No Place to Call Home

This programme contains some strong language and scenes which some viewers may find upsetting

-I was evicted yesterday...

-Yes.

Me and my two daughters, um, and basically I've got nowhere to go.

Britain is in the grip of a housing crisis.

-I have nowhere to stay now.

-OK.

Where I stayed last night, I can't stay.

This is a film about one of the worst affected areas in the country.

The property you gave my daughter... it's a shit-hole.

How am I meant to get my kids to school?

I'm not prepared to bury my daughter.

She's threatening to commit suicide and everything, and it's all down

to the Government, cos the Government let all the shit

in the country.

-We are an island and we're sinking. Stop letting the

-BLEEP

-lot in!

High rents, the benefit cap and a lack of social housing

has meant homelessness in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham

has increased by nearly 350% in the last four years.

-It's not for me. It's for my mum and dad.

-OK.

For nine months, we've followed residents as they struggled

to keep a roof over their heads.

I'm not going to live outside.

My kids need a place to sleep.

Madam, we will have a look at the case for you.

Put yourself in my own shoes. I'm a human being.

CHILD WAILS

-TANNOY:

-'Ticket number 2,001, please go to interview room three...'

-Number ten?

-BOTH:

-Yeah.

-What can I do for you?

-Basically...

-We want somewhere to live.

-Yeah.

We got evicted.

-I'm homeless and I've been sofa surfing at a friend's house...

-OK.

-..and I'm pregnant.

-You need to bring your pregnancy book.

Can you make sure you list your last five years' address history, OK?

'We have an absolute torrent of people that are being evicted.'

'Rents in Barking and Dagenham are through the roof'

and so the demand that we have for social housing

just really outweighs the supply.

-This way, please.

-Number 14.

Which, you know, we're a housing option service without any options.

At the moment... I'm sleeping in my car at the moment.

I've got no other choice.

They won't put me in temporary housing because I'm not a priority, apparently.

Barking and Dagenham Council's housing office

is the first port of call for residents facing homelessness.

Calm down...

To be offered accommodation,

applicants are assessed according to very strict criteria set by law.

I've got two kids and I can't just go out on the streets again.

We need to look into this, so...

This means housing officers can only help the most vulnerable.

We need to be satisfied that you're homeless.

Today I'm homeless and you're telling me

you need to look into the case?!

Well, that's the law.

And so we do do our investigations and we have to do them thoroughly.

There's five criteria that you have to meet to be eligible

for assistance, and you have to meet all five of 'em,

so it's a bit like the Grand National...

If you fall at one of the hurdles, you're not finishing the race.

-So, it's Lynnette?

-Yes.

Right. Lynnette, my name's Simone.

-I'll be doing your assessment today, OK?

-OK.

Are you actually homeless?

-Yes, I've kind of been staying with my boyfriend.

-OK.

But she can't stay at mine no more either,

because my landlord is like... he's giving it to me in my neck.

OK.

21-year-old Lynnette is struggling to afford to rent by herself

after recently losing her job.

You've not got any income at the moment, Lynnette?

-No, I've literally just lost my...

-Just applied for Jobseeker's?

-Yeah.

Right. We need to look at priority need,

and a priority need can be because you're pregnant

or you've got a physical or mental disability

that means that you would be less able to fend for yourself

than an ordinary person if you were on the streets.

When my father passed away, when I was nine years old,

I wrote a suicide note then,

which is quite odd for a nine-year-old,

but they figured that it kind of affected me,

and then when I was 13,

I was self-harming and I had an eating disorder.

And how's that now? Are you still self-harming?

Yeah, I mean, not cutting myself, but...

There's other ways that you can self-harm.

-With the paracetamol overdose, that's happened more than once.

-OK.

Right, bear with me a moment. I'm just going to go and speak to

the team leader with regards to your case and I'll be back shortly.

DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES

She's been suffering from depression which, on its own,

is not enough of a priority need.

But she's attempted suicide recently,

and it was quite a serious attempt.

In order for a homeless applicant to be offered assistance,

housing officers must get the approval of their managers.

Rich, this one...

..I think we're going to have to place her.

Her medical's not that...brilliant,

but her suicide attempt was quite serious.

-Four days she was in, and really high levels...

-Suicide? How?

She took a massive overdose.

Normally I would look at it as chasing a priority,

but that was a big overdose.

I don't think she's... I don't think that was chasing a priority.

They kept her in for four days. She only got discharged yesterday.

So, apart from the attempted suicide, the only thing that's...

That's the only thing that's really...

It's the only thing. There's no other medical apart from the attempted suicide.

-Other than that...

-Well, she's tried to kill herself, so...

Well, she's attempted, not tried.

I am convinced that that was a serious attempt.

-If we...

-If you looked at that now - not a priority.

Yeah, I know.

But I think that if we were to put her on the streets,

we would create a priority right there and then.

It's not an easy decision to make when you make decisions

that affect people's lives.

But we don't have the resources to support everyone

that comes through the door.

It sounds cold, but you can't have too much emotion

when you're dealing with a case, because it can affect your judgment.

A young girl tried to commit suicide last week,

she was in hospital for four days.

What's happened is, the landlord who rents the room to the boyfriend

-has found out that there's a partner there...

-OK.

-..and he's asked her to leave.

-All right.

The boyfriend's said there's no way she can return back to his property.

Cos we've spoken to the landlord? How do we know he's not making it up?

We haven't spoke to the landlord yet, no.

-So, that's another issue we don't know.

-Yeah.

It's just what the boyfriend is saying.

Have we seen the tenancy agreement?

No.

At the moment, we can't verify her homelessness,

we haven't spoken to the landlord.

Well, the boyfriend's here and said that she stays nights with him

but she can't stay there permanently.

-How do you know he's telling the truth?

-Well...

How do you know he's a tenant?

We haven't seen copies of the tenancy agreement,

-so you'll need to contact the landlord.

-OK.

'It's an emergency service.'

Just like an A&E with limited resources, which we're experiencing

at a sort of rate which I've not experienced before.

I find that it's very...

Most people who come through the system have a difficult time.

Yes.

'I don't think it's an experience many people would choose to pursue.'

All right, lovely. Thank you very much. Thanks, bye! Bye.

'I can't imagine why someone would want to expose

'the most intimate details about themselves to get a property.'

-Right, tenancy agreement for... in his name alone.

-Excellent.

Based on the information you've now presented to me...

I understand that she's homeless. OK.

-Thank you.

-OK. Right.

Do you know what temporary accommodation is?

It's emergency accommodation that we provide for you

-while we carry out our investigations.

-OK.

-But...TA's quite scarce. You're not looking at the Ritz, OK?

-OK.

-But it is a roof over your head and it is what it is.

-That's fine.

So, basically, today's your initial assessment.

We will need to make a decision in your case about whether

we owe you a duty of assistance.

-INTERVIEWER:

-You seem to really care.

There are times in my life where I've been skint

and I haven't had anywhere to go, you know.

They reckon in this country we're all only about three paycheques away

from being homeless.

Uh, tenant with one child...

Owing just over £5,000...

When was the last payment? A year ago.

She's been working full-time since December '15...

She's got no reason for non-payment.

Well, what I would do, if there are no objections,

is agree for the eviction to go ahead.

With nearly 14,000 people on their housing waiting list,

the council are under constant pressure to free up properties.

And there's £5,000 owed?

Carry out the eviction, please.

Nearly 20,000 council homes have been sold since the Right to Buy

was introduced in 1980, meaning they have lost half their stock.

Someone who hasn't bothered to pay anything for 12 months

clearly does not want to live in the property.

Are we OK with that?

'In this borough,

'council housing used to be two thirds

'and now it's only one third.'

The number of homes we're building is less than the number

we're selling through Right to Buy.

Yeah? So we're reducing all the time.

The best way to look at housing allocation is to look at it

like it's a cake, yeah?

The reality is the people waiting to go into properties

are 50 times more than the number of properties that we have.

So therefore, you have to try and find the best mechanism, yeah?

To cut up the cake and give it to the people who are the most hungry.

We've got one previous eviction. It's straight back to his old ways.

So I'm authorising the eviction.

'But we get vacant properties because we evict people'

who haven't paid their rent or behaved badly,

but mainly our voids come because tenants die.

You all right? You know about my mum, don't you?

-Oh, yeah, I'm so sorry.

-Yeah, yeah.

You know the council are trying to evict me.

-Yeah, they're trying to evict him.

-Oh!

-Cos your mum lived here for years, didn't she?

-Yeah, since I was eight.

And I only moved out two years and the council said that

I'm not entitled to the premises.

-That's bad, isn't it?

-Oh, that's bad, it is bad.

-It's a joke, really.

-Cos your mum was here for years.

I only moved out three years ago, and then Mum became housebound

and then I moved back.

And they're saying because I moved back last March,

it's only seven months, so I'm not entitled to the house.

-Oh, it's bad, isn't it?

-It is bad, it is.

-I know, I know.

-But I hope you get on...

-Cheers.

-I hope you get on...

-See you later. See you later, girls.

After his mum passed away last year, 39-year-old supermarket worker Ricky

applied to succeed her council tenancy.

I received an e-mail that said there would be a letter in the post

with the decision of what happens with the house today.

-Did you see that flat down there...

-Mm-hm.

-..that was near Pam's?

Yes. The fella bought that, but now it's up for let.

£1,100 a month.

If I could afford £1,100, I might as well get a mortgage.

Do you know what I mean?

And it just don't make no sense. Here's me neighbour.

You've heard I'm being evicted, ain't ya?

They want the house but they're not willing to give me nothing.

Well, that's ludicrous, isn't it?

What's the council said to you in terms of options?

Basically, what they turned round and they said is,

"Oh, we've got apartments available.

"They're £900, but you can't claim housing benefit."

I said, "I don't earn £900."

And if you did earn £900, you wouldn't put it all on your rent.

What, and leave myself with 50 quid for the month?! That's basically...

And he went, "Sorry, we don't cater for single men."

I have to private let and that's what they're saying,

after 32 years of being here.

Who could afford private rent? Who can?

I can't afford £1,100, at £8 an hour!

Sadly, the way the whole country is going, we're in for...

-A meltdown.

-..just a nightmare.

-Absolutely, a meltdown is the right word.

-Yeah.

There goes my postman. Gone. No letter for me.

Dunno whether they're going to turn up and hand it to me,

or if it ain't... I'm going to ring 'em, I think.

It was on page five last week...

"1,300 sign petition to keep Asda worker in the house

"after his mum's death."

-INTERVIEWER:

-So, it's getting quite a bit of publicity?

Yeah, yeah, it's... It's getting there.

I mean, I do get asked when going up the shops,

"Any news on your house?"

People knocking and asking, "Any news?"

Because I've been here for near on 32 years and we all know each other

round this way.

DIALLING TONE

'Your call may be recorded for training and monitoring purposes.'

MUSIC PLAYS DOWN PHONE

This is it now.

I...

Yeah, that's correct, yeah, yeah.

It's been declined?

Well, 32 years.

32 years.

They declined it.

RICKY EXHALES DEEPLY

Hiya.

So, what's the next step now?

I'm going to be evicted from my family home?

And I've got nowhere to go with no money?

Yeah, but then what am I supposed to do with no money?

I can't afford to private rent and I can't...

RICKY SIGHS

-HIS VOICE BREAKS

-OK.

All right. Bye.

I don't... I don't know... I don't know what to do now.

They said no.

-They said no? Why? Have they been?

-No, I rung up.

-Oh, right.

They declined and they're going to send me notice.

RICKY SNIFFS

-Are they going to find you anywhere?

-No.

-No?

I'm not being horrible...

This is where...

I end up thinking, "I should just kill myself," because...

No, don't do that!

Don't get yourself all upset.

I'll put my cold hands on you.

-Don't be upset, Rick, please...

-What am I going to do?

-I don't know.

-I'm 40 next week, and I've got no future at all...

-No...

I don't know.

Now, this chap is single.

He's able-bodied, he's in employment.

There is nothing that says he must have this house, in my view.

You know, we have to be very, very careful and satisfied that

we're making the right decision when we give it to a person.

We cannot be sentimental about it at all.

Now, he wasn't living there all his life.

This is the law of the land.

He didn't live there for 12 months prior to the death of his mother,

and therefore he cannot succeed that property.

It splits the community. There is one half who would think,

well, he's lived there since he was a child, his mother has passed on,

why can't he just continue to live in the house?

But on the other side you've got families with kids...

who could use that property.

CHILD CRIES

INDISTINCT VOICE

So, where have you been staying for the last couple of days?

I've been in hotels with the baby.

It's not been ideal, obviously.

You have to wait till late to get 'em at a decent price.

The reality is it's a housing crisis and it's not helped by the massive

reduction in the monies that's going to be available to the council.

-I'm in one bedroom, basically.

-One bedroom.

-With four people. Two kids.

The Government think some local authorities are spending more

on housing than they should do, and they should operate more like

a business, and if they did and they saw it as their own money,

perhaps, would they spend as much?

You can no longer be on our waiting list.

For one, you have no need for housing...

Because if you're being hard-core

and saying no to a lot more people, you're going to spend a lot less money.

-Good morning.

-Good morning.

-So, what brings you here today?

I need somewhere to live.

54-year-old South African Jane came to the UK 12 years ago

to work as a special needs teacher.

However, since losing her job,

she can no longer afford her rent and is now homeless.

Are you currently on any medication?

-I was in a very severe car accident.

-OK, yes.

-2010.

-Mm-hm.

And my writing skills have totally just disintegrated after that.

-Right.

-Next Friday,

I've got to go to the memory clinic for their feedback

on the assessment they did on me.

-Is that to see whether or not there was any damage to the brain?

-Yeah.

Bear with me one moment.

All right?

I just want to confirm her priority need.

At the moment, she's not on any medication.

-She had a car accident back in 2011.

-All right.

And it's affected her motor skills,

so she's got an appointment with the memory clinic, and that's it.

-No counselling...?

-No. Nothing.

Until she's had some sort of concrete information back,

-then you go with the information you've got - she's not...

-Yeah, non-priority.

-That's fine.

-There's nothing there that says it's a priority need.

Yeah, thanks, Richard.

-OK, so I've discussed your case with my management.

-Ah-ha.

We won't... I have to explain, we won't be able to assist you

with any kind of accommodation at this point,

so if you take a seat for me at the front,

I'm just going to do you a quick letter.

JANE EXHALES DEEPLY

You need to have something wrong with you to be able to

qualify for housing, not just be homeless, which is crazy.

Because homeless is homeless.

-What's your date of birth?

-12th July 1951.

Most people are reliant on friends and family.

What happens to the people that maybe don't have a friend or family?

They become street homeless.

For the people that are street homeless,

we give out a list of homeless shelters.

It's their only option.

-Oh, I'm cold!

-JANE LAUGHS

You've got no idea how cold I was last night,

I wish I had a sleeping bag.

This was last night's home.

Not very nice, because I was so scared, I didn't sleep at all.

I was awake the whole night.

And the worst part was not being able to go to the bathroom.

PHONE RINGS

'Hello?'

I need accommodation for tonight at a night shelter, please.

'What area are you in?'

I'm in... I'm in Barking and Dagenham.

'When did you become homeless?'

Yesterday.

'OK. And what happened?'

I was put out and they took the house keys off me,

so I can't go back.

'OK, have you ever been in trouble with the police

-'for a sexual offence?'

-No.

-'Violence?'

-No.

-'Arson?'

-No.

'OK, what you need do

'is you need to get yourself to Hartley Brook church.'

-Thank you so much.

-'OK?'

Thank you.

'No problem. Bye.'

Well, there you go.

I've got somewhere to sleep tonight and it won't be in my car.

Thank you.

That is a miracle.

I'm very aware of how little petrol I have in my car.

I really didn't see this coming, since I've lost my job,

and my priority has gone from

being able to contemplate buying a property to...

I've got one need. I need to be able to feed myself

and clothe myself and have a bath so I don't smell.

That's more important than thinking of buying a house.

I never in a million years thought I would have to worry about...

am I going to smell?

Never.

If I have paid into the system,

hasn't the system then got an obligation to look after me?

As the leader of this council, I cannot... On the allowance I get,

I cannot buy a house in this borough now.

-That is ridiculous.

-Really?

Yes. And we're the most affordable in London.

We've lost over 50% of our stock under the Right to Buy,

so there's no way as an organisation we can be that protector

of all in the community.

Our aspiration is to make sure we support as many

of the vulnerable as we can, but we're getting to a stage now

where London is not sustainable for the most vulnerable.

Yeah? Or won't be in the near future.

In the face of £153 million worth of cuts to their budget by 2020,

the council is struggling to help those residents

who are being priced out of the borough.

If Government policy carries on as it is,

there'll be some people

who just cannot ever afford to live in London.

-Yeah, absolutely.

-Yeah, cos we've got vast tranches of our community

who still believe that they are entitled to a council house.

You know, we've allowed those people to go on thinking

-that if I wait my ten years, I will get my house.

-Yeah.

And we have to actually go out there and say, "Do you know what?

"It's not a 10-year wait. You're talking about a 50-year wait."

But it's putting out that message, that entitlement

is for a very, very limited number of people. We haven't done that.

'Today, people still believe, rightly, the council's there

'to support them, but they believe it in a way that is unachievable.'

You all right?

'There's still this myth that the council can magic up stock.'

So what we would like to see is that we have other properties,

but we've had no building programme since the Right to Buy, really.

Which makes it even more difficult for us to deliver

on what people believe they're entitled to.

But we are where we are today,

so we've just got to carry on with the decision-making

that we've got to do, and some of it is really uncomfortable.

Because at one time they could rely on us.

Today they see us as being the Sheriff of Nottingham.

-SATNAV VOICE:

-Turn right onto Longbridge Road.

I'm hoping I won't have to sleep with people who are drug users

and I'm hoping I'm not going to have to sleep

with a lot of men in the same room.

-Turn left...

-But a part of me thinks maybe sleeping in the cold

would be a better option than sleeping with...

strangers. I don't know.

DOGS BARK IN BACKGROUND

Hiya.

-Steve.

-Yeah. Hello.

-I'm Jane.

-Nice to meet you. Cold hands.

-Yes, I am cold.

Can I just take your name, please?

-Well, you get a mattress.

-OK.

-Obviously lights are out at 11 o'clock. Do you smoke?

-No.

That's good. Yeah, lights are out at 11.

-We're up at half past six.

-OK.

Put the bedding away,

-have breakfast, leave here by about half past seven.

-OK.

All right? And then you do what you do during the day.

Dinner will be just after eight.

-Get something to eat, yeah?

-Thank you.

All right, no worries.

Just make sure everyone's good and safe

and make sure there's no...

drugs, alcohol, fights...

Not that I'm a bouncer at all.

The Hope 4 Barking and Dagenham homeless shelter is funded

by charitable donations and run by local churches,

but it's only open for the coldest six months of the year.

Thank you.

-That's not mine.

-No? Have you got bedding?

-No.

-All right. That's yours now.

-Oh, thank you.

However, with an increase of nearly 350% in homelessness,

they are coming under increased pressure

to remain open all year round.

-There's one pillow.

-Thank you.

-Use that side. It's a bit grubby.

The majority of people that come through our doors have been told

they're not priority need by the council.

These people are tired.

They're tired and they're sad and they're desperate

and they've had so much rejection.

-If ever anyone needed a lesson in patience...

-Yeah.

..it is in these circumstances. I completely and utterly understand.

-Why did you leave the...?

-Because I couldn't... I couldn't afford the rent.

-OK.

But what shocked me was when one of the women from the Havering Council said,

-"But you intentionally made yourself homeless."

-Unfortunately, yeah.

It's incredibly easy to make yourself intentionally homeless.

The council has guidelines.

From what I've seen,

the person on the other side of the desk with their criteria

isn't trying to find ways to help you, or reasons to help you.

They're looking at it the other way. They're trying to go, "OK,

"what here means we don't have to help you?"

Thank you.

Not knowing what it was going to be like before I got here,

I was scared.

But I will sleep well tonight.

INDISTINCT VOICES IN BACKGROUND

I'm really thankful...

I don't have to sleep in my car tonight.

I was really scared last night.

Hello, is Mum there?

Can I speak to her?

CHILD SHOUTS IN BACKGROUND

Hello, Mum?

Can I ask you a favour?

Can me and Christian stay this weekend?

OK.

22-year-old student Jodie, along with her partner, Tommy,

and their son, Christian, have been homeless for the last three years.

Can I just stay, like, one night? OK.

Bye.

She said she'll think about it. She's being a bit difficult today.

And it's freezing.

This all started when I was living with my mum and I was sharing a room with my little brother.

He has special needs and he's got behavioural problems.

And I found out I was pregnant and I didn't want to get rid of the baby.

My mum kept me for a little while and then she said to me,

"I'm sorry, but I can't keep you here."

We've been sofa surfing since about 2013.

Every single day it's about, "Where am I going to stay tonight?"

What we do is we stay with friends and family.

Do you want to see Grandad today?

-No!

-No?

DOOR BUZZES

Tonight, Jodie has arranged to stay at a friend's house.

Are you OK? Put the telly on?

You're tired, aren't you?

When Jodie asked if she can stay here, do you feel pressure?

No, I don't, honestly. That's the least I can do.

She's my friend and I hate seeing her... Especially, what touches me

is, like, they've got a two-year-old little boy,

that's what I think is disgusting.

The council are letting a two-year-old go sofa surfing.

The fact is that I work nights on the railway,

I earn between 900 and a grand, but a two-bedroom house around here

is on average 1,200, so even if I got a place, I'd probably be short,

or we wouldn't have clothes or we wouldn't eat.

I don't think anyone that works a full week

should not be able to afford their own place to live.

Why didn't you go down to the housing office?

We did, but I'm a student - I want to be a teacher.

Students are not entitled to housing benefit and, basically,

I came to the conclusion that the best thing for me to do

would be to leave uni,

because then I would get better support, and the best thing for me

to do would be to go on my own into temporary accommodation,

and that if I didn't do that, I wasn't thinking about the best...

like, what was best for my child.

And, yeah, they were going to ring social services on me.

Jodie is currently on the council house waiting list.

Every week, available properties are posted online, and she selects

one through a process known as bidding.

That's quite amazing if I could actually get that.

Bidding is ranked in order of need and you have to have lived

in the borough for at least three years.

The first time I ever bid, I was 187, and that was in 2012.

Three and a half years ago.

To get the property, she has to finish first.

I'm 12 at the moment, which I think is quite good, really.

I really think it's a cruel system. Say you bid one week and you're 27,

you think maybe it'll happen, and then you bid the next week

and you're, like, 100 - it's so frustrating.

It's horrible to see her going through this every Friday.

All she can do is hope.

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

# Happy birthday to you

# Happy birthday to you... #

After being told by the council that he will have to leave his mum's house,

Ricky is struggling to find anything that he can afford to rent in London

on his current wage of £8 an hour.

# Happy birthday to you

# Happy birthday to you

# Happy birthday Happy birthday... #

I don't want to leave the borough, because at the end of the day,

it's my friends that are keeping me strong, but I'm being pushed out.

I think it's disgusting, to be honest,

because not only has he lost his mum but he's also lost where he lives.

The sense of community in Barking and Dagenham has gone.

We used to have carnivals and all sorts, and...

there's none of it any more.

Do you think Ricky will be all right?

No. I think if he gets pushed out of the borough,

I don't think he'll be all right at all.

I can see that he will end up...

I will probably end up going to his funeral before long, to be perfectly honest.

Yeah, all right...

# For what is a man?

# What has he got?

# If not himself

# Then he has naught

# The record shows I took the blows

# And did it my way. #

Like many councils across the country, Barking and Dagenham

are in the process of redeveloping their poorer quality council estates.

What's happening today?

What's happening today is the rebirth of the Gascoigne Estate.

The Gascoigne Estate has been historically an area

that has suffered from reputation, shall we say?

And now we're going to the new life of the estate

where we're building new homes for the residents of the borough

and others that will be moving into the borough.

The problem we have is we can't do it alone any longer.

The Government has capped the money we can borrow, so we've got

to do it in partnership, with partners in the private sector.

Can I ask - isn't what you're talking about gentrification?

No, it's aspiration for the working class.

We are on the threshold of a dream.

We're looking at it out of the window.

By the time we've finished, there will be 1,575 new homes

and it's my privilege to welcome you here today

for this official launch of the transformation from Gascoigne East

to Weavers Quarter, so I welcome you all to that threshold.

APPLAUSE

When you look at it on paper, you don't necessarily think about Barking,

but when you look at it on a map, you're, like,

-20 minutes from the city...

-Exactly, exactly.

So it's up to us to take the opportunity and make the most of it

and do it in a way where all the residents can benefit from it.

So who ultimately will this new development benefit?

It will benefit the majority of the community,

people that are working, people that want to aspire,

but the truth is, though, that means the most vulnerable,

the most severe needed, the people not working,

the people on the minimum benefit,

we won't be able to house them on this sort of product.

I've got to concede, as the leader of a council,

of a Labour council, there's some people in my community

that, with the greatest intention,

I'm not sure if I can facilitate their wellbeing moving forward.

It is difficult. it is difficult.

Hello, you all right? Come in, then.

I've actually turned the dinner down.

Sorted John's dinner out, have you?

Ricky has been given 28 days' notice to leave his mother's house.

What are you doing?

How long have you known Ricky?

-Um...

-30 years.

29, 30 years?

-You were just up the road in school, weren't yous?

-With John.

That's my son. He still lives with me.

-How long has he been with you?

-All his life.

Yeah.

He's 40. I was told that once anything happened to me,

-he couldn't keep the house.

-He couldn't afford to move out?

No, no. Doesn't earn enough.

You've still got people where they can't afford to move out

so they stay at home with their parents.

For instance, in Gascoigne Estate,

they've just knocked down homes,

but they're not replacing what they're knocking down.

There are still people that need homes

and they are not offering any because they haven't built them,

because they've just knocked them down.

What happened to all this affordable housing?

There isn't nothing affordable about any of it,

and unless you're a couple, you can't afford to rent.

Do you know why it's changed?

Because we're overrun with other people.

I don't know who's in there at the moment.

-There's been a League of Nations in there.

-What, sorry?

A League of Nations. Yes, from different countries.

I don't know who's in there at the moment.

Don't know who I'm going to get here, do I?

-Is that a real worry?

-Yes.

What's worrying about that?

The majority of people moving here, I call them gypsies,

but they could be Kosovos...

I've found a bungalow in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire,

half the price of round here, but it means going up there with no job,

but I'll have a roof over my head.

Have you sold a lot of stuff?

Everything, for the deposit.

All I'm doing is watching all my memories go out the door.

I tagged Darren Rodwell on Facebook and I said,

"No hope for me or any single person in the borough.

"Don't help single men in need."

And his reply was, "Unfortunately, Barking and Dagenham...

"the same situation as all the councils."

Went, "Well, how do you plan to resolve this?"

And his reply was, "Rick, we must promise the people that are most in need...

"..and currently, Government policy is making it even worse.

"As I say, I sympathise with your situation and the others.

"I am helpless to be able to change

"in the way that we'd both like. Sorry."

"Filthy rat" springs to mind.

Darren Rodwell, I hope you rot in hell.

I've actually sat here and thought about burning this fucking house down

so no other bastard gets it,

because I have watched everything go out that door.

What's that? It's not a hostel, is it?

You said yourself hostels weren't good for children,

and I've got two kids and I'm not putting them in a hostel.

It's not fair on the children. The children are crying at night

because they don't know where they're going.

At the moment, I'm on everyone's sofas, I pick them up, they don't know where they're going now,

so you tell them they're going to go somewhere else,

somewhere they don't know, where they're not going to see their family or anything.

I'm not putting my children through that. Not at all.

They need to be in the borough even if it is...

Anything in the borough, it needs to be in the borough.

Please, try your hardest.

You know, people that actually come from the borough

don't seem to stand a chance.

If I've been in this borough so long, I should become first

rather than somebody that just walks in and says, "I need a house."

I've lived in Dagenham 40, 45 years,

and...the face of Dagenham has changed so much.

-Really?

-Yeah.

And I'm frightened to say anything because I will be called...

I'll be thought of as a racist if I say what's actually happening.

Lots of people will say here there's a housing problem,

-because they give them all to immigrants.

-Yeah. Yeah.

I get really angry when people spout a load of drivel at me

about, "The sooner we pull out of the EU, the better."

It's got nothing to do with migrant workers,

you know, "over here, stealing our jobs and stealing our homes".

They are getting evicted the same as we are.

It's to do with the fact no-one can afford their bloody rent.

And the lack of council stock properties.

In 1977, Government policy changed the way councils could allocate housing,

from being based on waiting time to priority need.

It's been a source of tension ever since.

People don't realise how much the housing stock is dwindling

because it's far more complex and it's not as visual.

I've been homeless since 5th January.

I actually got discharged from Queen's Hospital

because I spent the night in there

because I passed out because it was too cold.

I don't want to take this no more, do you know what I mean?

I feel like going to court about this. It's ridiculous.

What is visual is the fact that they see a wide range of different people,

and they see those individuals getting assisted, so they will find

someone to blame, and so if I was an indigenous member

of Barking and Dagenham and I see someone,

I don't know about priority need or their individual case,

nor do I care.

All I know is that my family has come down to the council,

and technically I'm not in priority need,

and this other family have just turned up

and they are getting housed.

There's no justification for feeling that.

However, it's a question of how people see things.

21-year-old Lynnette was placed in emergency temporary accommodation

after an attempted suicide.

Here we are again.

She's back at the housing office to find out if she qualifies for long-term housing.

She's here. They've let me know on reception that she's here to see me.

I asked her to come in today.

And, basically, I've got all her medical results back.

Hi, Lynnette.

Sorry you've waited so long. I've been absolutely manic today.

Are you all right, Marcus?

Yeah.

So I've got your medical results back from our medical adviser.

And it isn't what we hoped for.

It says that they don't recommend any housing on medical grounds.

Just because I think, at the moment, Lynnette,

that you haven't been seeing your psychiatrist enough for them

to do a conclusive diagnosis on you.

OK?

You've got the right to request a review of it. OK?

You can say that you don't agree with my decision

and ask for it to be looked at again.

That's my advice, that you do that.

-OK. All right, thank you.

-No worries.

'I think it's disgusting.'

How dare you make a decision

when you haven't even seen me face-to-face?

These people don't know me.

They know what they see on a piece of paper.

I've been discharged from hospital for trying to kill myself.

I think that's enough to demonstrate there's a problem.

I genuinely do have a mental health issue

and I can't even get evidence to get help.

It's just mad.

I just know how... Like, I don't know why they're doing this to me.

It's appalling.

'I came into housing to house people.

'I didn't come into housing to make people homeless.'

But I can only do what the law will allow me to do.

'You have to be quite unemotional, because otherwise

'you'd be an emotional wreck and you wouldn't be able to do it.'

You know, there are so many people that walk through the door

and they say, "What, so I'm supposed to be homeless, then?"

And we have to go, "Well, actually, it's not against the law."

I bidded on a flat and I'm number one.

I'm slightly worried because, like,

bidding don't close until midnight tonight.

But I'm pretty sure it's mine, and I'm ecstatic about it.

It was, like, £107 a week,

which is really, like, sensible.

Will it change your life, having a council house?

Yeah. Course it will.

Cos...it'll change everything.

I don't want to jinx it,

cos every time I've been hopeful before, I've been let down.

The first night, I'm going to be so happy.

I'll put my son in his bedroom

and he's got his bed and he's all sorted, and that is literally...

That's it, really. I want that. I can't wait.

-You deserve it.

-Yeah, that's going to do everything.

He deserves it. I literally can't wait.

Lord Jesus, we do thank you for this food.

We thank you for your goodness to us.

We thank you for every single person here tonight.

We pray your blessing upon them and your protection.

-In Jesus' name, amen.

-ALL: Amen.

Right, let's tuck in.

Of course you can.

It's lovely with that sauce on...

That's for the little girl that isn't feeling well.

-What sort of job were you doing?

-I'm a special needs teacher.

-OK.

-Wow, really?

-I know. I love it.

-Wow!

After being turned away by the council,

Jane has been sleeping at a homeless shelter run by local churches.

Currently, they only have the funds to remain open for a few more weeks.

-Did you go to that John Smith House?

-Yeah.

-Haven't had the priority.

-You're not priority? Well, yeah.

I've heard that before.

-But I am a priority.

-We all are.

I've been in this position as well.

I know what you're going through.

-You'll get there.

-I will.

-That's what we're here for.

-I know.

-TEARFULLY:

-But it's not easy.

-Oh, don't be silly. Come on.

SHE CRIES

-Come on, you'll be all right.

-I will be.

-For the first time, I feel safe.

-Hm?

For the first time, I feel safe.

I didn't feel safe for such a long time.

-You'll be all right.

-Thank you.

'If it shuts, then it's back on the street for them, isn't it?

'I know the better weather's coming, but it's not a roof over your head, is it, outside? So...

'Keep it going a few more months, at least.

'Hopefully it'll be sorted out tonight.'

'How are you finding things?'

'It's going all right.'

-I just don't really want it to close.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Because you've got a bunch of people in there that, in a fortnight,

-we're going to be kicking them out on the street.

-Yeah, of course.

And I've said this hundreds of times - my heart is NOT to close.

However, we haven't actually gained too many grants this year -

only one grant. It won't be sufficient.

£750 a week is difficult to sustain.

I understand that someone has to take these decisions,

but it's more distressing,

the thought of closing the shelter, now than it was last year.

We do have people that need something,

and I don't know what we're going to do.

Should we be contacting the council and telling them,

"We are closing down, what do you have in place for these people?"

Every single person in this shelter has been turned away from the council.

So the council have already done their bit.

They've already seen that none of these people meet priority need,

they have no duty of care to them, goodbye.

I understand that agencies are always going to refer to us,

because at the end of the day, we're housing them.

It doesn't necessarily mean that we should be.

In an ideal world, you wouldn't have a need for a homeless shelter.

Absolutely.

So, again, to say we want to run for 52 weeks a year, I want to say,

"Do you know what? I don't want to run at all."

Not being rude, but you just think,

"It'd be lovely that we wouldn't have the need."

At the end of the day, they are social services, we're not.

And there ought to be a state responsibility to look after them.

It doesn't have to be us that do it.

It could be kind of saying, "Guys, you can actually work things better."

OK, OK...

-OK.

-OK?

-As it stands...

..is the shelter shutting on the 15th?

-I think so.

-I think so.

-OK.

-OK.

OK. Let's just close in prayer.

Thank you, Lord, for what has been achieved.

Without you, there wouldn't be the churches here.

ALL: Amen.

'The bottom line is money.

'I'm disappointed, but I'm more concerned for the people that

'are left, because you can't just expect them to all disappear.'

The way the Government seem to be planning for the future

is full of short-term fixes.

"Well, we'll skim off this support service,"

and they are the people that are meant to catch people in the net.

But now the net has a great big hole in it

and all these people are falling through.

There has to be another way of thinking about it.

I don't even profess to know what the answer is.

But it's got to stop...

cos these are people.

And these are lives.

And the knock-on effect is generations.

This was my mum's room. Now look at it - an empty shell.

I planted that tree when I was 13.

I've been here longer than anybody.

These are all my mum's photos.

There's me.

Known him a long while.

So sad.

-Will it be the same without him?

-No, no.

'Let's hope he'll be all right up there, anyway.'

-Right. I'll see you soon.

-Yeah.

-I'll give you a message...

-Send me a message, let me know you're there.

-Yeah, will do.

-Pop in for a cup of coffee.

-Yeah, I will do. Definitely.

Right, I'll see later.

So, yeah, that's it. Off we go.

'No, leave that. You're coming with!'

Do you want to come and have a look?

Yeah? Going to hold my hand?

You want to see your bedroom?

-You going to walk up like a big boy?

-Yes!

This is the front room!

Do you like it?

We ain't got to worry about anything any more.

Christian's going to have his own room, and just...

We've got a home, so we can be, like, a proper family.

Christian! Do you like it? Yeah?

Yeah? OK!

There you go. There's the keys to your new home.

-Thank you!

-A smile...

-Yeah, I'm happy!

-I've been waiting so long.

-You have.

Empty house.

Knew him for a long while.

Yeah.

-Because a house has a lot of memories.

-That's right, yeah.

Yeah, especially when they was all young and they would all be

out in the garden, you know, talking to one another over the fences.

My family, when they found out I was staying in a shelter,

were really upset about that.

And they decided they would put money together,

but they were not going to let me stay in a shelter.

They've bought a ticket, so I will be going back to South Africa.

I'm thankful to get out of the situation

and not sleep on church floors any more. I really am.

And I know when I get to the airport and I get on that plane,

I'm going to bawl my eyes out.

This I do know.

-SOFTLY:

-Because I don't want to go. I don't want to go.

I know they feel that they have a duty and a responsibility

to look after me.

But if I go, everything that has been started is just going to stop.

At this point in time, I can't pick and choose, so I've got to go.

But another part of me thinks, "You know what? I am really homeless."

So what do people do that don't have families like mine that says,

"Come and stay with us"?

They are just stuck.

And I'm going to get unstuck, but lots of the people

that I met at the shelter are not going to get unstuck like me.

I think it's abysmal, I really do. What do they do? Where do they go?

They've got problems and haven't got the money for anywhere, have they?

-Very vulnerable as well.

-Oh, of course they're vulnerable.

It's all right for those at home snuggling in their bed.

They don't give a toss, do they?

They're being popped off into nothingness.

It must be despair, mustn't it?

-TEARFULLY:

-Don't see how they can do it, I really don't.

Oh, dear.

I feel like writing to every paper and saying, "Do something."

-We can send millions of pounds abroad but we can't look after our own.

-It's shocking.

Shocking, shocking, shocking, shocking!

Oh, God!

Are you sure you're going to be warm enough like this?

As a human being,

I should be entitled to have somewhere to put my head at night.

Yeah.

I used to judge people. I used to see people on the streets.

I was thinking, "Why can't they just get a job?

"Why are they sitting there? Why can't they go to the council?"

And now that I face that situation, I'm more understanding.

It's just horrible.

It's like you're drowning and you're trying to explain to people, like,

we're financially, you know, going through a lot of hell right now.

It probably is going to get harder.

Mentally, it can make you feel worse.

See you later. Bye, guys.

-Take care, now!

-Thank you very much.