Worthing father told to sleep on the streets ‘to prove he is homeless’

A Worthing father has said he has had to sleep on the streets for more than a week to prove he is homeless.
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Glen Clayton, 26, said he applied for emergency accommodation on Monday (March 30) following several days sleeping at Gatwick Airport and on trains.

He was told by Worthing Borough Council to go and sleep rough and an outreach worker would ‘find him’, he said, despite going to the council office in person.

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On Tuesday he told the council he would be sleeping in the Grafton Road multi-storey car park but nobody came, Glen said, despite the car park being ‘wall to wall’ with sleeping bags from other rough sleepers seeking refuge.

Glen Clayton SUS-200304-160650001Glen Clayton SUS-200304-160650001
Glen Clayton SUS-200304-160650001

The dad-of-one said he fears he could be slipping through the cracks. “I feel like I’ve been hung out to dry – everyone seems on a different wavelength,” said Glen, who has a young daughter.

“I feel let down, they are meant to be there to help you and be there for you, but they haven’t been. No-one deserves to be ignored like this and I know it’s tough times for everyone, but I’m really trying.

“It feels like I just have to keep on pestering them but it’s like I’m being passed around. I can understand if it takes one or two days, but it shouldn’t last four or five.”

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Glen’s mother died when he was 18 and since then he said nothing has gone right, with periods spent on and off the streets for the last five years.

Surviving on temporary jobs and universal credit, he would stay in hostels until the money ran out every month, then usually spend the next week sleeping rough.

He said: “It’s dreadful. You need to be so strong mentally. Most people stick together in groups but I keep myself to myself. I’m lucky enough to have been brought up without drugs, but after my mum passed away it all fell apart, with depression and things like that. I just don’t know where to turn.”

Last week, council leader Dan Humphreys tweeted that every rough sleeper in Worthing had been offered a bed and shelter, but the escalating Coronavirus pandemic has put further pressure on support services.

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A spokesman for Adur and Worthing councils said the number of people sleeping rough had increased during the crisis, but the housing team was working to accommodate them in places such as now-empty hotels.

The councils’ outreach team follow up reports of rough sleepers every morning and evening, the spokesman said.

Rough sleeping can be reported through the Streetlink website, by the homeless person or their family directly or by members of the public.

The councils also work with homeless charity Turning Tides – which has supported Glen – and the team at St Clare’s Community Hub to identify rough sleepers in the area.

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Glen said he had reported himself homeless through Streetlink and directly with the council, twice, but he paid tribute to the amazing work of Turning Tides.

The councils’ spokesman said the multi-agency team was meeting every two to three days and a countywide group had been set up to meet three times a week.

The spokesman said; “Despite this recent increase caused by the outbreak our teams are still working hard to find accommodation to ensure people are taken off the streets where they are even more vulnerable than normal because of Coronavirus.

“Our outreach teams are still going out to talk to those in need and we are working to find rooms and shelter for everyone including in hotels, now shutdown because of the crisis, and other premises.”

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Anyone seeking support can visit www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/coronavirus/community-support or call 01903 221222.

To make a donation to Turning Tides, visit www.justgiving.com/turningtideshomelessness

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