Protest March To Support Hull's Homeless

A protest to highlight the rise in homelessness across Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire will take place today.

Hundreds of people are expected to march through the centre of Hull to help raise awareness of the problem this afternoon.

It's been organised by Hull Homeless Outreach - and will also be used to help demonstrate the need for more affordable housing in the city.

Lee Haldenby is from the city and used to live on the streets. He told Viking FM:

"Being on the streets in cold weather was the worst part of it, your sleeping bag or quilt would get wet or damp and then you're walking around for up to 12 hours a day and it is lonely. It does get you down and it can be quite scary as you do get people coming up to you and causing trouble."

Jordan Scott was forced to live on the streets after he became homeless. He says at one point - he didn't know if he'd survive:

"I had nowhere to go and I was just sleeping anywhere that I could. It was really difficult, not knowing what to do and I didn't know if I was going to survive or how long I had left.

"I didn't actually know how bad the problem was until I became homeless myself. It made me think about what has gone on in some people's lives as you don't realise what it is like until you actually experience it yourself. People shouldn't judge a book by its cover, you should speak to the person and find out their story."

Sarah Hemmingway is from Hull Homeless Outreach which organised today's march.

She says there's many reasons why homelessness is on the rise in the city. She told Viking FM:

"There's many cuts to services that were once a place people could go to to stop them being homeless, then there's evictions, the bedroom tax and low wages. Many people have to choose whether to spend their money on either rent, heating or food. Sometimes people just can't cope and that's also why we're seeing a rise in the use of food banks.

"A lot of people are in hostels, they're on the streets. There's a lot of Polish on the streets because there's no benefits for them or many people have had their benefits sanctioned.

"There is a need for more affordable social housing. We're seeing families that have been evicted and are living in families' homes which are overcrowded, there's sofa surfers. Our charity used to help about twenty people and now we're helping up to sixty on an evening. Some do have their own homes but have just fallen on hard times."