Episode 1 Swansea: Back on the Streets

There it is in one.

This is our home.

Swansea has become a magnet for homeless people.

For many, the only option is to sleep rough in any place they can.

I'm Chris Rushton and, together with Tracy Harris, over a year ago,

we followed the desperate plight of Swansea's homeless.

Now we have returned to find out if things have changed...

It's dangerous to be walking the streets.

..to discover how the homeless survive...

When was the last time you saw it like this?

..and how today's recession

and cutbacks are hitting those least able to cope.

I want to sort myself out but no-one's doing nothing for me.

No-one's doing nothing.

I return to Swansea searching for the homeless people

I'd met here 15 months ago. Most had moved on.

Like the homeless drifter Paul.

Didn't I tell you good things happen to me?

Paul Bell.

He'd gone back on the road, roving across Britain

and I had no idea where he was now.

Sadly, Lee was no longer with us.

I can't cope any more.

I'm 43, man.

His was yet another story of a homeless person

dying as a result of a drug overdose.

15 months ago, Tracy's life was on a downward spiral

because of her alcohol problems and she was sleeping rough.

I'm on my own. I'm on my own living on the street.

I just wish things could change but they can't. I'm destroying my life.

I have no friends or nothing.

I'm living on the street, trying to get into hostels all the time.

Now she's turned her life around. For the last eight months,

she's been living in a residential centre

where she is getting the help she needs.

Two Christmases ago, I met another homeless drinker - Tim.

I love it.

I love them, the kids up there saying, "Look what you're seeing.

"You're seeing Wales."

I am delirious. It is beautiful.

Homeless people, do they have Christmas?

I will never have a Christmas sleeping on the streets.

15 months have passed since then and now it is much colder.

Night-time temperatures have dropped to below freezing.

This was our first sight of Tim.

20 years ago, he left his family in Ireland.

They couldn't cope with his alcoholism.

Now he remains haunted by his failure to get off the booze.

It's not a nice way to be.

No.

I apologise.

I apologise to myself.

And my two daughters.

And...I may as well say it. And to my wife. They're back in Ireland.

I know I could get back there...

..but it'd take me a bit of time.

I don't want to leave here, though.

I will leave...in a...box.

That's not the way to go.

Excuse me.

It was sad to meet Tim again

but his story will later take a dramatic turn.

'Next we stumbled across another of our friends

'from over a year ago.

'He'd travelled across Europe only to finally end

'up as one of Swansea's homeless.'

Georgica!

Hello! Hello!

'It was Romanian economic migrant Georgica.'

Happy new year.

How are you?

-Good. How are you?

-Good, thank you. Flat.

Very good.

Er, your flat, homeless three years,

thank you very much. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, people of Wales. Very good.

15 months ago, we found him sleeping anywhere he could,

even in the loft of a rundown bedsit.

Unable to claim benefits,

he made ends meet by selling the Big Issue magazine.

-A year on, what had changed?

-Keys.

-Where are we going?

-House, please.

Come on, please.

'For years, Georgica had been in Swansea, sleeping wherever he could.

'Now, finally, he had somewhere to call home.'

Here DVDs.

He wanted to show off his cosy bedsit.

Fridge. Cleaning.

'I realised his life had changed since the first series.

'He'd actually become a local celebrity.'

Georgica and his Big Issue paper.

Happy new years, Susie.

'Georgica captured the hearts of the Swansea people who now

'regularly bought the Big Issue from him,

'ensuring he'll continue having a roof over his head.

Thank you very much. Have a nice day.

Bye-bye, lady.

'He's one of the lucky ones.'

There are many reasons why people end up homeless in Swansea.

They come from the surrounding valleys

because there's more help on offer here.

It's always at the end of the railway line

and many simply step off the train and stay.

That perhaps explains why the city has the highest

numbers of homeless people in Wales.

'It was the ferry from Cork that originally brought Tim here.

'In this weather, he's always on the move.'

When you're walking... Well, you stay in one place...

ALARM BLARES

..the cold will get to you.

And it's not a nice feeling.

When I need a drink, I need a drink.

He's on his way across town to replenish his booze supply.

-Thank you very much. You're a gentleman.

-Carrier bag?

Tim became homeless because of his alcoholism.

Now drinking has become a way of blanking out the harsh

realities of living on the streets.

Kennedy Jack.

Tonight, the best place to make a few pounds is on Wind Street,

begging to help pay for his habit.

CHEERING

Tim is not the only one who's had a drink or two.

CHEERING

You can spare a bit of change, mate?

-Of course I can, mate.

-Oh, do you know what you are?

You're a gentleman.

But the police don't think he's a gentleman.

Wait one minute now.

And they confiscate his bottle.

Oh, Christ.

-You know you can't drink in town, yeah?

-Yes. I know that.

-What's your date of birth?

-The 17th of the 2nd, '57.

-And what's your address?

-No fixed abode.

'Tim is being given an order preventing drunk

'and disorderly conduct.

'It's called a section 27, banning him from the city centre.

'It's almost a weekly occurrence.'

Antisocial behaviour.

You know I don't do that.

You'll be banned from the city centre as per the map.

OK, I'm used to that.

-This is a copy of the map.

-I know the map.

You don't have to give me a copy of it.

-All right?

-OK, man. OK.

Bastards. Me? I'm out of town for 12 hours.

For what? I've done nothing.

And they are all dancing around the streets.

I get a 12 hour banning order.

Would you think that's fair?

Now he won't be able to sleep by the only

source of warmth in the city centre.

Where I going to go for 12 hours?

Can anyone tell me where to go?

I have to go away and find somewhere that I can sleep.

'I've discovered that, especially after Christmas,

'people can find themselves unexpectedly homeless

'when family pressures result in relationship breakdowns.

'21-year-old Ben has been sleeping rough.'

I've slept in that doorway.

I've climbed over that fence and I've slept behind the wall behind there.

Not many people come down here unless they come for a taxi.

It's kind of safe. There is an exit that way and that way.

If I ever get into trouble, I know I can run and just disappear.

After a relationship breakdown, Ben went to stay with a friend

but they didn't get on.

Me and the guy I was staying with had a falling out

and he threatened to hit me.

He asked me to go.

I left and I haven't been back since.

He told me he couldn't stay with his family and with no money,

the alternative was living on Swansea's streets which he

was frightened to do.

I get a lot of people shouting, "Oh, you'd better watch him.

"He's gay." Well, get a grip. It's the 21st century. Who cares?

Over the weekend, Ben slept rough.

In the morning, he went to see one of the homeless charities

and luckily they paid for a night at a bed and breakfast.

I wasn't expecting to be in a B&B tonight.

I was expecting to be back out there and getting nowhere and roaming.

Finally, to be here and safe and know I'm safe, it's pretty good.

'There is still no permanent emergency shelter

'for Swansea's homeless.

'But when temperatures drop below five degrees,

'there's special government funding

'that will help pay for B&Bs.'

I checked out this morning so wherever they put me now,

they put me.

Where that will be, I don't know.

Ben had to report to Swansea's Access Point charity

if he wants the B&B again.

He's here to see Jenny, his support worker.

-Hi, Ben. Do you want to come in?

-Hello.

-Take a seat. I think I've found something for you.

-Sorted.

'She's found a bedsit that might be a solution for Ben.'

It's a private rental that's come up.

The private landlord I was telling you about.

Viewing will be tomorrow and, if you like it, you can have the keys.

Where will I be...?

Tonight, it will probably have to be at the B&B again.

'He's got the B&B as well as the prospect of somewhere permanent.'

I wasn't expecting that.

Finally.

I'll get my life sorted now.

I'll have a key hopefully tomorrow...

..which is brilliant.

But for others, getting off the streets seems impossible,

especially if they are in a cycle of addiction.

I ran into Tim on his daily mission to buy cheap booze.

He's teamed up with a true Swansea Jack, 32-year-old Scott.

-Anything else?

-Only the till(!)

Outside, the other drinkers are after Scott and Tim's booze.

Tim, everyone is following you now.

I know. Don't ask me.

'They have their eyes on Tim's bottle.

'It's the unwritten rule of living on the streets to share what

'little they have, but Tim and Scott are fed up with being hit on.'

They're like vultures, man.

For years, Scott has been dossing wherever he can.

When he runs out of friends prepared to put him up,

he has to sleep rough.

He's from Townhill, a community that's suffered more

than its fair share of unemployment and drug problems.

Scott told me he was married for five years and has a young son

but the relationship failed.

The rest, sadly, is history.

I've been on the streets since I was 15, 16.

I was on drugs all my life.

Smoked cannabis when I was 12.

By the time I turned 21, I was on heroin.

The story is now, my son,

who I'm not allowed to see at the moment because I'm an alcoholic.

His dad, though, was always there for him but that changed last year.

I lost my father six, seven months ago. It broke my heart.

I'm on antipsychotic tablets. I don't want to take them.

I want to do it natural. I did try to hang myself.

I'm a lost person, to be honest with you.

That's why I'm in a worse state than I've ever been in.

'Scott and Tim will be far safer

'if they stick together for the night.'

What are you doing, Tim?

-Put his hood back on.

-Why?

-Because I got respect for the man.

That's one thing you have.

We might be tramps but look as good as you can. What's wrong with that?

So, back we blows.

I'll show you a proper home.

-What are you doing, Scott?

-Making a home.

'It never ceased to amaze me how, in such desperate circumstances,

'the homeless come up with ingenious solutions to survive.

'Scott's shelter is built around one of the few sources of warmth.'

Done it all over Christmas.

There we are. That's it.

-I haven't made it properly, though.

-We can do it later on.

I haven't brought it down properly.

This is our home. This is lovely. Bit of comfort now. Lovely.

Heat bouncing off us.

What more do you want?

The only problem is when this is up, you can't beg.

Ladies, you're looking beautiful.

-I am not a tramp. I'm a bum.

-What are you trying to say?

A bum's a bum who just bums around.

Because our clothes are a bit cleaner, we're not tramps.

We're just bums.

'I found the whole situation quite surreal.'

Don't insult me like that!

'The pair having a laugh, yet they were about to face a freezing

'night out on the streets.'

Spare any change, please?

I'm behind the bin.

Almost a third of those released from prison have nowhere to live.

Without help, they soon end up in trouble.

Rhiannon and Richard are just out and both are of no fixed abode,

so the council have to house them.

Temporarily, they've been put in a B&B

which is where they got together just four days ago.

Because we were in the same bed and breakfast,

we've been spending time together and helping each other out.

It's nice to have somebody with you, you know -

to know that you're not on your own.

'Whilst in jail, Rhiannon got help for her drug addiction

'but now she's back on the streets where heroin is easily available.'

I've only been out of prison for two weeks

and I've started... using a little bit again.

I just don't want it to spiral out of control, you know?

'Addicts can spend up to £80 a day feeding their habit.'

Some girls find it easy to earn money

because they do business with men and stuff like that.

I can't do it, myself.

It's a bit of a pain in the arse, walking around,

when you're skint and trying to find money. It's hard, isn't it?

'Most of the cost of Rhiannon's B&B is paid directly from her benefits,

'but she's already behind in paying her share.'

Because I can't afford the service charge for the B&B.

-I know it's only £16 a week.

-We haven't had our money.

We haven't had our money sorted yet.

I went into Housing Options earlier on,

she said, "Look, if you don't

"pay this by next week, we're going to have to chuck you out."

It was a brief encounter with Rhiannon.

A few days later, she had disappeared.

I seen a couple of people I know in town

and they said that she'd been arrested.

I went to the magistrate's court the next morning to see

if she was on in court but her name wasn't there.

I went to the police station

and they said that she wasn't there either.

I heard this morning that she is back in prison.

For those leaving prison with no home to go to, and no family

to support them, the spiral of rapid decline is a familiar story -

falling back into drug taking and then not being able to cope

with the realities of life on the outside.

'These were very different times

'when we were filming here 15 months ago.

'Now the effects of the recession are hitting Swansea hard,

'the level of resentment seems to be growing against the homeless

'who are easy targets.'

We're giving them an allowance every day to get pissed.

'Tonight, Tim is in the firing line.'

You come over here

because it's easier to be a bum over here than any other country.

-I wouldn't think so.

-Well, yeah. Go back to your daughters.

-Let them look after you, not my tax.

-They are married, man.

-My tax is paying for people...

-No, you're not paying for me.

-Why are you here?

-I came over a woman.

-They all do. It's drink.

-Why didn't you stay in Ireland?

-I like it here.

Yeah, cos they are paying you money for drink.

-My taxes pay for people...

-No, you're not paying for me.

-You're a layabout.

-At this stage, that's what I'm called.

58, at what point are you going to stop being a layabout?

-Do you want to die like that?

-No!

-You're a disgrace.

-You're a disgrace and I've got no time for you.

-OK, thank you.

-That's terrible.

-No, he's telling the truth. He's telling the truth.

'This kind of abuse has become more common.

'Tim may not have to put up with it for much longer.

'I've heard his circumstances were about to change.'

-You decided to try and settle down a bit now, haven't you?

-Yes, I have.

-I have the house keys.

-Show them, then.

-They're there.

'I could hardly believe it.

'After all these years, he'd finally got somewhere to live.

'And with the weather getting worse,

'it was a relief he was finally off the streets.'

Oh!

This is the front room. I'll show you upstairs, if you're good and ready.

'The three-bedroom house will eventually be home to three

'tenants and Tim's the first.'

This is one bedroom. There's sleeping bags here.

They don't belong to me... so I shall not use them.

'He told me he knew the previous tenants

'and they passed on the tenancy to him.

'All he had to do was sign the papers allowing the landlord to

'claim his housing benefit directly.'

After 17 years on the streets, this is like a palace.

It's a nice place.

No-one comes near us. We says nothing to no-one.

'Tim doesn't like the idea of leaving his buddies out in the cold

'so he's putting them up for free

;and they are all living in one room.'

-Tim, where do you sleep?

-Just there.

There's three bedrooms upstairs. I don't wish to use them.

We all trust each other. We have no reason to sleep in separate rooms.

'It's as if they were still living on the street but indoors.'

'Despite having somewhere to live,

'Tim still likes to spend most of his days walking round the city.

'But there's a problem. His new home is out of town in Llansamlet.'

That's six or seven miles, man.

Put it this way, it takes Tim three hours to walk in and back.

How would you normally get there?

I'd either beg or sleep on the street.

We're going to have to go to work.

'With the last bus gone, they beg to raise the money for a taxi home.'

Excuse me, lads. You couldn't spare a bit of change?

Hello, lads. Could you spare a bit of change?

-Can you wait until I go to the shop?

-A bit of change, please.

-I can't do it.

-It's hard work?

-I sit down and beg. He walks and begs.

Jesus Christ.

'I'm touched by how protective Scott is.'

Who else is going to do it?

I don't want to see a 57-year-old man get battered.

-I've got to watch him, haven't I?

-Excuse me, ladies.

-You can spare a bit of change?

-I don't have any change on me.

'They're a long way short of the taxi fair back to Llansamlet.'

-How much money have you got?

-About five or six quid.

'Tim jumped at the chance of getting out of the cold but it seems to me

'he hadn't grasped how it would really work out.'

'When we filmed here 15 months ago,

'few landlords were willing to risk opening their doors to the homeless.

'Now, because of the recession, it seems there was no

'shortage of rentals at the bottom end of the property market.

'For many like Ben,

'it's an alternative to waiting on the council's housing list.'

I'm going to view a property and hopefully I can get the keys

and move straight in.

'Right in the heart of the city, Ben has the chance of a bedsit.'

If the place is good, then, yeah, it's a new break for me.

I can sort my life out.

Fridge, cooker, sink as well.

Two showers. Two toilets.

-I like this.

-We can move you in here today.

-Brilliant.

-That would be cracking.

-Yes?

-Brilliant.

-Just do the housing benefit forms and away we go.

-Away we go.

'And the landlord isn't even asking for a bond.

'That's money held in case the tenant damages the property.'

No problem at all.

I finally have my own place.

'Back on Swansea's streets, Tim is sleeping rough again.

'He's lost his house.

'The landlord came round to find no sign of him,

'just his mates living there.

'None were paying the rent and Tim blames them.'

Those two spoiled it for me.

When the landlord came along, and he had a look at the place,

he couldn't find me because I was in town.

In one day, I lost the house and you've seen it.

I discovered that the average life expectancy for homeless

alcoholics is just 47. Tim is ten years past that.

He's clearly living on borrowed time.

Since I was here over a year ago,

the prospects of Swansea's homeless are much bleaker.

The charities who help them warn of even more difficult times to come.

'Next time, back on Swansea's streets, now in the snow, even those

'with no choice but to sleep rough

'have to find some kind of shelter...'

Every time I think things are working out for me,

then things spiral out of control.

'..we catch up with Paul Bell.

'Since he left Swansea, he's roved 1,000 miles all over Britain...'

I'm 58 this year and I'm still going to keep on juggling.

I can't keep still.

'..and we meet sofa-surfing Susan, who's been turfed out.

Fair play to the gentleman who put me up. Where am I going to go now?

Where am I going to go? On the streets?

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd