping on the streets.

Homelessness could happen to any of us.

I'm Speech Debelle. I'm a rapper who won

the Mercury Music Prize for my debut album.

I was one of Britain's hidden homeless for three years.

My self-esteem was pretty low.

It was a low point in my life,

and being on somebody's couch didn't make me feel any better.

The hidden homeless are not recognised by the authorities.

Many are young, single

and sofa surfing, moving from place to place to avoid sleeping rough.

They come from all walks of life and the numbers are rising.

It just gets harder. Every couple of weeks, it just gets harder and harder.

I'm going to meet some of Britain's sofa surfers,

and find out what it's like to be homeless today.

What happens with sofa surfing, is that you are a strain,

regardless of who you're staying with,

the relationship you have with them. You are a strain on their life.

Just the phrase, "homeless",

they think immediately you're poor, you're dirty.

You're a scumbag, basically, and I'm not.

What's the possibilities now of getting a job?

I'm going to re-trace my own steps from sofas to hostels

and compare it to how things are now.

My memories of being in a hostel was, it's dark,

it's restricting, it's stagnant.

I also want to see what happens to people

when the sofas run out.

There are times when you might be somewhere and feel unwelcome.

That can be quite difficult.

This is exactly what it is like being homeless.

This is my tent, or what's left of it.

This is the story of Britain's Hidden Homeless.

# Look, I'm slowly building up my savings every day

# Although it's hard to save when you're gettin' no pay... #

When I was 19, my family home became a place

I no longer wanted to live.

I got fed up arguing with my mum,,

so I left, with nowhere stable to go.

One of the first places I went to was here, Clapham,

er...South London.

Stayed with a friend, and basically, sofa surfing.

For three years, I stayed on friends' sofas

or moved from hostel to hostel.

I experienced the stress, the stigma,

and the fear of not having a permanent roof over my head.

It's like having no foundation.

It's like having no sort of stability.

I didn't have anywhere I wanted to live.

Nor anywhere that I wanted to be.

In this film, I'm going to follow four young people over three months,

to see what it's like to be homeless today.

I also want to see if they can get a home by the end of it.

Stephen became homeless

after being chucked out by his stepdad.

After losing his job,

he sofa surfed for as long as he could.

Then found himself sleeping on the streets,

and in the parks.

He's been spending the winter months in a night shelter.

I always thought, like, I'd have a family by now,

like I'd be in a serious relationship,

I'd be on my feet,

driving around with my own car and my own responsibilities.

But, I've got nothing

and I didn't see that for one second.

And it is a great struggle.

You don't have to be sleeping rough to be homeless, though.

Nikita is staying temporarily

on the sofa at her sister's.

She's been in housing limbo for over a year,

after her relationship with her mother broke down.

There's my bed.

That's about as great as it gets, really.

While Nikita's determined to move on,

the reality of her situation takes a toll on her self-esteem.

Just the phrase, "homeless",

it's the word is just like...

Don't know, it just doesn't feel right.

So I don't want to walk into somewhere and be like,

"Yeah, I'm homeless, guys! Guess what?"

It's not nice,

it's not comfortable

to know that people know that you're homeless.

Because your first instinct of a homeless person is,

sitting...on the streets, like,

with a little cup, going, "Can I have some money?"

or a little sign, saying, "Hungry, please feed," or whatever,

but at the end of the day, mine's not like that.

Mine's a completely different situation.

Sam's got a degree but she's not got a stable home.

She's been moving from place to place for the last six months.

The experience of sofa surfing is difficult sometimes.

I don't have much stuff with me,

but trying to...pack... well, think about what you need

for however long, you've really got to plan everything.

I have to have to know when I need to be here, when I need to be there,

what I need with me and, um, yeah,

it's not like I have a base to just go back to,

and chill out and sort myself out.

Jordan lives in Accrington,

one of the poorest parts of Lancashire.

He left home after fighting with his dad.

Job opportunities are scarce,

and he doesn't always get lucky finding a place to stay.

No, I was going to go walk to me mate's house,

see if I'll stay there tonight, so.

I don't call it sleeping rough,

I call it, like, walking rough,

because at night, I don't tend to sleep at night, I just walk around,

find it easier just walking.

TRAIN RUMBLES

Like many young homeless people,

I also left home because of family problems.

I went to one school on that side of the park,

and another school on the other side of the park.

I used to ride my bike in here.

I'd always found myself in trouble,

like in school and stuff.

I never seemed to be able to just settle myself

and just focus, and, um...

I think it must have been difficult for my mum to have to hear

that I'm causing trouble, do you know what I mean?

My mum lost her patience with my rebellious behaviour

and I refused to play by her rules.

It can make for a bit of a turbulent relationship,

and just arguments. Lot of arguments.

So when I was about 18, I was like, "I'm out, I'm out."

She was like, "Peace. Go then."

Do you know what I mean, because...

Now when I look back, she was like, "Oh, you think,

"if you think it's all right out there, go ahead."

You know, she was probably like, "I'll see you soon."

This was the beginning of a dark period of time for me.

I felt rootless, lost and depressed.

SIREN WAILS

Officially, 17,000 young people were classed as homeless last year.

But charities think the number of hidden homeless

is three times as high.

And councils are struggling to cope.

# Penniless and tired

# Let your hair grow long... #

Stephen was thrown out of his home at 16.

Me and my stepfather never got on since day one.

It was always competition for my mum's affection.

Things went from bad to worse, we was always fisticuff fighting,

and we had, um, a really big row

and, um, obviously I was asked to leave.

He managed to find a job as a roofer,

but got a dangerous ear infection and had to stop work.

-Cheers, mate.

-You're welcome.

-Thank you.

I went and stayed with, um, a couple of my cousin's places

for a couple of weeks, here and there.

You exhaust those avenues very quickly,

people can't look after you as much as they want to.

After running out of friends' sofas to stay on,

Stephen's only option was the street.

At the moment, he's staying in a night shelter

run by the church.

His ear infection now needs surgery.

Trying to sleep in a room full of, like, ten to 15 people,

um, all fully-grown men,

who are smelling and they're, like,

could be alcoholics or drug users.

It is really, really stressful and hard to deal with.

# There's nothing

# I can say... #

The number of rough sleepers in the UK

has gone up by more than a fifth in the past year

and is still rising.

Churches in the Kingston area

take it in turns to provide a place to sleep,

and hot breakfast for the homeless.

I've been in this situation now quite a long time,

so it's like really getting on top.

Obviously, you have these thoughts -

would it be easier just to...end it?

I don't know. It's like, obviously

you never see yourself becoming homeless

and I don't wish it upon anyone, but...

Problem is, funding doesn't allow them to stay open all year

so the night shelters are due to close in the next few weeks.

It means the pressure is on for Stephen to find a bed

if he's going to avoid sleeping rough in the cold.

MUSIC: "Live For The Message" by Speech Debelle

# It's all about wisdom More precise with the aim

# Finger on the trigger The metaphor is strength

# I keep a watchful eye... #

I want to find out what it's like for Stephen

and what his prospects are after being in this situation for so long.

-Hello.

-Hey, Speech, how you doing?

-Stephen, yeah?

-Yeah. Nice to meet you.

Cool, nice to meet you.

-Oh, you've got one of them, I want one of them.

-Wicked.

'If Stephen can't get into emergency housing in the next two weeks,

'his best option is going to be this place.'

Where are we at?

This is Bushy Park in Teddington.

So was you supposed to be in here?

No, no, if I got found by the parks police or the rangers

I would have probably got done for trespassing, to be honest, but...

-Do they lock it up at night?

-Yeah, they do.

Quite a safe place to be, to be honest,

but when you're picking your spot to sleep,

you've got to, like take a few things into account.

Right, so you're on some Ray Mears type of thing, yeah?

No, not that, it's just,

you've got to kind of keep yourself away from people

because as soon as someone catches you there, that's it,

like, that's your spot ruined.

Do you like being in here, under the circumstances?

Yeah. It's probably the best place you could be if you're homeless,

like, it's either this or being in a shop door

and to be honest, I prefer this.

But obviously at night,

when you've got time to yourself,

that's when it gets, like, it hits home and...

I know you're in the night shelter now.

When does that open?

That opened on the 3rd of December

and finishes in a couple of weeks.

But November's cold.

Yeah, yeah, it was really, really cold,

there was a few times I woke up and there was frost over the grass.

Normal temperature they give on weather reports is at head height.

It's a lot colder at the floor.

-Right.

-And so...

So what do you have to do, put on loads of clothes?

Yeah, like, normally two or three pairs of trousers

-or a couple pairs of tracky bottoms.

-Where do you keep your clothes?

They're stashed up here, there and everywhere,

bin bags and bushes. You can't have everything in one place

because what if it gets found? That's it, it's all gone,

and it's taken me a long time to, like, gain my clothes back.

What's the possibilities now of getting a job?

Well, until I have this operation

because I've got a really bad ear infection

and it needs quite a serious operation doing on it.

'Stephen thinks the operation will sort his life out

'but doctors feel it's too risky to operate

'until he has a proper place to recover.'

Like, I've had this infection for quite a while now

and it's the reason I'm not working

and it's basically the reason I've become homeless.

MUSIC: "Society" by Eddie Vedder

I never had a conversation with somebody who...

whose living is that extreme.

And all I was just thinking is just, man, it's just so cold

and cold and lonely

and unhealthy.

# Society

# You're a crazy breed

# I hope you're not lonely

# Without me. #

You know, the fact that this is Britain

and he's 25

and he's living in these conditions,

he's one of the people

that probably just seem to get ignored, more than likely.

He doesn't exist in...

in "normal" society

so it's easy for him to be forgotten about.

Stephen's experience proves

that sofa-surfing is only a step away from being on the streets.

MUSIC: "Every Time You Go" by Ellie Goulding

-# Every time you go

-Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

# Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

-# Every time you go

-Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

# Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

# It starts with a picture

# It sits in your frame... #

Although Nikita's not at risk of sleeping rough just yet,

staying on her sister's sofa is affecting her health

and right now, her sister's nursing a baby.

I'll most probably wake up at about two

just cos it's so uncomfortable. You can't move around.

And then in the morning, the baby,

she wakes up for her bottle.

You can't sleep, so you don't sleep

so you're tired, so your immune system's down

so you start getting more colds and things like that,

which makes you aggravated, stressed, depressed.

Like, everything kind of snowballs into you sitting there, going,

"I don't know what to do. Help me."

So how does someone like Nikita end up in this situation?

I left home when I was 16, the day after my GCSEs finished.

My dad died before I was born

and my mum, she's a recovering alcoholic.

Because I lived in her life for 13 years of her drinking,

our relationship was never built.

We never had time to build a relationship.

The arguments we were having were getting out of control

and they were turning into fights,

more often than not, proper fights,

and I just took myself out of the situation.

At 16, I thought, "I'm allowed to leave home now."

Nikita moved in with her boyfriend, who persuaded her to leave college.

But that relationship turned nasty

and she found herself with nowhere to go.

MUSIC: "Reggae All Night" by CSS

I want to find out what Nikita's options are.

# If you want a friend we can drink in the afternoon

# That's cool... #

Feels like you're sort of just at someone else's house,

especially when, like, her boyfriend's round or whatever,

you feel like the third person in the party.

They want to chill out and have a night on the sofa,

watching a film and that, and that's my bedroom.

Yeah, if they want to have a little Saturday night?

So what if you want to bring someone special...?

-Nah.

-No?

It can't happen.

Mainly cos of my niece, do you know what I mean?

If she walks in, she'll be like, "Who's that?"

Right, so what is it you need?

I need somewhere that I can work from, I need a base.

It seems like, I'm noticing

you have to be in a worse position to get help.

If you're in a sort of middle position...

Yeah, you're stuck.

You're, like, that close to the breadline

but if you're not actually on it, technically speaking,

then there's no help available.

This is the main problem for sofa surfers.

No-one sees them as a priority.

Many councils have admitted

they're running out of room for young people.

They're only obliged to help with accommodation if you're under 18,

leaving care, or have a baby.

Everyone else is in danger of slipping through the net.

Nikita can't stay at her sister's forever

so if she doesn't get the help she needs,

I'm worried about where she might end up.

Since leaving university, Sam's found it hard to get a job.

And she's not alone.

One in five graduates still don't have permanent work

up to two years after getting a degree.

But Sam has no family home to go back to.

Her mum lost her job and had to downsize

so Sam went to stay in a caravan until winter set in.

The conditions were quite horrible, it was damp and wet

and a bit smelly.

Um, so I decided then that I didn't really want to stay there.

She went sofa-surfing in London, hoping for more job opportunities.

Tonight, she's staying on her mum's sofa in Essex.

It's just a tiny one-bedroom flat

so there's no room for her to live there.

When I come over,

this is my little space for sleeping.

It looks very small but it's quite comfortable.

If I was to stay here all the time, I think I would get, you know,

a bit sort of depressed after a little while, I guess.

Most of the time, Sam finds friends to stay with

while she looks for a job and somewhere more stable to live.

There are times when you might be somewhere and might feel unwelcome.

That can be difficult. It makes you feel low. If you feel unwelcome

you think, "Where else can I go?"

And then you have to try and work something out.

Sam's mum is claiming housing benefit after losing her job

so she's not allowed to have anyone stay long-term.

I know it's hard for you, cos you would help if you could,

if you were in a position to help

and I don't want you to feel guilty or upset that you can't

because you're not in a position to be able to help.

No, I don't feel guilty, I feel frustrated.

But you're always welcome here for your dinners

and to get warm and showered

-and washing. Have you brought me any washing?

-Yeah.

I thought you would.

You and your awful memory pillow.

I love my memory foam pillows. Leave them alone.

You don't have too sleep with it.

You want to take the cushions off? Put them out of the way.

Sam often goes to bed not knowing where she'll sleep the next night.

She's desperate to change her situation before it gets any worse.

-See you later.

-Bye.

Despite hoping for a job related to her degree in commercial music,

Sam's decided to cast the net wider and go for any job she can get.

The manager's here, uh...

tomorrow's Friday.

Instead of being able to go home and chill

after a day of job hunting,

Sam remains a visitor wherever she goes.

-Hello.

-Hello. You all right?

Tonight she's staying with her friend Issy in West London.

I don't like to stay anywhere for too long

because I don't... I don't know,

I get a bit paranoid and I don't want to get in anyone's way

or sort of...I don't know, put anyone out.

And also, I guess, where I feel I'm more welcome,

I feel really welcome here,

I feel really welcome at my mum's and my friends'.

But after a little while, you sort of think,

"Maybe I should move on now, go somewhere else."

I would have thought, with a degree, things would be easier for Sam.

I want to find out why she's finding life so hard.

-Hello.

-Hello, how you doing?

Nice to meet you. I'm Sam.

You too. I'm Speech.

So, what do you do for money?

Um, well, I'm signing on.

OK, is that JSA?

Yeah, Jobseekers' Allowance.

I'm signing up to all these things

where I'm trying to get put into hostels

and if I wasn't on JSA, I wouldn't be entitled to some of them

so it's like, what do you do?

People expect more from graduates these days.

It's not just a degree any more, it's experience.

What about getting a minimum-wage job

for a couple of months, six months?

I would do it, you know, if something good came up

but it's confusing. What do I do? Do I wait for somewhere to stay first,

somewhere to live? Do I get a job?

Sam's situation highlights the problem

that some people think they're better off on benefits

than working a minimum-wage job.

Well, the thing with Sam is that

she doesn't know whether to get a house or to try and get a job

and the problem is, if she does get a job,

then she won't be eligible for housing benefit,

which means that she's going to have difficulty paying for full rent.

It's not something that should be happening to a graduate.

She should be out here, you know,

sharing her knowledge and her energy with the world

and trying to make it a better place

but she's having to concentrate on having somewhere to live.

MUSIC: "The City" by Ed Sheeran

If it's difficult for Sam,

it's got to be much harder for someone like Jordan.

He's got no qualifications

and he's stuck in a town with few opportunities.

Not much happens in Accrington.

I heard a couple of days ago that the Queen's supposed to be coming.

If I see her, I'll run over and say,

"Give us an house, give us an house!"

If she says no, I'll say, "Please!" She'll still say no, I bet.

# The pavement is my friend

# It'll take me where I need to go. #

Jordan's got a girlfriend who's also homeless.

I met her the day after her 16th birthday.

And then, I didn't even know her age, really.

We just started talking and all that lot.

Before I met her, I was a bit of a player.

A bit, like, if I see a girl I like,

you know, I'd go over and start chatting her up and that.

But Claire, it took ages,

like a month before we started proper seeing each other

and we've been together for about 11 month now.

As she's under 18, Claire is a priority

and was recently provided with supported housing by the council.

Walking this way, you can almost see Claire's house.

That big light over there, that's the shop.

Just a little bit right of it should be the house.

If there's lights on, yay.

If not...no.

Claire's guardians don't allow her to have people to stay

so Jordan can only ever drop in for a visit.

Just makes you feel, not depressed, but not happy

that I'm with my girlfriend, but I can't stay with her.

No, she's not in at the moment,

not in.

I wouldn't call it a wasted journey, though.

At least I know she's not in.

Aw.

MUSIC: "Everything You Wanted" by Kele

Jordan got to the point where leaving his family home

was his only option.

After losing his mum,

staying with his dad became more and more difficult.

'Me and me dad argued a lot, a very lot. And we just...'

It just didn't feel right being in the same room as him,

thinking he's going to jump up, he'll start shouting at me

or he's going to swear at me or he's going to try and hit me,

I'm going to try and hit him.

So we were just fighting, shouting at each other.

We get on, but not too long.

He just said, "You're going to have to go."

I went, "I'm going already." Packed me stuff and went, straightaway.

# I see the bags in the empty hallway

# I can tell that something has changed... #

Jordan spends a lot of his time at this place,

a charity day centre called Maundy Relief.

Unlike the council, they help anyone who needs food or shelter.

You all right, Jordan?

-Hello.

-Would you like a brew?

Yeah, actually.

I'll just get you a brew.

-There you are, mate.

-Ah, thanks a lot.

Jordan's charity worker Carl is trying his best to help him

but Jordan doesn't seem to know what he wants.

Do you want to take your hood down so I can see you?

Ah, go on, then, Carl. Cos I know you.

-Do you know you've sort of been in all the places...

-Yeah.

..that we've given you, the Salvation Army...

-Yeah.

-Cross Roads...

I lived there for a year.

We sort of can't pin you down, really.

How long have you actually been sofa-surfing and been on the street?

Nearly three year.

-Three years. How old are you now?

-20.

20, so from the age of 17,

your life's been sort of unstable, hasn't it, and rough?

You know, I'd like to get you in supported accommodation

and I wouldn't have a problem in doing that, you know,

and I could get you in accommodation

where there's a nice roof over your head, where it's clean,

where you get food, where you get support,

but only you can make that decision.

-I know.

-I can't force it upon you.

I don't like staying in the same place for too long.

-I get jittery and stuff.

-Yeah, which I understand.

'His options are running really, really low now, you know,

'because at the moment, he just leads such a chaotic life'

and I cannot, you know,

sort of pin him down.

It's pretty frustrating, really,

cos he's such a nice, likeable guy.

See you later.

I worry that Jordan is getting too used to life on the move.

Until he finds a stable home,

his chances of a better life remain at zero.

It's hard for young people who don't have a home to go back to,

and growing up without parental guidance

can leave you feeling lost.

Although my situation was different,

I remember growing tired of feeling rootless, on sofas and in hostels.

I kind of had to move around different hostels.

Space was becoming scarce.

And that was, like, ten years ago.

One of the hostels I went in, it was a women's-only hostel

and it was mainly for women that had been...

had some form of abuse, physical, emotional,

and I remember seeing that and thinking,

"This is not the life I want to...

"bear witness to."

And so after about three years,

I went back home.

We're at my house, where I grew up.

Um, 18 years...

uh, in Gypsy Hill.

It's my little road.

I think if I couldn't have gone back home,

I would have continued to feel lost.

Not having a home,

it does have a very strong effect on...

..your stability in life.

I needed to have a base, I needed to have a place that was my home,

that I felt safe and secure and... and loved.

I know for a fact that I was in hostels with people that,

going back home wasn't an option, and I heard stories about why

and I know it wasn't an option, do you know what I mean?

So I think...

..it...it saved me, I think.

MUSIC: "Change" by Daniel Merriweather

So far, I've learnt that the hidden homeless clearly aren't a priority.

Local authorities don't have the resources to house everyone.

What I want to know is, what can our sofa-surfers do to get more help?

# I saw a dried-up river

# And a rich man turning on a garden hose... #

Having still not found a job,

Samantha wants to find a room on housing benefit.

She's heard about a scheme called Homelink, run by the Quakers.

-They can act as a guarantor for jobseekers looking to rent.

-We work with private landlords.

They're never really keen on people on housing benefit and all that.

-Yeah, sure.

-They want some sort of assurance

so part of what we do is take a housing history.

We take a bit of financial history as well,

-so they are reassured.

-Yep.

# Some people do it all for money and some do it all for the love... #

We expect people to go and look for themselves.

I mean, we always look as well.

# Nobody's going to wake up and start asking whose in charge,

# Ain't nothing going to change Ain't nothing going to change. #

Private rents have doubled in the last two years.

The average price for a room in London is now £650 a month.

Recent cuts to housing benefit,

means more and more people are competing for the cheapest rooms.

In London, every room for rent has five people chasing it.

One council in Essex is running a pilot scheme,

to try and increase the number of rooms available.

Lots of people are not buying accommodation, they're not buying their own home.

They're waiting to get a decent mortgage.

So, what we found is that more and more people are wanting to rent,

so, local landlords are having the pick of tenants.

What the council is looking to do is offering benefits,

and there's cash incentives, to increase the supply of accommodation,

in order to help people like yourself find a home.

I think it's really important that people know this,

cos it's taken me almost a year to find something I'm eligible for.

It is a pilot, because as I said,

clearly the demand for this service will be far, far greater

than, um, initially the supply.

-Take care, thank you.

-Bye.

-Bye.

It's a long wait, isn't it?

I think it's going to be a very long wait till I find somewhere.

# Didn't you know I was waiting on you...#

Sam can't go on like this for ever.

Her options for somewhere to stay could easily become exhausted

before she can find anywhere of her own.

As graduates like Sam increase the demand for affordable rooms,

emergency housing once reserved for people like Stephen,

is now also in short supply.

# As the winter winds

# Litter London with lonely hearts...#

Stephen's got a tent concealed in Bushy Park,

which he goes to to check on every day.

He's now just got two weeks left to arrange accommodation.

If he can't, he'll be back in his tent in the cold.

Obviously, like, I try to set up my stuff, like,

off the beaten track, so I'm not found.

Cos there's been a couple of times

where I've been found on the street in my sleeping bag, fully asleep,

and people have decided it's a good idea to beat me up.

So there's been a couple of occasions where I've woken up in hospital.

So, yeah, I've learnt from that

and the tent's been here for a good eight months now,

um, no-one's found it.

OK, my tent is basically just over here,

you won't be able to see it from here

cos I try and keep it as disguised as possible.

But, um, I'd normally wait around here,

just to make sure there's no people, like, overlooking,

seeing what I'm doing. But I normally just jump over here.

Yeah, the only noise you have to put up with here, the noise of the birds.

It's lovely, to be honest, I like it here.

But today, Stephen's in for a nasty shock.

This is exactly what it is like, being homeless.

This is my tent, or what's left of it.

It's been, like, trashed,

looks like kids have, um, got into it.

But, um, if I take it up you can see exactly how long it's been there.

Like, people don't understand.

When they see, like, tents or sleeping bags,

like, maybe a bin bag full of clothes, like, stashed up somewhere.

Don't touch it, it's not yours.

It's going to be someone who's a lot more worse off than you.

What kind of people would do this?

It's not like I'm causing anyone any trouble.

Like, so I'm here out of everyone's way.

So, leave me alone, like, my God.

It's frozen solid.

That's a T-shirt.

That's ridiculous.

Let that defrost.

Like, you know, sometimes get low,

but you're always able to build yourself up again, but...

Yeah, this is...this is low.

Like, I feel at the moment, seeing this now, it's...

I'm on the edge of crying.

# I don't remember the good times

# I wasn't there and you were kind...#

Without a tent to go back to,

Stephen's on a mission to pursue every possible option

for getting a roof over his head in the next two weeks.

First, he's going to see a charity who work with the council

to find temporary housing for rough sleepers.

But after the recent cuts to homelessness projects,

more than 2,000 beds have been lost across the UK in the past year.

Although you've moved up the waiting list for the hostel, although you're number five,

it's only a 14-bed hostel,

and it could be a long time before a bed becomes available.

With that in mind, we're looking at other options,

and one of them is to move into a private flat.

I believe I'm ready for a private rented or any sort of tenancy,

if it's permanent or temporary.

But it's just going to be better than where I'm going to end up

if it wasn't there.

# But I am older now... #

Stephen's also talking to the council direct

about his prospects for emergency accommodation.

Do you want to explain how you've been since we saw you?

Because you came to see us in October recently.

My health is getting a lot worse since being on the street.

What's been happening?

Well, I've got a really bad ear infection which needs operating on,

and I did make an application for emergency housing on health grounds,

and that was refused.

Um, I need to make another one, an application.

If you feel that your health's deteriorated since we saw you last,

and we made our last decision,

then we would take the new information and look at it again.

We'll get that assessed. When your accommodation at the hostel comes to an end,

if you come in a couple of days beforehand

we'll contact you, and we'll try and find

some alternative emergency housing for you.

There's two weeks left at the night shelter,

and, um, I'm not expecting miracles.

But it would be nice to come off the night shelter

and into somewhere, but I don't think that's going to be the way.

So, I'm really, really worried, and if I go back on the street,

it's going to be the end of me.

Stephen says he'd be happy with any roof over his head.

But once again, availability is a problem.

I remember it being much easier ten years ago.

As soon as I got sick of sofa surfing,

I got myself into this hostel in Victoria.

I remember my room was, um...

cos my window was facing over here.

Man, it was like...

one, two, three...

I think it was like the fourth one, one of those ones along there.

My memories of being in a hostel was of stark...it's restricting,

it's stagnant.

Everything's stagnant.

The carpet looks stagnant,

the water coming out of the tap looks like you shouldn't drink it.

Do you know what I mean, it all just looks a bit stale.

It was no good for my self-esteem.

But this place did inspire one of the songs

that would win me the Mercury Prize.

I was lucky to have music as my escape.

# 2am in my hostel bed

# My eyes turn red My belly ain't fed

# I got butter but I ain't got bread

# And I'm smoking on my last cigarette

# I ain't got creds I can't make calls

# I got no papers I got no jewels

# I got debts up to my eyeballs Who made these rules, catch 22

# Christmas soon come and I got no funds

# But what's Christmas if you ain't at mum's?

# What am I supposed to do? Sit here and wait for the stupid JSA?

# No blasted way, I'm a call G and get food on conceit

# Or use my giro and buy a 16th

# Know that's small time but I got to make p's

# I'm so hungry, man I've just got to eat

# And to a certain degree I'm intrigued... #

Perhaps a hostel could be a temporary answer for Nikita,

just to give her a space of her own.

But she's just not sure.

Basically, I applied for Salvation Army.

I went in there and seen a load of other people that are homeless as well.

What do you think would be the problems you would face being...?

In there?

Um, for me, for my upbringing and my background - alcohol,

not personally for me,

but for the people I've been around, alcohol's been like a big issue.

Big problem.

-And I don't feel comfortable, around people like that.

-Yeah.

Even if I'm going out on a night out and someone's, like, bladdered,

to me it's like, whoa, I need to stay away from you.

You're unstable you're a volatile person, like, no.

And in a place like this, for a lot of people,

like, if it's winter, it's cold, and you've got nowhere to sleep,

-bottle of whisky, that'll warm you up.

-Yeah.

And for a lot of people that's the route that they chose,

and I reckon a lot of people that are like that would end up here.

And I'd walk into that situation,

and it's just, for me, it's terrifying,

it is a terrifying thought.

It's a dead end.

It's like, how am I going to get a job

if I say I'm sleeping on the floor in the Salvation Army?

I can't do that, I can't live like that.

Although the Salvation Army helps many needy people,

Nikita's found a different hostel

which she thinks would suit her perfectly.

The YMCA is a charity, part-funded by local authorities.

They offer supported accommodation to job seekers for under £10 a week.

And they're ultra-careful about who they admit.

I need pay slips from a previous job,

two forms of ID, which I've only got one.

But I'm going to take an old rail card in there

and see if they'll take that.

It's a nightmare to find anything.

Absolutely anything is a complete nightmare.

Cos I don't know where... half of it is, I don't know,

half of it's addressed to other places.

So you get that and then people say,

we can't accept that cos it's not addressed to your...

Like, I've got three different addresses here

on three different payslips.

Cos I've been in like the same job, but moving around.

Jobseekers allowance, first time I've ever signed on.

Don't feel very proud of it at all.

With no other options available to her,

everything is now resting on Nikita's application to the YMCA.

# The lies weren't created to hurt you

# I should have known that the only way out was through

# Should have rolled up my sleeves

# And started moving this elephant out of the living room... #

I'm now learning what a huge role charities play in helping to solve this whole problem.

As well as a basic room for the night,

charities can provide a support service

to help young people move on.

Ideally this will free up rooms more quickly

for those who are still waiting.

It's this kind of support that could help someone like Jordan.

But for him, it isn't quite so simple.

I've come to Accrington,

where Carl has arranged for Jordan to view a supported hostel.

But Jordan has failed to turn up.

-Hello, hi, Carl.

-Hiya, pleased to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

Um, well, I came to see Jordan,

but I'm not sure what's happened?

He was seen yesterday afternoon and seemed to be OK,

but trying to pin him down is almost impossible.

The hours and options team, he's lost priority around him.

So he'll find it really difficult.

How much do you think he really wants help?

Personally, if he wanted help... he would engage, um...

he would drop everything to be able to a accommodate himself.

But at the same time, you know, our ethos would be

we would never give up on him.

There is help available to Jordan,

but after the fraught relationship with his dad,

maybe he's just not ready for any more adult authority.

# I etched the face of a stopwatch on the back of a raindrop... #

Well, supported housing is like... is like a hostel,

but, like, you can't have people stay over,

well, most situations you can't have people stay over,

you've got a time when you have to come in,

two nights a week to stay out, stuff like that, it's just...

It's like being back at your mum's house really,

it's like being back at home.

Get told this, do this, do that.

I'm not good with rules like that, they bore me.

So I'd rather get an house with Claire.

# I heard an unhappy ending

# It sort of sounds like you leaving

# I heard the Piledriver Waltz

# It woke me up this morning... #

Jordan's dreams of living with his girlfriend is a long way off.

For now, he's stuck with his transient lifestyle

for as long as he can bear it.

Back in London, the life of a nomad

has already got too much for Samantha.

With the charity scheme behind her, Sam's on an internet search

for rooms available to people on housing benefit, known as DSS.

A lot of them say, like, this one says "DSS no,"

so I won't be able to apply for that one.

No DSS.

No DSS again.

Perhaps they don't like people on benefits.

Think that they're all lazy or something, they're not going to pay their rent.

# Just when things are getting complicated

# In the eye of the storm... #

There's a really nice place here in South Woodford,

they don't want any DSS,

but it's free to contact so I might contact them anyway.

That's unfurnished, be nice to have a bed.

Do you think people panic when you say you're a musician?

As long as I don't tell them I'm a drummer, cos I'm not.

Gosh, it must be hard for drummers to find somewhere to live.

They probably just don't say anything.

I'm calling in response to the ad that you've got on Spare Room.

Hello, I'm phoning about the room that I saw.

Hello, I'm calling in regards to the advert that I've seen on Spare Room.

No housing benefits, can I ask why?

I am a professional person, I am a professional person,

it's just that at the moment I lost my job

and hoping to find another one very soon.

But I'm part of this home, I'm part of a scheme,

it's like a charity-run scheme,

and there'll be my guarantor and, you know, I have...

All right, bye, and you, bye-bye.

Hmm.

Have you found anywhere?

No, I was looking for about two hours

and must have phoned maybe three or four people,

and one of them said no, no DSS,

asked me straightaway was I working,

I said, "Not yet, but I will be,"

and they were just like, "No, sorry."

I was like, but I'm on this scheme, and they just went,

"No, not having it."

And you know...

That's not very nice.

Although Issy is happy to have Sam for now,

it's not an open-ended offer,

and Sam knows she has to find somewhere soon.

The reason why Sam can't live with me permanently at the moment

is because of the council tax situation, cos it's a student house

and, um, so I don't have to pay any council tax.

And if Sam were to move in, she would then have to pay council tax.

And it's a lot of paperwork for my godmother,

who's house it actually is,

and, um, she doesn't really need all that stress at the moment.

So, maybe...maybe one day.

Knowing she can't stay at her sister's indefinitely,

the pressure is also on for Nikita.

Today she's on her way to the interview with the YMCA.

It's a make or break today for me.

How this goes is like, I don't know,

I'm just a bit scared, I'm a bit like, are they going to...

If I walk in there, are they going to see my situation?

Are they going to see that I want to, kind of, move up

and get my life on track?

I don't know what they're going to see,

what their first judgement is going to be.

So, I'm a bit, kind of, nervous.

It's like going for a job interview, but for a house.

This is the best option Nikita's looked at so far,

but waiting lists are long.

And first you've got to get through the strict admissions policy.

-Do you smoke?

-Yes.

-Um, crack?

-No.

-Crystal Meth?

-No.

-GHB.

-I don't know what it is.

What about gambling?

Do you have any problems around eating, like anorexia,

bulimia, binge eating?

Have you ever had any criminal convictions

-or dealings with the police?

-No.

-Nothing at all?

-No.

All right, brilliant.

They also like to ensure that everyone there is committed

to finding a job and a home.

I'm going into the job centre, going to places like Salvation Army.

Coming to you guys,

just trying to find my first step on the ladder really.

Yep.

Do you know what kind of career you'd like to do,

what kind of work you'd like to get into?

I want to be a teacher.

Nikita will find out in a few days whether her application's been successful.

Thank you very much.

Stephen now only has two days before he has to be out of the night shelter.

This could be one of his last hot meals.

That's quite stressful in itself, just worrying about moving,

what's going to happen from there.

So, trying to rack my brains on what to do

and there's a few options available, but...

What's your options?

Well, with the council they said that there's temporary accommodation,

but, um, that's not set in stone, it's only what they say.

They're saying there's a waiting list for it?

Well, they didn't really explain much on the day,

so it's one of those things I'll just have to play by ear

and all these people are in the same situation

and there's a lot of people here.

So it's a big problem.

But, hey, you've just got to deal with it, you've got to grin,

and, well, smile and carry on,

but sometimes the mask wears thin,

and you begin to crack. So...

Do you think that's happening to you at the moment?

Yeah, yeah, definitely.

Definitely, I am under a lot of stress at the moment

and it's just getting a bit much, so...

# How fickle my heart and how woozy my eyes

# I struggle to find any truth in your lies

# And now my heart stumbles on things I don't know

# My weakness, I feel I must finally show

# Lend me your hand and we'll conquer them all

# But lend me your heart and I'll just let you fall

# Lend me your eyes I can change what you see... #

Quite upset and, um... nervous about tonight.

But still haven't got a clue where I'm going to end up tonight to be honest.

So... Um, yeah.

It's a little nerve racking.

And, obviously, I didn't want to wake up

cos then you have to deal with the day.

Yeah, it's, um, really, really stressful.

Trying not to think about it, just take it as it comes.

Like, so if you set yourself up to worry

you're not going to get anything done.

# Away my soul... #

-Thanks for all your help.

-That's all right.

Cheers for all your time, you guys have been amazing.

If Stephen can't find a friend to stay with tonight,

he'll be back in the park without a tent.

It's been three months since I set out on this journey

to investigate Britain's hidden homeless.

Jordan remains sure supported housing isn't right for him,

for now, he's still walking the streets and sofa surfing.

Some good news for Sam.

She's found a job in the music industry,

but this means she no longer qualifies for housing benefit.

She'll have to carry on sofa surfing while she saves for a deposit.

Nikita has received that phone call from the YMCA.

All right, thank you. OK, bye.

Guess what, they just said they're like...

starting tomorrow, they've given me a place.

And it's a single as well, it's not a shared, it's a single one.

So, I can move in, bring all my stuff,

get a bedroom to myself, oh, my God!

# When the blood dries in my veins and my heart feels no more pain

# I know I'll be on my way to heaven's door... #

I'm leaving you!

Is that it? Ahh!

Wa-hey!

I've got two years here, permanent, no worries, no moving,

I can't really believe it's happened, doing this.

Now I'm here, like, literally I can start everything rolling,

get my CVs knocked out, go to college and things like that,

so my future is definitely better than it was - sleeping on the sofa.

Look, I've got my own cooker.

Got a bed, I'm fine, I'm flying.

The day he left the night shelter,

Stephen found a sofa to stay on for just one night.

The following day, his whole future changed.

The council found him a six-month tenancy at a hostel in his area.

It's just a room, but for now, it's everything Stephen could hope for.

This is my room, it's a lot better than being on the street.

Obviously, you can't take it away

because it's made out of bricks and mortar. It's not fabric.

Literally, I can control if I'm outside or inside.

I've got a door.

Like, it's the simple things what make all the difference,

but it's great, sun flooding in,

like, it's not going to be too cold.

And, ah, it's such a relief, such a relief.

This is a huge turning point in my life.

Just able to put that last chapter behind me

and I've got everything in place to write this new chapter

exactly how it should be.

And, obviously, first things first,

getting this operation out of the way, and getting back into work.

And then I won't have to worry about these benefits.

And by the time I get my more permanent place, I'll be on my feet

and able to work and support myself

and not worry about falling between the net again.

So it's...yay!

# We are the youth of today

# We say what we want to say

# And we are the youth of today

# Don't care what you have to say at all... #

Making this film has really opened my eyes to the effect not having a home has on people's lives.

It's more difficult now than ten years ago when I was looking for a place.

Now, the rents are higher, and there's less benefits.

There's less space, full stop.

And for some, it's not just a temporary problem.

I've learnt how hidden homelessness is helping to create a lost generation of young people.

Instead of them being at the stage now where they have all this energy

and they have all this spark

and they want to make the world a better place,

now, they're having to worry about having somewhere to live,

and I think that is really going to, um,

hinder what they could possibly be able to achieve in the future.

# And you don't know a single thing about the youth of today... #

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd