Homlessness in the North East 

The latest figures show that homelessness in the North East has rocketed by 40%. SRNews Reporter, Clarissa Murphy meets with the volunteers and the people on the streets to discuss what is being done to aid the issue.

Homelessness is often reflected in a bad light, though here in the North East there are a number of charities that do their bit. Help ranges from a hot meal, a job or a place to stay to keep figures in homelessness low.

To explore this further, I wanted to find out what it is like for those that spend their time on the streets and what help is out there for people. 

Vice Chair of Emmaus North East, Richard Hill said: "There are many reasons that people become homeless. We tend to meet more males than females and they become homeless because of, the end of a relationship, addiction, ex-servicemen and the loss of absolutely anything like a job or home.

"However, anyone can become homeless- even me or you. There is not one type of person." 

There are different stages to becoming homeless. 

Step one- finding the help you need when you become homeless. Step two- accepting the help provided and getting things back on track. Finally, step three- end of rehabilitation where you are ready to rebuild your life.

Step three is where the organisation, Emmaus North East come in. They have been running in the North East for eight years now.  They met some resistance in getting the project off the ground for several different reasons, but the last two years have proved to see a lift in the right direction for the organisation.

To find out more I visited their shop in Gateshead to see what they and the community are doing to help keep homelessness in the North East.

The Gateshead store sell everything from home decor to children toys, the store is much smaller than others which limits what stock they can take. 

I set the streets of Sunderland to talk to Big Issue seller, Abel about what it is like working on the streets.

Abel said: "I travel from Newcastle to come to my patch outside Marks & Spencers in Sunderland every day and stand here from 9am till 5.30pm. It is very hard standing in the cold all day but I do it to get some money saved up for my little girl who is 5 years old.

“People buy my Big Issue more at Christmas which is good because for every issue I sell I get £1.50 towards my daughters Christmas presents. I want to make sure she has a good Christmas."

Another organisation that helps the homeless is, The People's Kitchen based in Newcastle. All year round they provide support and food for those people referred to affectionately and simply as 'friends’.

The People's Kitchen also run events in the area for their friends. One of their upcoming events is a Christmas Street Party for the homeless of Newcastle and Tyneside on Monday, 14. This will take place under the railway arches on Trafalgar Street, Newcastle from 8pm.

People's Kitchen Chairman, Bob Eldridge, said: "The Christmas street party is a way of showing our friends how much we care and most importantly it's helping them to get some sort of normality into their lives. Everyone is celebrating Christmas but for many it's just another day. The party lets our friends escape their environment for a few hours and gives them the opportunity to join in Christmas like everyone else."

Food is served in the kitchen during Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday evenings and on the streets Monday and Thursday - a breakfast service is also in operation on Sundays.

“Around 200 volunteers dedicate their time to changing many people’s lives for the better. Indeed, the charity’s efforts were recognised at the highest level in 2014 when they were presented with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service," Eldridge added.

To do more for the homeless, visit Emmaus North East store in Gateshead, Low Fell or their website: http://www.emmaus.org.uk/northeast. The People’s Kitchen relies 100% on donations of food and money, you can give private donations or on the justgiving.com/thepeopleskitchennewcastle web pages.

Every donation large or small matters and is put to good use.