0:00:02 > 0:00:04I've been on the streets so long now, I've give up.
0:00:04 > 0:00:07I'm going to be on the street for the rest of my life, I think.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10Cardiff is facing a housing crisis.
0:00:10 > 0:00:14In just two years, the number of people sleeping rough on the streets
0:00:14 > 0:00:16has more than doubled.
0:00:16 > 0:00:17I'm sleeping here.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21I'm film-maker Chris Rushton, and together with Angharad Arnold,
0:00:21 > 0:00:26we spent six months following the plight of Cardiff's homeless.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30We want to understand why the numbers are on the increase.
0:00:30 > 0:00:34I don't know what the council are going to do with my particular case.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36I'm just going to sit there, bear it and grin,
0:00:36 > 0:00:38and just keep on going.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42The risks they take sleeping rough...
0:00:42 > 0:00:44It's dangerous. I've been beat up.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48Men's offered me money for sex.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52..find out how the homeless survive, and the prejudices they face.
0:00:52 > 0:00:57Get a life. And get a grip. There's loads of work. And stop begging.
0:00:57 > 0:00:58I don't like being like that.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01They need to get me off the streets. I don't like doing this.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05Following the lives of those with nowhere to go
0:01:05 > 0:01:07would prove to be an upsetting story.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09SOBBING: I can't live like this no more.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15Oh, mama.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19This is the reality of living on Cardiff's streets.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28We are two months into our filming on the streets, trying to
0:01:28 > 0:01:33understand the rise of homelessness in Wales's capital city.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37Spare change, sir? Have a nice night.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41It was as if the city had become a magnet for homeless people.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45Almost half those I met on the streets weren't from Cardiff.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47Spare change, please?
0:01:47 > 0:01:50Whilst the vast majority come from the South Wales valleys,
0:01:50 > 0:01:52some came from much further afield.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58The most recent arrivals are Rob and Tristan.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01Originally from London, they have been travelling round
0:02:01 > 0:02:05the country for five months looking for somewhere safe.
0:02:05 > 0:02:06At this time of night, I mean,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09if you're just stuck around here, it's not that safe, is it?
0:02:09 > 0:02:13Not when people are trying to play silly buggers.
0:02:13 > 0:02:18It can be tough for homeless people who are outsiders.
0:02:18 > 0:02:23Where we are now, in, like, a totally different city,
0:02:23 > 0:02:27hundreds of miles away out of London, you get...
0:02:27 > 0:02:29You don't know what can happen.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33Most of the people from Cardiff who are actually on the streets
0:02:33 > 0:02:36together, they all know each other, right?
0:02:36 > 0:02:39We don't know any of the others. We only have each other.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42You got yourself and each other, and that's about it.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44That's all you've got. Yeah. Yeah.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49I had met homeless people before who are gay.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53They all told me they'd experienced physical and verbal attacks.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57To escape the violence of the city centre,
0:02:57 > 0:03:02Rob and Tristan make a one-mile trek to the outskirts.
0:03:02 > 0:03:03Nobody here.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07Sleeping here has become their regular routine.
0:03:07 > 0:03:12Do you want me to get the poles out? Yeah, please.
0:03:12 > 0:03:18I think this is just over the week that we've actually done the tent.
0:03:18 > 0:03:23But before it was just sleeping bags here. Any weather.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27Under the flyover, they are hidden from view,
0:03:27 > 0:03:31but they can't risk making this a permanent campsite.
0:03:31 > 0:03:32We would like to leave it up,
0:03:32 > 0:03:35but we don't know what happens here during the day.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38You'd only have to have somebody come round
0:03:38 > 0:03:39or spot it and it'd be gone.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48Rob and Tristan feel safer here, so it's worth the trek.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59In the city centre, it's very different.
0:03:59 > 0:04:04On any one night, there can be as many as 40 people sleeping rough.
0:04:07 > 0:04:12Here the bright lights of shop doorways and CCTV offer
0:04:12 > 0:04:15some level of protection for those sleeping on the streets.
0:04:18 > 0:04:2420-year-old Rochelle has her own way of staying safe on the streets.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28I've always slept through the day so I'm awake at night.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30I think it's just a comfort thing, know what I mean?
0:04:30 > 0:04:32So I know I'm all right at the night-time, then.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37There's a few times people have come up to me and asked me, like,
0:04:37 > 0:04:39for business and stuff like that, know what I mean?
0:04:39 > 0:04:42Say, "You can come back to mine, I've got a spare room at mine."
0:04:42 > 0:04:45But I'd rather not, know what I mean? I say no.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47But then I know I'm all right, then.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50Rochelle has little contact with her parents,
0:04:50 > 0:04:53and had a difficult time when she was growing up.
0:04:53 > 0:04:58My family didn't have money, know what I mean? But we survived.
0:04:58 > 0:05:03It's just... Things just went out of proportion, know what I mean?
0:05:03 > 0:05:07Went off the rails and that. Ended up in care.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09Just started misbehaving,
0:05:09 > 0:05:13No-one wants hold of me, so, just ended up out here.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21She's been homeless on and off for five years,
0:05:21 > 0:05:25living on the streets, where it's hard to avoid the constant stress.
0:05:28 > 0:05:33All the time, people staring at you and laughing, know what I mean?
0:05:33 > 0:05:34I don't know why.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37When I sees people walking past, I'm jealous,
0:05:37 > 0:05:40cos they've got a normal life, know what I mean?
0:05:40 > 0:05:44I wanted to understand Rochelle and why she'd ended up spending
0:05:44 > 0:05:48so much of her life sleeping rough in Cardiff.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55After a night under the flyover,
0:05:55 > 0:05:58Rob and Tristan are back in the city centre.
0:05:59 > 0:06:04Rob told me his life was turned upside down after his mother died.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08At the time, he was living with her.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11My mother passed last April and we lost the house.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17And that's why, you know, we come on the streets, right.
0:06:17 > 0:06:18We had no choice.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23The couple wanted to get a place of their own, but found
0:06:23 > 0:06:27they were at the bottom of the list for local authority housing.
0:06:27 > 0:06:33In our own borough of London, Lambeth, they wouldn't touch us.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37Our own place where we're actually born will not touch us.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41I'm taking this one.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45Disillusioned and angry, they left London.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50In Cardiff, they discovered that the local authority has
0:06:50 > 0:06:53no obligation to house them because they're not from the area.
0:06:55 > 0:07:00It's now their seventh day waking up under the flyover out of town.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04At one time, Rob and Tristan had jobs.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07Our plan has always been to push on and get a place
0:07:07 > 0:07:09and, like, get back into work.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15I mean, it took months for us to be able to make a claim to
0:07:15 > 0:07:18benefits because we kept being told, "No, you ain't got an address."
0:07:18 > 0:07:23So, basically it's been months living on nothing, absolutely nothing.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25OK? Yeah.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28Because their benefits still haven't been sorted,
0:07:28 > 0:07:30they've applied to an emergency housing fund.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36It's a discretionary one-off payment from the Welsh government.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41And they want to find out if the money has come through.
0:07:41 > 0:07:42Nine o'clock sharp.
0:07:45 > 0:07:46Yay!
0:07:47 > 0:07:51Success! Show me the money, show me the money!
0:07:52 > 0:07:56The ?50 could give Rob and Tristan the break they need
0:07:56 > 0:07:58to sort out their benefits
0:07:58 > 0:08:01and put them on the road to finding somewhere to live.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06Most of those we met on the streets struggled with the benefits system.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11Because they live such chaotic lives,
0:08:11 > 0:08:15applying for and sticking to job centre rules can be difficult.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20With no money coming in, some resort to begging.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23Any spare change for the homeless? God bless.
0:08:23 > 0:08:28Many of these street homeless are addicted to drugs and alcohol,
0:08:28 > 0:08:32often as a way to blank out the reality of living on the streets.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39Connor is another outsider who has made Cardiff his home.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42I've been on the streets for about, just short of
0:08:42 > 0:08:45five months now. Four and a half, five months.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48He left his home in Cumbria because, he said,
0:08:48 > 0:08:51he'd be in danger if he stayed.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53Obviously it's a bit of... Thing I don't like talking about.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57But family problems and just, like, bad past.
0:08:57 > 0:09:02And for me, a fresh start was to get out and start a new life somewhere
0:09:02 > 0:09:06in a different city and get myself back on...
0:09:06 > 0:09:08Back to my usual self.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11Spare a little change for some food for the homeless, please?
0:09:11 > 0:09:13God bless you, have a good day.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16Although surviving on the streets can be tough,
0:09:16 > 0:09:17there's never any shortage of food.
0:09:17 > 0:09:22One for you, and one for your friend. God bless you. OK? Hang on.
0:09:22 > 0:09:23That was nice, wasn't it?
0:09:23 > 0:09:25Yeah, give us a burger, a cheeseburger.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27You get people like that.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30They go out their way just to go and get the burger.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32Can't beat a cheeseburger!
0:09:35 > 0:09:39But begging of all sorts comes with risks.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43I regularly witnessed how the police moved homeless beggars on.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48They have the power to ban people from an area such as
0:09:48 > 0:09:51the city centre for antisocial behaviour.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55Persistent beggars are issued with an order,
0:09:55 > 0:09:58and a map showing the area where they are banned from.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04The banning order usually lasts 24 hours.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09Now it's Connor who has attracted the attention
0:10:09 > 0:10:11of a community police officer.
0:10:11 > 0:10:12Just doing what I'm doing,
0:10:12 > 0:10:15next minute he comes along and says, "You're begging, you are doing this,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18"You're going to have to get up, you're a tramp and that." I'm shaking, man.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22He's trying to move us on, saying I'll get locked up if I get caught again.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26I'm just sat here, no begging cup in front of us, no nothing. Winds me up.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31Sorry, man, I'm getting angry.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36Within minutes, Connor's approached by another officer.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39I know why you're sitting here. I'm not begging. There's no cup.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41My colleague spoke to you earlier, didn't he?
0:10:41 > 0:10:42You're picking on us, yeah.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45Picking on us. I'm not begging. I'm just sat here.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48Do yourself a favour, find a bench to sit on, we'll not bother you.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52The officer wants to move him to one of the benches.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56Sit on the bench and we won't speak to you. OK?
0:10:56 > 0:10:57Picked on again!
0:10:59 > 0:11:03They stop you making you money, they stop you getting your food.
0:11:03 > 0:11:04They...
0:11:04 > 0:11:08they don't understand how you've come from there to hit the bottom.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13They don't understand, you know what I mean? It's hard.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19Despite the constant stress, Connor's decided to stay here on
0:11:19 > 0:11:23the streets of Cardiff rather than face going back to his hometown.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31Living on the streets and sleeping rough is the last resort for
0:11:31 > 0:11:34anyone who has hit a crisis and has no-one to turn to.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Rochelle chooses to sleep rough,
0:11:39 > 0:11:42at least up until the winter weather hits.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44Sometimes she sleeps most of the day.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51So I've slept all day. I woke up about an hour ago.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53To the police, again.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Telling me, "You can't sleep here, you've got to move."
0:12:02 > 0:12:05Every day, it is, they move me. Every day.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07It's doing my head in, now.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12Part of her daily routine are the food drops run by charities,
0:12:12 > 0:12:16and, increasingly, Facebook groups and restaurants.
0:12:16 > 0:12:17Got my milks.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19There's more than enough to go round.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23I won't eat it all. So, do you want any of it?
0:12:23 > 0:12:26This is probably one of the good days, innit?
0:12:26 > 0:12:28With her new-found friend, they are bagging up
0:12:28 > 0:12:30as much as they can carry.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32We ain't going to eat all this, know what I mean?
0:12:32 > 0:12:34And some of them don't bother coming.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36Some of them don't come here, so...
0:12:36 > 0:12:41If I see people I know, innit, then they can have it.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45Here you are, Kev. Carry that.
0:12:45 > 0:12:50Kev? Darren. Darren. Whatever your name is. Whatever your name is!
0:12:50 > 0:12:52Well, I don't know, do I?
0:12:52 > 0:12:54Just call me Ginge. All right, Ginge.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00They're going to distribute their stash
0:13:00 > 0:13:03amongst those homeless people who missed the food drop.
0:13:03 > 0:13:04Do you want some?
0:13:04 > 0:13:06That's all you can have,
0:13:06 > 0:13:09cos we got to give some of this to the other people.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13Where we're going, up Chippy Lane and back round? Yeah.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18Simon, do you want any food?
0:13:18 > 0:13:20No? Want some milk?
0:13:20 > 0:13:24The street culture of the homeless is hard to break away from.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26It can become a way of life.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28There's ice in it.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31Yeah, that's cos they've had it in the freezer.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36Some people might think you're pretty desperate to... I don't care. Well, we are.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38I'm homeless. And I want a fag.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43People say you can't buy privileges, I'm not buying them.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46I'm doing it a different way, you know what I mean?
0:13:50 > 0:13:53It was my birthday on Monday.
0:13:53 > 0:13:54What did you do?
0:13:54 > 0:14:00Got pissed on my own. Did you? Yeah. On your own?
0:14:00 > 0:14:01Yeah. Up Castle ground.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09Five years is a long time to be on the street, you know what I mean?
0:14:09 > 0:14:13The homeless charities told me they have offered Rochelle support.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17Help is there for anyone who wants to try and get back to a normal life.
0:14:21 > 0:14:22I used to, like, you know,
0:14:22 > 0:14:25be jealous of people having that lifestyle, but now I give up.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28I don't really care. It don't bother me.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32I've been on the street so long now.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35There's no point in trying, you know what I mean?
0:14:35 > 0:14:39The more I try, the more I seem to be...on the street.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43The more I can't get somewhere to live. So I've give up.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46I'm going to be on the street for the rest of my life, I think.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02We'd realised how this close-knit street community was another reason
0:15:02 > 0:15:06why people found it difficult to break out of the trap of homelessness.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13The two tent dwellers, Rob and Tristan,
0:15:13 > 0:15:17give the Cardiff homeless community a wide berth.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19They aren't caught up in drugs or alcohol.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25They are at a drop-in centre who've been helping them.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27It's where they can use the phone.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33After they had their benefits cut, they got a ?50 emergency payment,
0:15:33 > 0:15:38which they are hoping will buy them some time in a backpacker's hostel.
0:15:38 > 0:15:43Yeah, hi, do you have any vacancies for the next couple of nights?
0:15:43 > 0:15:47We just had a look online, and it'll be paying cash.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50It's for two people in the ?9.50 rooms.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54They are being asked for photo ID, but they don't have any.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56I've got my bank card.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58One of the support workers, Maggs,
0:15:58 > 0:16:03tries to put in a good word for them, but to no avail.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07OK. All right, thanks for your help anyway. Bye-bye.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10So they book a campsite instead.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13Booked a campsite for two nights.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15It's a step up from being under the bridge.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18So many people come in here and they managed to get themselves a tent,
0:16:18 > 0:16:22and they stay one night, and then the following morning,
0:16:22 > 0:16:24council or whatever, or police,
0:16:24 > 0:16:26have just taken it away, and everything's gone.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28See you in a minute. OK, bye.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35They get a lift to the campsite, which is 15 miles away.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40Finally, they are on a site with facilities,
0:16:40 > 0:16:44and for the next two nights they won't have to take their tent down.
0:16:45 > 0:16:50Today we had money, it's gone. Lasted long!
0:16:50 > 0:16:53But then, at the end of the day, love, we're somewhere safe.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55All right?
0:16:55 > 0:16:58We're done. All right?
0:16:58 > 0:17:01But it's far from a permanent solution.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05The next roof that we get over our heads, that's it, you know,
0:17:05 > 0:17:06we will fight to keep it.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12But with no phone and in the middle of nowhere for three days,
0:17:12 > 0:17:17they can't knock on the doors of the agencies that could help them sort out their benefits.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22I was meeting many people from across South Wales
0:17:22 > 0:17:25who'd become homeless and who moved to Cardiff.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30But even though the council has no obligation to house them,
0:17:30 > 0:17:33many still feel they are better off here.
0:17:33 > 0:17:34This is Cardiff.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37City of the beggars.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41For the last four months, Rhondda-born Carl has been homeless in Cardiff.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47This is it, this is my street, this is where I live, this is what I do.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50This is where I beg for food. Drink.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52I don't do drugs.
0:17:52 > 0:17:53Just do it to survive.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55With no local connection,
0:17:55 > 0:17:58he is unlikely to be fast-tracked up the council's waiting list.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02I don't know what the council are going to do with my particular case.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08I've just got to sit there, bear it, grin, and just keep on going.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12After a relationship breakdown,
0:18:12 > 0:18:14Carl felt he had to leave the Rhondda.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19The Cardiff charity that came to his aid was the Huggard Centre,
0:18:19 > 0:18:24one of the places that offers emergency accommodation.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27For weeks, he was on what's called floor space.
0:18:27 > 0:18:32Yeah, this place is a great help. This is where I slept last time.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34In front of this doorway.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40All this place was packed. All that place was packed.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44Sleeping against there, here, all along the walls here,
0:18:44 > 0:18:45all around, like.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49Wherever there is length for you to put the body.
0:18:50 > 0:18:55Here you can progress backwards so easy. So easy.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57You've got to keep yourself going forward,
0:18:57 > 0:18:59and positively moving forward.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02Don't know what's going to happen this winter.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05Could be sleeping in a tent somewhere unless something comes up.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09Rather than wait for the council to house him, Carl is also
0:19:09 > 0:19:12looking for accommodation with a private landlord.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14But places are hard to find,
0:19:14 > 0:19:17and landlords prefer people who have jobs.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27Those who are trapped on the streets because of addiction
0:19:27 > 0:19:32to alcohol or drugs face an even bigger challenge to find
0:19:32 > 0:19:34suitable accommodation.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40Research shows that four out of five homeless people are addicts.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49Rochelle became addicted to heroin when she was a teenager.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53It's got to the point now where she gets
0:19:53 > 0:19:55no pleasure from the drug, only pain.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01Which starts as soon as the effects of the heroin begin to wear off.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07I ain't just ill. It's not like a cold or something like that.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10You are ill. You can't move, you're being sick. Everything.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13It's not nice. It's like you're dying.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17She is trapped by her addiction to heroin,
0:20:17 > 0:20:21and caught up in a cycle of having to make money to pay for it.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23Spare a little change, please.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30It's hard work. Constantly making money for it.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34But it's got to be done, you've got no choice to do it.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38It's either that or rob people or...
0:20:41 > 0:20:43..something. Do you know what I mean?
0:20:43 > 0:20:44So, heroin is like your boss, isn't it?
0:20:44 > 0:20:47That must... What does that feel like?
0:20:48 > 0:20:49Not nice.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54If I had a choice, I certainly wouldn't be doing it.
0:20:59 > 0:21:04A community police officer has spotted her begging and asks her to move on.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09Five weeks ago, she was given an early release from a jail
0:21:09 > 0:21:11sentence for shoplifting
0:21:11 > 0:21:14on condition that she would attend probation.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17But as a result of her life being so chaotic,
0:21:17 > 0:21:20she's missed numerous appointments.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24Obviously committed another offence by not turning up.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27It's now in the hands of the court.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30I didn't go to court, so I'm going to prison.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33That's the fourth time I haven't turned up to court.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35So they ain't going to let me out.
0:21:36 > 0:21:41Living on the streets and stretches in prison have become normal for Rochelle.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44I want to go to jail, do you know what I mean?
0:21:44 > 0:21:46Better than fucking rain all the time.
0:21:46 > 0:21:47Two weeks of a bed and a telly.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54I get clean in there as well. Do you think you do want to get clean?
0:21:54 > 0:21:58Yeah. I've got to, man. It's hard work doing this all the time.
0:22:01 > 0:22:02Hard work.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08Shortly after this, Rochelle was picked up by the police to serve
0:22:08 > 0:22:10another few weeks in prison.
0:22:11 > 0:22:16Amongst the street homeless we met, this was a common story.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19In jail, they get off the drugs, but being released with nowhere
0:22:19 > 0:22:23to go meant inevitably they would slip back into drug-taking.
0:22:31 > 0:22:38Four days ago, Rob and Tristan got a ?50 emergency payment because they were destitute.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41They spent the money on a few days at a campsite with facilities.
0:22:45 > 0:22:50So nice just to be able to leave a backpack somewhere and the
0:22:50 > 0:22:56tent up, and so we haven't got that... All of that to chug around.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58All of that to chug around.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01I'm not being funny. Today, you don't feel homeless.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06I was struggling to understand why Rob and Tristan,
0:23:06 > 0:23:09who had once had homes of their own, were constantly on the move.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12Are you trying to find something or find yourselves, or...?
0:23:12 > 0:23:17Probably try to find where we belong, really. Yeah.
0:23:17 > 0:23:18That's what I think.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25With their time up at the campsite, they are back in Cardiff.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31They are skint and face the prospect of roughing it again.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34Their only hope is to try sorting out their benefits.
0:23:38 > 0:23:42They are back at the Inroads drop-in centre again to use the phone.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47Rob's calling the job centre.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49We are absolutely desperate.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52We haven't got any money, we have nothing. There's no help.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55We are actually rough sleeping, it's that bad. That bad.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58Despite being on the phone for 25 minutes,
0:23:58 > 0:24:02they get no assurances, but they are told they'll get a call back.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05But there's nobody here at six o'clock. The office shuts at four.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07And I have no...
0:24:11 > 0:24:13HE SIGHS
0:24:13 > 0:24:18I just think it's disgusting the... the way we are being treated. Right.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22OK. That's great. Cheers. Right. Bye.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25Fucking arseholes.
0:24:28 > 0:24:33"The person shouldn't have told you you should have a call-back by 12:15.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35"He should have told you it'd be by six."
0:24:42 > 0:24:47With no home or phone they are fighting a losing battle with the system.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50And having tried and failed to find anyone to help them,
0:24:50 > 0:24:54they decided to leave Cardiff and try their luck again in London.
0:24:59 > 0:25:00After five months,
0:25:00 > 0:25:04Rhondda-born Carl is still waiting for a permanent place to live.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07Spare any change for the homeless, please?
0:25:07 > 0:25:11All helps. Thank you very much. Thank you, boys.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14He's relied on the night shelters and floor space at the
0:25:14 > 0:25:17Huggard Centre for a roof over his head.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21I come into the centre and a member of staff come up to me and said...
0:25:21 > 0:25:25"Where are you staying?" I said, "I'm still up the night shelter."
0:25:25 > 0:25:30And he said, "Right, you interested in moving into a room in a shared house?"
0:25:30 > 0:25:33I said, "I'd move into a shared shed if I could."
0:25:35 > 0:25:38So today he's on the move.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41He left his belongings here at the Huggard Centre in storage
0:25:41 > 0:25:43whilst he was on floor space.
0:25:47 > 0:25:48That's all my gear.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50But he can't find one of his bags.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54One rucksack, two rucksack. There's still a rucksack missing.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57Rob, one of the support workers, wants to help.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00What did the rucksack look like, Carl?
0:26:00 > 0:26:02Same colour as these. It's got a...
0:26:02 > 0:26:04We both know it's been here for ages, mate.
0:26:04 > 0:26:05It's got a fold-up mattress.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08It's not the safest place to leave it, unfortunately.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11It's like a rucksack like that, but it's bigger.
0:26:11 > 0:26:12What about...?
0:26:13 > 0:26:14Ah!
0:26:16 > 0:26:18Right.
0:26:18 > 0:26:19My pilchards!
0:26:21 > 0:26:24Someone tried pilfering my pilchards.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27Nice one, Rob. Thank you very much, sir.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31He will be sharing with strangers in a private rental.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35The Huggard helped him with the bond,
0:26:35 > 0:26:39security the landlord needs in case of damage to the property.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44The key that opens the door to success.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52This is going to be nice, this is.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58This is the kitchen. Haven't had one of these for a long while.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02Make a cup of tea when I want, coffee, make my food.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05Nice little back garden. It's a nice house.
0:27:05 > 0:27:10He gets housing benefit of ?260 per month for the rent,
0:27:10 > 0:27:13which is paid directly to the landlord.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15I'm just so overjoyed.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18This is my chance to sort myself out.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21I've actually got somewhere to put my clothes!
0:27:21 > 0:27:24Look, I can fold them up tidy instead of having them in bags!
0:27:29 > 0:27:31Mad pair of trainers.
0:27:31 > 0:27:33Where is the other one, then?
0:27:37 > 0:27:41It's going to take me a while now to get used to the comforts of having a home.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44I'm so used to being on the streets and having nothing,
0:27:44 > 0:27:48and then to have a home with kettles and...
0:27:50 > 0:27:52Yeah.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55Can't wait to get myself settled in now.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10After four months of filming, we'd seen how difficult it was
0:28:10 > 0:28:15to move people off the streets and into any kind of accommodation.
0:28:15 > 0:28:20We were realising that the homeless street culture in Cardiff was a powerful force.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23It was difficult to break away from,
0:28:23 > 0:28:26even for those who wanted to change their lives for the better.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31Next time on Cardiff: Living On The Streets...
0:28:31 > 0:28:35Christmas Eve. I feel weak. It feels cold.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37It's depressing, isn't it?
0:28:37 > 0:28:42Some of those on the street struggle to cope with their overwhelming problems.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46Just not being on the street, just be myself again.
0:28:46 > 0:28:48Instead of feeling like a loser.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51That's what I feel like, a loser. I'm worthless.