'It's been cold and horrible' say rough sleepers

"My mum kicked me out when I was 13, so I've just been on and off the streets ever since," said one young woman who has been sleeping in a tent beneath a busy Bristol roundabout.

"It's been cold and horrible," she added.

She is one of several people who have spoken anonymously to the BBC about their experience of sleeping rough at the Bearpit roundabout in the city centre.

The latest figures from the city council show the number of homeless people in the city has risen.

The authority has extended its Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) until Thursday, after the UKHSA issued a yellow cold health alert for the South West.

This will see outreach teams engaging with the homeless and temporary shelters put up to house them through the coldest nights.

"I'm 28 years old now," added the young woman, who says she has lived in Brighton, London and Bristol.

"It's been cold and horrible but Bristol is the best place for [being] homeless."

Another woman described how some of her worst encounters have involved men.

She said: "It's the way they come up to you and think that you're a prostitute even though you're not.

"You're just sitting there just to be calm, and you get by day-by-day."

One man said: "In the winter time, it's freezing cold - it's horrible.

"When you're sleeping in a tent you need to understand you don't have any amenities. You've got nowhere to wash your clothes or go to the toilet."

Since the start of the pandemic, Bristol has seen a 25% increase in households approaching the city council because of homelessness-related issues.

More than 22,000 households are on the waiting list for social housing.

Some 1,600 households are now in temporary accommodation, Bristol City Council said, while there were 77 people sleeping rough on the last count in November.

"The statistics really tell a story," said Alv Hirst, storytelling coordinator at charity Caring in Bristol.

"As a society, we're not doing enough to push back against homelessness.

"People day after day are just falling through the net."

The charity's Caring at Christmas project was the busiest they've ever seen it, with a massive increase in service users.

Homeless charity Billy Chip is trying to drum up new partnerships after one of their biggest partners, Greggs, withdrew from a scheme which helps people to donate money to homeless people.

The scheme works by encouraging people to buy £2 chips that homeless people can use to buy hot drinks or a meal at partnered outlets.

"Greggs has pulled out of the scheme, because we believe they want to focus on doing their own stuff internally," said Meg Abernathy-Hope, the charity's co-founder.

"We really need independent or even large chains to come on board and help us give those people that are sleeping rough the opportunity to have somewhere warm and get themselves a hot drink, especially in weather like this."

Councillor Barry Parsons, chair of the Homes and Housing Delivery Committee at Bristol City Council, said the local authority can offer support to people sleeping rough.

"It's incredibly sad and it's very upsetting to see of course," he said.

"We have seen a rise in homelessness, since the pandemic particularly, and a rise in people sleeping rough.

"There's a whole range of factors that we think contribute to that, including a rise in poverty, and the cost of private rents.

"But we are working extremely hard with our partners to provide people with options."

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