Rough sleeping in London has increased by 9% in the last year. Over 3,200 people slept rough in London from April to June 2023, with 49% of these people were sleeping rough for the first time.

Homelessness statistics like this are dominating the news at the moment. While they very effectively show how rapidly homelessness is increasing, they fail to consider what makes these numbers worth our attention: people.

Behind these numbers are real people we see every day. They have hopes, fears and dreams like everyone else. Their experiences can’t be reduced to charts or graphs.

Are homelessness statistics useful?

We’re not saying this data isn’t important. In fact, it’s essential to our work and helps us understand what’s going on across our local area. Without this data, we wouldn’t be able to see where our support is most needed and how to effectively help in the current rough sleeping environment.

It’s also helpful to have a clear way of expressing the scale of the issues we’re up against to help raise awareness.

Getting a fuller picture

But these statistics on homelessness are far from the whole story and mean very little unless we consider who they represent. If we try to limit people’s experiences to facts and figures we’ll never get the full picture.

But what does this look like in reality? Let’s imagine a person has been sleeping rough for two years – we’ll call them Alex. Alex struggles with addiction and their mental health. While they have been visiting The Connection for six months now, they refuse to hear about any housing or long-term support options. Instead, they come in every day to use our showers, eat lunch and attend group activities.

On paper, this might look like Alex has made little progress since working with us. But what about the trust they’ve built with us to visit every day? Or the confidence they’ve gained from expressing themselves in our singing workshops? Would any data be recorded on how having a access to a warm shower made them feel compared to their day to day life before seeking support?

This inner growth can’t be measured in homelessness statistics, at least not in their current form. By looking at stories like Alex’s, we’re able to see the person behind the numbers and what progress might mean for them.

As a quick note, it’s important to remember that data can never be perfect or complete. We know, for example, that women are often left behind in these statistics as they tend to sleep rough in hidden locations for their safety. Because of this, we need to take this data with a pinch of salt and recognise that it can never reflect everyone’s experiences.

In conclusion

To fully understand homelessness, we of course need to understand the data but this can’t be the only source of information we look at. People’s stories, experiences and opinions are just as important, even if they are more complicated to put in clear categories.

By centering people, as we do in our work, we are able to look beyond numbers and move towards the real human lives that are affected by rough sleeping. With this understanding, we can work with people sleeping rough to provide the support they need and bring about a brighter future.

All above data is from the Greater London 2023-24 Q1 Report on rough sleeping in London. This was produced by CHAIN. See the report in full here.