I was in Aldi's car park at night with a torch and found out just how bad this situation is

These people make up the YMCA Wirral’s Rough Sleeper Initiative, a service supported through funding from Wirral Council, to try and keep people off the streets and tackle homelessness across the borough. As the UK Government promises to end homelessness backed up by £3.5bn, the LDRS went out with the team to see what it is like for people sleeping rough and those helping them.

Spaces under flyovers, quiet corners of parks, Birkenhead Town Hall’s steps, and derelict buildings like the former Rocky’s gym or the dilapidated Central Hotel are known hotspots. We headed to Bromborough after a Streetlink report that someone was sleeping under a tree on the edge of the Aldi car park there.

At the scene, we find a leg brace but no other trace of the person and much of the night is spent trying to find people, sometimes in the pitch black. Even on a quiet shift, the team are constantly on the move.

At one point in the night, the team believes someone may be heading off to take drugs but nothing can be done to stop them. Team leader Tina Chapman said: “With stuff like that, we have the conversation about being safe, getting the right support in place, just generally what you would call harm reduction.”

From 3pm until 11pm calls come in. While there are many reasons people are facing homelessness Martyn Anderson, who has worked at the service for over two years, said the situation was the worst he has ever seen it

He told the LDRS: “It’s really sad. The main reason in my eyes for homelessness is drug addiction and alcoholism.”

Homelessness is on the rise in Wirral with demand for services rising by 16% since 2020 and repeat homelessness at 14.4%. At the YMCA, there are roughly four emergency spaces available every night but there may be a dozen or more people wanting them.

This means people have to be assessed against criteria with the most vulnerable prioritised. People are also asked if they can stay with family or friends so they’re not sleeping rough.

The only exceptions to this are when emergency protocols are activated as weather conditions pose a risk to life and extra funding is given to the charity to keep people safe.

Martyn said: “It’s dead frustrating telling people you haven’t got anywhere. It’s even more frustrating having to be God. We have got four spaces and once they are filled, we have got to pick and choose who can go in. It’s not nice.”

Asked whether future funding could make a difference, he said: “It’s too early to see and it’s what funding we do get. Birkenhead is just a little town. It’s not really on the map like Liverpool, Manchester or Birmingham.”

When we stopped by Wirral Ark, a homeless charity based in Woodside, Chantel Stevenson said in seven years, only two people have been able to get social housing. At the moment, they have two with them who have been there since 2023 and one person who had been given a Section 21 no fault eviction notice “has been here 18 months because there’s nowhere to move onto”.

Emma is one of those who now has a place at the YMCA. She said: “They come out and see you. If you haven’t got anywhere to go, they still come out and see how you are and everything.

“I have slept rough loads of times. You can’t describe it. You hear stories and how they ended up on the streets but I never thought it would happen to me.”

However for some, the YMCA offers a lifeline. Matthew McDaid was in and out but has now been there for two and a half years.

He said: “It’s given me a lease of life. It’s a good kick up the ass. Without places like this, there would be deaths everywhere. People would be dying in the streets.”

If you are aware of someone rough sleeping, email the Rough Sleeper Initiative at [email protected] or call 07821 125119. You can also report concerns about someone sleeping rough at thestreetlink.org.uk. Any details you provide via the website will be passed on to local agencies.