0:00:02 > 0:00:04There it is in one.
0:00:04 > 0:00:06This is our home.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11Swansea has become a magnet for homeless people.
0:00:11 > 0:00:19For many, the only option is to sleep rough in any place they can.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25I'm Chris Rushton and, together with Tracy Harris, over a year ago,
0:00:25 > 0:00:28we followed the desperate plight of Swansea's homeless.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36Now we have returned to find out if things have changed...
0:00:36 > 0:00:39It's dangerous to be walking the streets.
0:00:39 > 0:00:41..to discover how the homeless survive...
0:00:41 > 0:00:43When was the last time you saw it like this?
0:00:43 > 0:00:45..and how today's recession
0:00:45 > 0:00:48and cutbacks are hitting those least able to cope.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51I want to sort myself out but no-one's doing nothing for me.
0:00:53 > 0:00:54No-one's doing nothing.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05I return to Swansea searching for the homeless people
0:01:05 > 0:01:10I'd met here 15 months ago. Most had moved on.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12Like the homeless drifter Paul.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14Didn't I tell you good things happen to me?
0:01:14 > 0:01:16Paul Bell.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19He'd gone back on the road, roving across Britain
0:01:19 > 0:01:21and I had no idea where he was now.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25Sadly, Lee was no longer with us.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27I can't cope any more.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32I'm 43, man.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34His was yet another story of a homeless person
0:01:34 > 0:01:37dying as a result of a drug overdose.
0:01:39 > 0:01:4315 months ago, Tracy's life was on a downward spiral
0:01:43 > 0:01:47because of her alcohol problems and she was sleeping rough.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51I'm on my own. I'm on my own living on the street.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55I just wish things could change but they can't. I'm destroying my life.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00I have no friends or nothing.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04I'm living on the street, trying to get into hostels all the time.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07Now she's turned her life around. For the last eight months,
0:02:07 > 0:02:10she's been living in a residential centre
0:02:10 > 0:02:12where she is getting the help she needs.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19Two Christmases ago, I met another homeless drinker - Tim.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21I love it.
0:02:21 > 0:02:28I love them, the kids up there saying, "Look what you're seeing.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30"You're seeing Wales."
0:02:30 > 0:02:34I am delirious. It is beautiful.
0:02:37 > 0:02:42Homeless people, do they have Christmas?
0:02:42 > 0:02:48I will never have a Christmas sleeping on the streets.
0:02:48 > 0:02:5315 months have passed since then and now it is much colder.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57Night-time temperatures have dropped to below freezing.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00This was our first sight of Tim.
0:03:04 > 0:03:0820 years ago, he left his family in Ireland.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10They couldn't cope with his alcoholism.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14Now he remains haunted by his failure to get off the booze.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22It's not a nice way to be.
0:03:23 > 0:03:24No.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29I apologise.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31I apologise to myself.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34And my two daughters.
0:03:35 > 0:03:41And...I may as well say it. And to my wife. They're back in Ireland.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45I know I could get back there...
0:03:49 > 0:03:50..but it'd take me a bit of time.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54I don't want to leave here, though.
0:03:55 > 0:04:00I will leave...in a...box.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04That's not the way to go.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07Excuse me.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09It was sad to meet Tim again
0:04:09 > 0:04:12but his story will later take a dramatic turn.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21'Next we stumbled across another of our friends
0:04:21 > 0:04:22'from over a year ago.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25'He'd travelled across Europe only to finally end
0:04:25 > 0:04:27'up as one of Swansea's homeless.'
0:04:27 > 0:04:29Georgica!
0:04:29 > 0:04:33Hello! Hello!
0:04:36 > 0:04:39'It was Romanian economic migrant Georgica.'
0:04:39 > 0:04:42Happy new year.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44How are you?
0:04:45 > 0:04:49- Good. How are you? - Good, thank you. Flat.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51Very good.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58Er, your flat, homeless three years,
0:04:58 > 0:05:01thank you very much. Thank you very much.
0:05:01 > 0:05:07Thank you very much, people of Wales. Very good.
0:05:10 > 0:05:1315 months ago, we found him sleeping anywhere he could,
0:05:13 > 0:05:16even in the loft of a rundown bedsit.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18Unable to claim benefits,
0:05:18 > 0:05:21he made ends meet by selling the Big Issue magazine.
0:05:22 > 0:05:28- A year on, what had changed?- Keys. - Where are we going?- House, please.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30Come on, please.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45'For years, Georgica had been in Swansea, sleeping wherever he could.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47'Now, finally, he had somewhere to call home.'
0:05:49 > 0:05:52Here DVDs.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55He wanted to show off his cosy bedsit.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57Fridge. Cleaning.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01'I realised his life had changed since the first series.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04'He'd actually become a local celebrity.'
0:06:05 > 0:06:08Georgica and his Big Issue paper.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12Happy new years, Susie.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15'Georgica captured the hearts of the Swansea people who now
0:06:15 > 0:06:17'regularly bought the Big Issue from him,
0:06:17 > 0:06:21'ensuring he'll continue having a roof over his head.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23Thank you very much. Have a nice day.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26Bye-bye, lady.
0:06:26 > 0:06:27'He's one of the lucky ones.'
0:06:29 > 0:06:32There are many reasons why people end up homeless in Swansea.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35They come from the surrounding valleys
0:06:35 > 0:06:37because there's more help on offer here.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39It's always at the end of the railway line
0:06:39 > 0:06:42and many simply step off the train and stay.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46That perhaps explains why the city has the highest
0:06:46 > 0:06:48numbers of homeless people in Wales.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53'It was the ferry from Cork that originally brought Tim here.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56'In this weather, he's always on the move.'
0:06:56 > 0:06:59When you're walking... Well, you stay in one place...
0:06:59 > 0:07:00ALARM BLARES
0:07:00 > 0:07:03..the cold will get to you.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09And it's not a nice feeling.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12When I need a drink, I need a drink.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16He's on his way across town to replenish his booze supply.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22- Thank you very much. You're a gentleman.- Carrier bag?
0:07:26 > 0:07:29Tim became homeless because of his alcoholism.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32Now drinking has become a way of blanking out the harsh
0:07:32 > 0:07:35realities of living on the streets.
0:07:35 > 0:07:36Kennedy Jack.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44Tonight, the best place to make a few pounds is on Wind Street,
0:07:44 > 0:07:46begging to help pay for his habit.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49CHEERING
0:07:54 > 0:07:58Tim is not the only one who's had a drink or two.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02CHEERING
0:08:02 > 0:08:05You can spare a bit of change, mate?
0:08:05 > 0:08:10- Of course I can, mate. - Oh, do you know what you are?
0:08:10 > 0:08:12You're a gentleman.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15But the police don't think he's a gentleman.
0:08:15 > 0:08:16Wait one minute now.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19And they confiscate his bottle.
0:08:22 > 0:08:23Oh, Christ.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27- You know you can't drink in town, yeah?- Yes. I know that.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30- What's your date of birth? - The 17th of the 2nd, '57.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33- And what's your address? - No fixed abode.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37'Tim is being given an order preventing drunk
0:08:37 > 0:08:39'and disorderly conduct.
0:08:39 > 0:08:44'It's called a section 27, banning him from the city centre.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46'It's almost a weekly occurrence.'
0:08:46 > 0:08:49Antisocial behaviour.
0:08:49 > 0:08:50You know I don't do that.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54You'll be banned from the city centre as per the map.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57OK, I'm used to that.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01- This is a copy of the map. - I know the map.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03You don't have to give me a copy of it.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10- All right?- OK, man. OK.
0:09:13 > 0:09:19Bastards. Me? I'm out of town for 12 hours.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22For what? I've done nothing.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27And they are all dancing around the streets.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29I get a 12 hour banning order.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32Would you think that's fair?
0:09:36 > 0:09:38Now he won't be able to sleep by the only
0:09:38 > 0:09:41source of warmth in the city centre.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45Where I going to go for 12 hours?
0:09:47 > 0:09:50Can anyone tell me where to go?
0:09:52 > 0:09:57I have to go away and find somewhere that I can sleep.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11'I've discovered that, especially after Christmas,
0:10:11 > 0:10:14'people can find themselves unexpectedly homeless
0:10:14 > 0:10:18'when family pressures result in relationship breakdowns.
0:10:18 > 0:10:23'21-year-old Ben has been sleeping rough.'
0:10:23 > 0:10:25I've slept in that doorway.
0:10:25 > 0:10:30I've climbed over that fence and I've slept behind the wall behind there.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34Not many people come down here unless they come for a taxi.
0:10:34 > 0:10:41It's kind of safe. There is an exit that way and that way.
0:10:41 > 0:10:46If I ever get into trouble, I know I can run and just disappear.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49After a relationship breakdown, Ben went to stay with a friend
0:10:49 > 0:10:51but they didn't get on.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55Me and the guy I was staying with had a falling out
0:10:55 > 0:10:59and he threatened to hit me.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02He asked me to go.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05I left and I haven't been back since.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11He told me he couldn't stay with his family and with no money,
0:11:11 > 0:11:14the alternative was living on Swansea's streets which he
0:11:14 > 0:11:16was frightened to do.
0:11:18 > 0:11:23I get a lot of people shouting, "Oh, you'd better watch him.
0:11:23 > 0:11:29"He's gay." Well, get a grip. It's the 21st century. Who cares?
0:11:29 > 0:11:32Over the weekend, Ben slept rough.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36In the morning, he went to see one of the homeless charities
0:11:36 > 0:11:40and luckily they paid for a night at a bed and breakfast.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50I wasn't expecting to be in a B&B tonight.
0:11:50 > 0:11:55I was expecting to be back out there and getting nowhere and roaming.
0:11:55 > 0:12:02Finally, to be here and safe and know I'm safe, it's pretty good.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11'There is still no permanent emergency shelter
0:12:11 > 0:12:13'for Swansea's homeless.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16'But when temperatures drop below five degrees,
0:12:16 > 0:12:18'there's special government funding
0:12:18 > 0:12:20'that will help pay for B&Bs.'
0:12:20 > 0:12:24I checked out this morning so wherever they put me now,
0:12:24 > 0:12:26they put me.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28Where that will be, I don't know.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31Ben had to report to Swansea's Access Point charity
0:12:31 > 0:12:33if he wants the B&B again.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38He's here to see Jenny, his support worker.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43- Hi, Ben. Do you want to come in?- Hello.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47- Take a seat. I think I've found something for you.- Sorted.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50'She's found a bedsit that might be a solution for Ben.'
0:12:50 > 0:12:52It's a private rental that's come up.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55The private landlord I was telling you about.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58Viewing will be tomorrow and, if you like it, you can have the keys.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01Where will I be...?
0:13:01 > 0:13:04Tonight, it will probably have to be at the B&B again.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08'He's got the B&B as well as the prospect of somewhere permanent.'
0:13:08 > 0:13:11I wasn't expecting that.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14Finally.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19I'll get my life sorted now.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22I'll have a key hopefully tomorrow...
0:13:24 > 0:13:26..which is brilliant.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34But for others, getting off the streets seems impossible,
0:13:34 > 0:13:38especially if they are in a cycle of addiction.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42I ran into Tim on his daily mission to buy cheap booze.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46He's teamed up with a true Swansea Jack, 32-year-old Scott.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50- Anything else?- Only the till(!)
0:13:52 > 0:13:55Outside, the other drinkers are after Scott and Tim's booze.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04Tim, everyone is following you now.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07I know. Don't ask me.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11'They have their eyes on Tim's bottle.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14'It's the unwritten rule of living on the streets to share what
0:14:14 > 0:14:20'little they have, but Tim and Scott are fed up with being hit on.'
0:14:20 > 0:14:21They're like vultures, man.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27For years, Scott has been dossing wherever he can.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30When he runs out of friends prepared to put him up,
0:14:30 > 0:14:32he has to sleep rough.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35He's from Townhill, a community that's suffered more
0:14:35 > 0:14:39than its fair share of unemployment and drug problems.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42Scott told me he was married for five years and has a young son
0:14:42 > 0:14:45but the relationship failed.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47The rest, sadly, is history.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52I've been on the streets since I was 15, 16.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55I was on drugs all my life.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01Smoked cannabis when I was 12.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04By the time I turned 21, I was on heroin.
0:15:06 > 0:15:07The story is now, my son,
0:15:07 > 0:15:12who I'm not allowed to see at the moment because I'm an alcoholic.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17His dad, though, was always there for him but that changed last year.
0:15:20 > 0:15:26I lost my father six, seven months ago. It broke my heart.
0:15:26 > 0:15:33I'm on antipsychotic tablets. I don't want to take them.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37I want to do it natural. I did try to hang myself.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43I'm a lost person, to be honest with you.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46That's why I'm in a worse state than I've ever been in.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58'Scott and Tim will be far safer
0:15:58 > 0:16:00'if they stick together for the night.'
0:16:00 > 0:16:01What are you doing, Tim?
0:16:01 > 0:16:06- Put his hood back on.- Why? - Because I got respect for the man.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09That's one thing you have.
0:16:09 > 0:16:16We might be tramps but look as good as you can. What's wrong with that?
0:16:16 > 0:16:19So, back we blows.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22I'll show you a proper home.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25- What are you doing, Scott? - Making a home.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31'It never ceased to amaze me how, in such desperate circumstances,
0:16:31 > 0:16:34'the homeless come up with ingenious solutions to survive.
0:16:34 > 0:16:39'Scott's shelter is built around one of the few sources of warmth.'
0:16:39 > 0:16:40Done it all over Christmas.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47There we are. That's it.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55- I haven't made it properly, though. - We can do it later on.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58I haven't brought it down properly.
0:17:00 > 0:17:05This is our home. This is lovely. Bit of comfort now. Lovely.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08Heat bouncing off us.
0:17:09 > 0:17:11What more do you want?
0:17:11 > 0:17:14The only problem is when this is up, you can't beg.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16Ladies, you're looking beautiful.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22- I am not a tramp. I'm a bum. - What are you trying to say?
0:17:22 > 0:17:24A bum's a bum who just bums around.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28Because our clothes are a bit cleaner, we're not tramps.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30We're just bums.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33'I found the whole situation quite surreal.'
0:17:33 > 0:17:35Don't insult me like that!
0:17:35 > 0:17:39'The pair having a laugh, yet they were about to face a freezing
0:17:39 > 0:17:40'night out on the streets.'
0:17:42 > 0:17:44Spare any change, please?
0:17:45 > 0:17:47I'm behind the bin.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58Almost a third of those released from prison have nowhere to live.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02Without help, they soon end up in trouble.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10Rhiannon and Richard are just out and both are of no fixed abode,
0:18:10 > 0:18:13so the council have to house them.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15Temporarily, they've been put in a B&B
0:18:15 > 0:18:19which is where they got together just four days ago.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23Because we were in the same bed and breakfast,
0:18:23 > 0:18:27we've been spending time together and helping each other out.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32It's nice to have somebody with you, you know -
0:18:32 > 0:18:35to know that you're not on your own.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38'Whilst in jail, Rhiannon got help for her drug addiction
0:18:38 > 0:18:43'but now she's back on the streets where heroin is easily available.'
0:18:43 > 0:18:46I've only been out of prison for two weeks
0:18:46 > 0:18:52and I've started... using a little bit again.
0:18:52 > 0:18:57I just don't want it to spiral out of control, you know?
0:18:57 > 0:19:02'Addicts can spend up to £80 a day feeding their habit.'
0:19:02 > 0:19:05Some girls find it easy to earn money
0:19:05 > 0:19:10because they do business with men and stuff like that.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12I can't do it, myself.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18It's a bit of a pain in the arse, walking around,
0:19:18 > 0:19:24when you're skint and trying to find money. It's hard, isn't it?
0:19:26 > 0:19:30'Most of the cost of Rhiannon's B&B is paid directly from her benefits,
0:19:30 > 0:19:35'but she's already behind in paying her share.'
0:19:35 > 0:19:41Because I can't afford the service charge for the B&B.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45- I know it's only £16 a week. - We haven't had our money.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47We haven't had our money sorted yet.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50I went into Housing Options earlier on,
0:19:50 > 0:19:52she said, "Look, if you don't
0:19:52 > 0:19:57"pay this by next week, we're going to have to chuck you out."
0:19:59 > 0:20:01It was a brief encounter with Rhiannon.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04A few days later, she had disappeared.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08I seen a couple of people I know in town
0:20:08 > 0:20:11and they said that she'd been arrested.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14I went to the magistrate's court the next morning to see
0:20:14 > 0:20:17if she was on in court but her name wasn't there.
0:20:17 > 0:20:18I went to the police station
0:20:18 > 0:20:20and they said that she wasn't there either.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23I heard this morning that she is back in prison.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29For those leaving prison with no home to go to, and no family
0:20:29 > 0:20:34to support them, the spiral of rapid decline is a familiar story -
0:20:34 > 0:20:37falling back into drug taking and then not being able to cope
0:20:37 > 0:20:41with the realities of life on the outside.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44'These were very different times
0:20:44 > 0:20:46'when we were filming here 15 months ago.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49'Now the effects of the recession are hitting Swansea hard,
0:20:49 > 0:20:53'the level of resentment seems to be growing against the homeless
0:20:53 > 0:20:55'who are easy targets.'
0:20:55 > 0:20:58We're giving them an allowance every day to get pissed.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00'Tonight, Tim is in the firing line.'
0:21:00 > 0:21:01You come over here
0:21:01 > 0:21:05because it's easier to be a bum over here than any other country.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09- I wouldn't think so.- Well, yeah. Go back to your daughters.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12- Let them look after you, not my tax. - They are married, man.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16- My tax is paying for people... - No, you're not paying for me.
0:21:16 > 0:21:21- Why are you here?- I came over a woman.- They all do. It's drink.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24- Why didn't you stay in Ireland? - I like it here.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26Yeah, cos they are paying you money for drink.
0:21:26 > 0:21:30- My taxes pay for people... - No, you're not paying for me.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34- You're a layabout.- At this stage, that's what I'm called.
0:21:34 > 0:21:3858, at what point are you going to stop being a layabout?
0:21:38 > 0:21:42- Do you want to die like that?- No! - You're a disgrace.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45- You're a disgrace and I've got no time for you.- OK, thank you.
0:21:45 > 0:21:50- That's terrible.- No, he's telling the truth. He's telling the truth.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55'This kind of abuse has become more common.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59'Tim may not have to put up with it for much longer.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02'I've heard his circumstances were about to change.'
0:22:03 > 0:22:07- You decided to try and settle down a bit now, haven't you?- Yes, I have.
0:22:08 > 0:22:12- I have the house keys. - Show them, then.- They're there.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16'I could hardly believe it.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19'After all these years, he'd finally got somewhere to live.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21'And with the weather getting worse,
0:22:21 > 0:22:24'it was a relief he was finally off the streets.'
0:22:32 > 0:22:35Oh!
0:22:35 > 0:22:43This is the front room. I'll show you upstairs, if you're good and ready.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46'The three-bedroom house will eventually be home to three
0:22:46 > 0:22:49'tenants and Tim's the first.'
0:22:52 > 0:22:57This is one bedroom. There's sleeping bags here.
0:22:57 > 0:23:03They don't belong to me... so I shall not use them.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05'He told me he knew the previous tenants
0:23:05 > 0:23:09'and they passed on the tenancy to him.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12'All he had to do was sign the papers allowing the landlord to
0:23:12 > 0:23:15'claim his housing benefit directly.'
0:23:15 > 0:23:22After 17 years on the streets, this is like a palace.
0:23:22 > 0:23:23It's a nice place.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29No-one comes near us. We says nothing to no-one.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33'Tim doesn't like the idea of leaving his buddies out in the cold
0:23:33 > 0:23:35'so he's putting them up for free
0:23:35 > 0:23:38;and they are all living in one room.'
0:23:39 > 0:23:41- Tim, where do you sleep?- Just there.
0:23:43 > 0:23:47There's three bedrooms upstairs. I don't wish to use them.
0:23:47 > 0:23:53We all trust each other. We have no reason to sleep in separate rooms.
0:23:53 > 0:23:57'It's as if they were still living on the street but indoors.'
0:23:59 > 0:24:02'Despite having somewhere to live,
0:24:02 > 0:24:06'Tim still likes to spend most of his days walking round the city.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10'But there's a problem. His new home is out of town in Llansamlet.'
0:24:10 > 0:24:12That's six or seven miles, man.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16Put it this way, it takes Tim three hours to walk in and back.
0:24:16 > 0:24:18How would you normally get there?
0:24:18 > 0:24:20I'd either beg or sleep on the street.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22We're going to have to go to work.
0:24:22 > 0:24:28'With the last bus gone, they beg to raise the money for a taxi home.'
0:24:28 > 0:24:32Excuse me, lads. You couldn't spare a bit of change?
0:24:32 > 0:24:35Hello, lads. Could you spare a bit of change?
0:24:35 > 0:24:39- Can you wait until I go to the shop? - A bit of change, please.
0:24:39 > 0:24:45- I can't do it.- It's hard work?- I sit down and beg. He walks and begs.
0:24:48 > 0:24:49Jesus Christ.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52'I'm touched by how protective Scott is.'
0:24:52 > 0:24:54Who else is going to do it?
0:24:54 > 0:24:57I don't want to see a 57-year-old man get battered.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00- I've got to watch him, haven't I?- Excuse me, ladies.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04- You can spare a bit of change? - I don't have any change on me.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08'They're a long way short of the taxi fair back to Llansamlet.'
0:25:08 > 0:25:14- How much money have you got? - About five or six quid.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18'Tim jumped at the chance of getting out of the cold but it seems to me
0:25:18 > 0:25:21'he hadn't grasped how it would really work out.'
0:25:25 > 0:25:27'When we filmed here 15 months ago,
0:25:27 > 0:25:32'few landlords were willing to risk opening their doors to the homeless.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35'Now, because of the recession, it seems there was no
0:25:35 > 0:25:40'shortage of rentals at the bottom end of the property market.
0:25:40 > 0:25:41'For many like Ben,
0:25:41 > 0:25:45'it's an alternative to waiting on the council's housing list.'
0:25:45 > 0:25:52I'm going to view a property and hopefully I can get the keys
0:25:52 > 0:25:53and move straight in.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59'Right in the heart of the city, Ben has the chance of a bedsit.'
0:26:02 > 0:26:05If the place is good, then, yeah, it's a new break for me.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07I can sort my life out.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13Fridge, cooker, sink as well.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16Two showers. Two toilets.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19- I like this.- We can move you in here today.- Brilliant.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23- That would be cracking.- Yes? - Brilliant.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27- Just do the housing benefit forms and away we go.- Away we go.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30'And the landlord isn't even asking for a bond.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33'That's money held in case the tenant damages the property.'
0:26:33 > 0:26:36No problem at all.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39I finally have my own place.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53'Back on Swansea's streets, Tim is sleeping rough again.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55'He's lost his house.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00'The landlord came round to find no sign of him,
0:27:00 > 0:27:02'just his mates living there.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05'None were paying the rent and Tim blames them.'
0:27:05 > 0:27:10Those two spoiled it for me.
0:27:12 > 0:27:17When the landlord came along, and he had a look at the place,
0:27:17 > 0:27:21he couldn't find me because I was in town.
0:27:21 > 0:27:27In one day, I lost the house and you've seen it.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36I discovered that the average life expectancy for homeless
0:27:36 > 0:27:42alcoholics is just 47. Tim is ten years past that.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45He's clearly living on borrowed time.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50Since I was here over a year ago,
0:27:50 > 0:27:55the prospects of Swansea's homeless are much bleaker.
0:27:55 > 0:28:00The charities who help them warn of even more difficult times to come.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06'Next time, back on Swansea's streets, now in the snow, even those
0:28:06 > 0:28:08'with no choice but to sleep rough
0:28:08 > 0:28:10'have to find some kind of shelter...'
0:28:10 > 0:28:14Every time I think things are working out for me,
0:28:14 > 0:28:16then things spiral out of control.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18'..we catch up with Paul Bell.
0:28:18 > 0:28:22'Since he left Swansea, he's roved 1,000 miles all over Britain...'
0:28:22 > 0:28:25I'm 58 this year and I'm still going to keep on juggling.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29I can't keep still.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32'..and we meet sofa-surfing Susan, who's been turfed out.
0:28:33 > 0:28:38Fair play to the gentleman who put me up. Where am I going to go now?
0:28:38 > 0:28:41Where am I going to go? On the streets?
0:28:50 > 0:28:52Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd