After suffering depression and anxiety for years since his first marriage broke down, Darren had a nervous breakdown when his second wife left him. His mental health got rapidly worse and he ended up living on the streets.
I met Darren on a rainy, miserable evening in Newcastle City Centre, sitting in his sleeping bag outside of Haymarket Metro station. He agreed to talk to me about how he found himself here, although he did not want people knowing his surname.
People rushed past, showing no sign of realising he was there. He blended into his surroundings, becoming invisible to the every day commuter heading for their Metro home or those doing some late night shopping. Perhaps this was a sign of how commonplace it is for someone to be propped against a wall or sitting in a doorway in their sleeping bag, while others go about their daily business.
Darren was grateful for the hot drink and sandwich I bought him, and I was surprised by how immediately chatty and friendly he was. He leant against the wall, explaining: "My wife had left me and I found out my son wasn't mine. Suddenly I was on the streets.
"I had already had a bit of depression and anxiety before but everything spiraled. I was drinking a litre of vodka a day – my life had crumbled."
Cases like Darren’s highlight the complexities of mental health and homelessness. Research undertaken by Homeless Link in 2014 shows that 80 per cent of respondents reported some form of mental health issue, 45 per cent of which had been diagnosed. This compares to 25 per cent of the general public who have been diagnosed with a mental health problem.
Fulfilling Lives is a program funded by the Big Lottery Fund, set up to deal with those experiencing multiple and complex needs including mental health, homelessness and drug and alcohol misuse. A spokesman from the program explained that a lot of people who are homeless and have mental health problems will also be reliant on substances.
He added: "Sometimes the substance may have contributed to the mental health problem and other times it will be being used to suppress it. It's a vicious cycle.
“A lot of people have suffered trauma, whether it's early childhood trauma or something has happened in their adult life – there’s always a reason behind it. Something significant happens in somebody’s lifestyle in order to make them live a life like that."
For 45-year-old Darren, this trauma came after the breakdown of his second marriage, which he reflects on in a state of contemplation. He begins talking faster as he explains what happened next:
"I hit rock bottom when I was drinking a lot of vodka. I went to the doctor at one point who was shocked by the state I was in. He told me that if I continued the way I was going I wasn't likely to live for more than six months. That was a huge shock."
Darren tells me he has now lessened his alcohol intake, and has been prescribed medication for his depression and anxiety. For others like him who are homeless and need to access services for their mental health problems, a report by Health Watch highlights how they can be rushed through hospital and sent back to the streets without being advised where they might seek further support to recover or manage their condition.
The report called 'Safely Home’ also shows examples of how those with multiple needs often do not have all of these addressed. Joshua Edwards of Health Watch said: “One thing that was clear from our work with all the groups covered in the ‘Safely Home’ report was that a ‘one size fits all’ approach fails to take into account the needs of individuals, and so the system needs to reflect that in the way it addresses complex issues.
"Our focus group work found that those with a dual diagnosis, for example drug and alcohol dependence coupled with mental health issues, were more likely to be readmitted on discharge."
But for those with more severe mental health problems who are sectioned under the Mental Health Act, it seems that support is more easily found. The report highlights that its respondents believe it is very hard to access support for mental health conditions without the use of the Mental Health Act.
A Freedom of Information request was submitted to Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust for this investigation, which revealed that in 2015, 19 clients who were sectioned under the Mental Health Act were classified as homeless. For those being discharged, only one person that year left the service with no fixed address.
Mental Health Matters is a charity who provide supported housing for clients who tend to have previously been in supported units. Julie Haley, Head of Social Care, said: "These people are still human beings, but they may be in crisis.
"Sometimes this means they need emotional and psychological support, sometimes it is life skills they need help with, such as being able to hold down their own tenancy and pay bills on time. Sometimes it's to help them to not be afraid to go outside. Every individual is supported with their own needs, it's not a case of one size fits all because mental health can affect all of these things."
Darren seems agitated as he speaks of how he is not entitled to support like this. He explains: “The council say I’m a priority because I’ve got diagnosed mental health problems, but not enough of a priority to be given a bed?" He asks it as a question – he himself doesn’t understand how the system works.
“Because I’m on medication and dealing with it I’m just left on the streets. I’m not as much of a priority as women and people with children.”
The spokesman for Fulfilling Lives admits that for those trying to access services, they do not always cater for those with multiple needs. He said: “The statutory system isn’t geared up to work with people with multiple needs because of how the services are commissioned. Mental health, drug and alcohol, housing and offending – they don’t work together because they’re funded very differently to deliver different things.
“With people with multiple needs you need to think outside the box or you will keep going round in circles and people will be passed around the system, never getting the range of support they need.”
Darren’s case is a prime example of how those with multiple needs can struggle to receive the right support. Two years after his downward spiral he is still living on the streets of Newcastle. “You get used to it,” he adds, “It’s just frustrating.” After talking some more I leave Darren to eat his sandwich in peace. He waves me off looking happy to have had some company. I head back to my warm home while I know later that night, Darren will head to the suburbs of Newcastle – Jesmond or Gosforth – to sleep, where he admits it feels safer. On my way home I contemplate how many more nights he will need to make that journey before he gets the support he needs.
