Most nights Wayne Harley dons his hi-vis and takes to the streets with his trolley packed with bags of food for the homeless. Having spent many years on the streets himself during an eight-year wait for temporary accommodation in his home city of Newport, Wayne beams reflecting on how he’s turned his life around, thanks in part to his son.
“I was homeless for a good while,” he tells WalesOnline ahead of another busy night. “Basically it all goes back to when I was a youngster and I ended up getting into the wrong crowd. I ended up fighting drug addiction. One day my son turned to me and said he needed me to sort myself out or he didn’t want to know me anymore. That changed my life.
“I got clean and got myself into temporary accommodation. It’s been hard. It’s taken me eight years to get into temporary housing in Newport. There are thousands of people on the housing waiting list and there are lots of hurdles. I had to prove I had a local connection and all sorts.
“I went from the streets to the pods down by Asda and then into a shared house and then temporary accommodation. I’m fighting fit now working part-time with the homeless. I’m due to go out now this evening. I give hot food, bedding, clothes, everything they need to survive on the streets basically. With the weather and stuff like that they are struggling.
“I’m out all the time helping others now. People can find themselves on the streets for a number of reasons. They might be struggling with rent, mental health, addiction, family issues etc.”
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According to data published by the Welsh Government, over the past year the number of households assessed as homeless in Wales has risen by 8% from the previous year to 13,539. Just 26% of these people managed to secure accommodation, which is slightly lower than in recent years. And Newport is affected the most of any city in the country. The city’s homelessness rate has increased by more than 50% in a year to 1,359 households. In the latest recorded data 534 households lived in temporary accommodation in Newport while the council’s housing waiting list, like other councils across the country, is thousands long.
Explaining why he was on the streets for so long, Wayne says: “Basically it’s so competitive. Thousands of people are on the housing waiting list. Every time they (properties) came up they were going. Because I’m single it’s difficult, that’s the way it is. Not the priority basically. Quite a few times I felt like giving up.”
Paul Murphy of Pride in Pill which delivers warm meals to Newport’s homeless population every week, says life trying to help those on the streets in Newport is becoming unmanageable. We’re with them on a Sunday evening where they walk for more than two hours, handing the bags of food and clothing out to those who are in need. There are slightly more homeless men than women and they range from a man in his early 20s to another in his late 60s. Some are on benches on the high street, alleyways and doorways, while one has climbed onto a shop roof where he’s been residing for weeks. After two hours the volunteers have given out well over 100 bags.
“I’ve been doing this for over six years now,” Paul explains. “We go out every day to feed the homeless. We have partnerships with supermarkets but we get little support from elsewhere. We are now getting through well over 100 bags of food each time. Especially on Sundays now, when we have our really big night, we’re getting more people needing our support than ever.
“We’re also seeing a lot of new faces. Lots of new homeless people are in Newport. A lot of them are on housing waiting lists and are in limbo. One of the youngest is 22. She called me up at 2am recently for a duvet and pillows, so we went down to the lock-up and got her that because it was freezing. If it was my daughter I’d take her in of course, but I can’t take strangers into my home. It’s really sad, but we can only do our best. One of the volunteers said to me not long ago: ‘What if we start getting 200 people a night Paul?’ Well it is getting to that point. I’ve said we might have to pack it in because we’re so stretched. If it gets to 200 I’m sorry to say it’ll get very difficult for us.”
Like Newport, there is a crisis in temporary accommodation in Wales. Newport, Cardiff, Denbighshire and Conwy have the biggest issue, with the data showing there are more than 60 homeless households per every 10,000 households in temporary accommodation in those areas, which is having a direct impact on people on the streets.
The number using temporary accommodation including hotels and bed and breakfast facilities has risen by 18% to 6,447 in 2023-24. The figure is the highest ever reported. A significant proportion of these households (42%) were placed in bed and breakfasts, which is slightly higher than in 2022-23. The temporary facilities tend to be basic at best, often without appropriate cooking or washing facilities. In reality the facilities are not being used in the way they were intended, with people spending months or even years living in them.
The current situation has been described by homelessness charities as a bottleneck in temporary accommodation, where there is a lot of demand but not enough houses and few options to move temporary occupants onto. Experts say Wales is feeling the brunt of the housing crisis, with private rented homes too expensive for many and a lack of other options. According to the Bevan Foundation the percentage of social homes as the total of the housing stock has almost halved in the last 40 years.
Jamie-Lee Cole, senior communications manager at homelessness and rough sleeping charity The Wallich says: “Temporary accommodation in Wales is creaking. People in short-term and emergency housing are stuck for longer because of less affordable housing to move on to. Local authorities are now having to supply more temporary accommodation for new people and families who present as homeless.
“Without sufficient housing stock, temporary accommodation is no longer temporary. One of our residents recently described living in temporary accommodation for three years as feeling like she was ‘bed blocking’ and unable to plan for her future. When people are stuck in limbo for longer charities like The Wallich are having to provide more complex support to keep the mental health of people we support a priority and reduce their risk of falling back into rough sleeping or more brutal forms of homelessness.
“Fixing housing in Wales isn’t a quick fix. We need Welsh Government to continue the affordable house building programme and reform planning to speed things up. We’re pleased to see local authorities introducing leasing schemes and similar initiatives to keep good private landlords in the sector. However, another crisis potentially looms. If this full-house temporary accommodation trend continues, the support provided by charities in a rough financial climate is at risk. Charities anticipate the need for a 10% funding increase to continue addressing the needs of people experiencing homelessness and keep them safe.”
Jim Doherty, a veteran who served in the parachute regiment and then became a chef, became homeless during the pandemic and was on the streets for two years. He has finally got himself into temporary accommodation. “My army career began as soon as I left school,” Jim, from Scotland, recalls. He served for 19 years around the world, once being shot in Bosnia. A quiet but proud man, he says he’s been on every continent except for Antarctica.
Recalling how he found himself homeless after such a distinguished career of service, he says: “I came out of the army and went straight to catering college to live a different life. I wanted to do something totally different. I enjoyed cooking and travelled a lot with that job too. During Covid I was living above the restaurant where I was working and I left that job and was travelling to a new one. The night before starting the new job the UK went into lockdown and I lost everything. I lost the job and I was also due to live there, so I lost my home too. All I saw on the door when I arrived for the new job was: ‘Closed for the foreseeable future.’ And then everything changed.
“I still had a bit of money so went to stay in a hotel for a bit. But then that ran out. That’s when the army training kicks back in. I built a bivouac. In the end I was on the streets for two years waiting for a place. The main reason I was on the streets for so long was because I was a single man so I was low priority compared to others.”
According to the Welsh Government data during 2023-24 the main reason given for homelessness in over a quarter (27%) of all cases was “parent or other relative or friends were no longer willing to accommodate”. “Loss of rented or tied accommodation” was given as the main reason for loss of home in a fifth (20%) of all cases and “breakdown of a relationship with a partner” in a further 19%. In 11% of cases the main reason recorded was “prison leaver”.
Newport has been chosen by the Royal Foundation as one of six flagship locations across the UK that will work with the Royal Foundation’s Homewards programme to end homelessness. Prince William visited Newport again last week as part of the Homewards project. The project operates in Newport, Aberdeen, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Lambeth, Northern Ireland and Sheffield, and aims to work across areas of society to end homelessness in the UK. During his visit the Prince of Wales called for the narrative around homelessness to change and said the issues should be humanised in order to “lose the stigma”.
The future king also said he wanted to play the role of “disruptor” in his fight against homelessness as he encouraged those working in the sector to “throw the paperwork up in the air”. He told a group of business leaders and charity representatives he wanted them to throw off the “shackles” of their experience and take a different approach.
“I say that not to belittle you,” he said. “But it’s, how do we break it down, give you the freedom to think differently and try new things? I can be the slight disruptor here and say to you all to think very differently, outside the box, because this is unique, what you’re doing… let’s be really ambitious and almost throw the paperwork up in the air and see how it lands.”
A spokesperson for Newport City Council said “a very small number of those who are homeless are sleeping on the streets”. They said: “Newport City Council believes everyone should have a safe and secure place to live and is working hard to achieve with partners as it is not something that it can do on its own. The UK is experiencing a housing crisis due to different factors which means the demand for affordable temporary and longer-term accommodation is far outstripping supply. In Newport, this is exacerbated by the fact that the council is not a housing provider.
“Increasing numbers of people are homeless across the country with families living in temporary accommodation one of the biggest issues being faced. This can have a lasting impact on them, particularly on children. Only a very small number of those who are homeless are sleeping on the streets with the figures in the tens rather than the hundreds. The majority are in temporary accommodation while some are “sofa surfing”.
“Newport is the fastest growing city in Wales and has a significantly younger demographic (population aged under 15 increased most in Newport, rising by 10.2%) compared to Cardiff which was 5.3% in the latest ONS census from 2021. The rapid of growth of the city has undoubtedly increased the demand for housing which outweighs the supply.
“However, the council has taken proactive steps to reduce homelessness, including changes in policy, such as amending the common housing allocation. This introduces a single suitable offer for those most in need, ensuring a more targeted approach. Additionally, it has invested in transforming the housing process by streamlining the assessment process for the common housing register, improving efficiency and accessibility for applicants.
“The council is focused on finding solutions to help those who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness, by working with other organisations. A number of initiatives are in place, including a rough sleeper task force, an increased focus on preventing homelessness and increasing the provision of rented homes through the Wales Leasing Scheme.”
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Tackling homelessness and delivering more homes is a key priority for this government and we have set a challenging target and allocated record levels of funding to housing supply this Senedd term, with more than £1.4bn invested so far. Despite the challenges, we continue to take a ‘no-one left out’ approach in Wales and, this year alone, are investing almost £220m in homelessness prevention and housing support to help reduce the flow of people needing temporary accommodation.”
