A RISE in rough sleepers in the centre of Edinburgh has been blamed on a drip-down effect from the city's housing crisis.
Following the release of a report from the Homeless Outreach Project, it has been said the lack of affordable housing is one reason why more people at the bottom of the chain are being pushed out on to the streets.
It has emerged – after a compreh
ensive headcount of rough sleepers – that the number living on the streets has risen to 39 this year in the city centre, an increase of 16 from last year.
Worryingly, it signals a massive two-year jump. In 2006 there were thought to be only eight people sleeping rough. The charity said that the figures – made up of 36 males and three females – are only a proportion of the real picture, as their annual headcount doesn't unearth people sleeping in private gardens, sheds or outwith the Capital's centre.
Labour councillor and affordable housing campaigner Gordon Munro said the crisis was one of two reasons he felt were responsible for the issue.
He said: "As a city we are struggling to house the homeless and struggling to house the citizens, and until we can get more Government funding this situation isn't going to change.
"The housing crisis certainly affects these figures, and another is the same capital city effect that London experiences. People come here from elsewhere and know they will get services other local authorities can't give them."
Twenty two experienced project workers spend their time helping the city's homeless. They spend a night searching the city's streets, lanes, closes and cemeteries in a bid to provide an overall snapshot view of the situation.
Homeless Outreach Project director Andy McAleavy said: "This type of survey has its limitations as rough sleeping, by its very nature, is a private activity where people try to seek shelter in sites inaccessible to passers-by, including head-counting teams.
"For those reasons it is impossible to count the true number of rough sleepers in the centre, though it is reasonable to discern that the actual number is somewhat higher. The yearly head-counts clearly showed the number of rough sleepers had steadily decreased until the upturn in figures over the last two years."
As well as those found sleeping under the stars, 34 were counted sleeping at the Cowgate night service shelter. That is down one from last year, although in 2006 there were only 21 there.
The identity of those sleeping rough also appears to have changed, as the headcount team only found four people this year who were sleeping rough in last year's survey.
Conservative City Centre councillor Joanna Mowat added: "I think it's quite a complex picture and can't be blamed on any one thing. Certainly when there is an increase of this kind it is concerning, and I will be seeing if there is more we can do to address this."
The full article contains 499 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
