Sheffield homelessness: Former rough sleepers reveal violence and humiliation suffered sleeping on city streets

It came at a dark time in his life when he was homeless, living on the streets.

A man had come out of a nightclub and was clearly upset as he tried to find a way to make a phone call in a call box.

Richard saw he was having problems and went over to help him. sorting out an issue with the phone which had been doctored by someone as part of a scam to take money.

The phone call made, what was the man’s reaction? He attacked Richard in the phone booth. To rub salt in the wounds, another man saw the incident and, rather then helping him, joined the attack.

This was not the only time Richard was attacked – and he was not surprised when a vicious assault on a homeless man at Victoria Quays hit the headlines last month. Todd Major, aged 29, of Beighton Road, near Woodhouse, was jailed for three years for an attack that was caught on CCTV and included kicks to the head.

Richard, the son of a policeman, grew up in Aston and Swallownest. His mum died when he was four and he rebelled. Getting involved in the wrong crowd, his life spiralled into drugs, and then homelessness.

Initially living on the streets of Aston, he then moved to the streets of Sheffield.

The Archer Project

Richard is off the streets and has been clear of drugs for four years, living in his own flat in the city and helping as a volunteer at the Archer Project, a scheme to help the homeless, run from a site next to Sheffield Cathedral.

He says violence is part of everyday life for those on the streets – often from people abusing those who have found themselves at their lowest ebb.

"You’re not safe,” he said. “You’re in danger every night that you put your head down, wherever that may be. You know you’re in danger and you can sense it some nights, it’s that sort of atmosphere.”

“I can remember times when I’ve been asleep and woken up to find people have taken my hat and have been throwing it to one another. What can you do?”

Other times he has been attacked by people he feels have wanted to do it to impress their friends. Sometimes the friends told the perpetrators not to be so stupid. Other times they have joined in.

He says often it is by students.

"They are told when they arrive at college not to give money to beggars,” he said. “Perhaps they should tell them not to attack them, too?”

He was injured to the point of needing hospital treatment five times, but lost count of the number of times he was the victim of less severe attacks.

Richard, aged 43, has also been attacked by other homeless people, and says that remains a danger, partly because of the drugs many homeless people use. He said they were an easy target for dealers.

"Something has got to be done,” he said. “I’ve known people get seriously hurt.”

‘Crack den in Pitsmoor’

Jo, aged 46, did not want to use her full name. She came to Sheffield from Lancashire, aged 20, to be with her partner. She married and had two children, but found herself subject to domestic violence which led her to a life on the streets. She at one stage was living in what she described as a ‘crack den’ in Pitsmoor, where residents had to pay £15 a night in drugs or cash.

She too suffered violence – but from other homeless people, including those who were her partners. One partner tried to cut her thumb off when she refused to do what he asked her to.

She said much of the violence was as a result of drugs – or people not having any.

Jo has also now given up drugs and is off the streets and volunteering at the Archer Project.

"Homeless people are not generally given a chance,” she said. “But the Archer Project gives us that chance. But I fear they will never stop the violence because of the drugs and the peer pressure. Places like the Archer Project are one answer, because they provide a safe haven. Everyone has a beating heart and deserves love, care and attention.”

Tim Renshaw, chief executive at the Archer Project, tends to hear about the major incidents of violence, but says he is not always told of smaller attacks that happen on the streets.

But he said being attacked or humiliated on the streets was a constant problem for the city’s homeless, and some saw them as targets.

He said the experiences of Richard and Jo were not isolated stories, and that attacks from strangers were less frequent than assaults from other people on the streets.

"We hear about these when people are reflecting on street life,” he said. “We hear of homeless people being urinated on while sleeping in a doorway. There are those who think it is a fun thing to be horrible to someone who is down and out.

"There is this thing that some people see someone excluded from society and think they deserve what they get.

"People don’t fall out of society as a choice.”

He said the major cause of homelessness was childhood trauma, leading to a lack of trust in people, and affected their chances of getting on at school or finding work. People on the street should be seen as people with potential who, with support, could lead successful and fulfilling lives

"There is a lot of work in this city going on based on being a safe place and building relationships,” he said. “Attitudes have changed over the years about mental health. We need the same changes to happen with the understanding of homelessness.”

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