Dozens face "terrifying" Christmas on streets of Sheffield after huge rise in rough sleeping

Homelessness charities in Sheffield say they are seeing record numbers of people sleeping rough in the run up to Christmas.

The city has one of the highest rates of street homelessness outside of London, with the latest statistics showing a rise of 72% in the past year.

In June 2024, on a single night, there were 62 rough sleepers on the streets of Sheffield.

ITV News Calendar joined charity Framework's outreach team on their pre-dawn patrol of the city in the run up to Christmas.

The organisation carry out the walk every single day of the year and say they have seen a big rise in demand recently.

Manager of the charity's Sheffield team Steph Haines said: "It's gone up rapidly I'd say over the last two years and it just keeps growing. Our clients as well do seem to have very complex needs.

"The mental health seems to be getting worse, substance misuse is getting worse and people are out here for a long time. So the associated problems seem to spiral."

Alex Woolfenden is a former client of the Framework team - he spent three years sleeping rough but has now been housed for about 18 months.

He said: "Frankly it's terrifying, especially for someone like me, I'm a bit of a loner. It's about as bad as you can imagine, trying to find somewhere that's safe, trying to find somewhere that's quiet but not too quiet"

"In winter it's freezing. You try and find squats or buildings if you can, but if not then there's a real health risk."

Former client Alex Woolfenden slept rough on the streets for three years.

Framework say a rise in the use of super-strength drugs are exacerbating the problem of rough sleeping across the UK, not just in Sheffield.

During the outreach patrol, they came across a man laying unconscious inside a multi-storey carpark - who they suspect is under the influence of strong drugs.

Steph Haines said: "At the minute there's some really strong drugs going around. Obviously there's been the rise of fentanyl, but there's another type of drug called nitazines.

"They're really really potent - I think they're about 100 times stronger than fentanyl. So a lot of the time when we come across someone who's seemingly asleep, it's really important we check they're breathing."

On an outreach walk, Framework came across a man who the team suspected was under the influence of drugs.

The Archer Project, which is based behind the Cathedral in Sheffield, has also seen a spike in demand recently.

The charity provides breakfasts and lunches for rough sleepers and engages with those on the streets to help get them into housing.

Double the number of people are coming through their doors now compared to 18 months ago.

The Archer Project provides support to rough sleepers in Sheffield.

Dean Martin volunteers at the charity and now has a full time job at a company in Sheffield - all while sleeping rough at night.

He said: "It's very difficult at the moment because I have to balance life. So I've got somebody, we sleep on the streets together, he keeps my stuff on him so I can go to work, I then pretty much go to work, come back and we sleep outside so for the last three months I've been sleeping on concrete.

"It's very difficult because it's a full time role. You've got to sleep with one eye open"

Dean Martin sleeps rough on the streets in Sheffield and volunteers at the Archer Project.

Chief Executive of the Archer Project Tim Renshaw said the rise leaves the organisation struggling to keep people off the streets.

He said: "Really that tests the whole system. If we're not moving people away from the street into first ever accomodation or further then all the system feels busy. And we can't do those really important things like relationship build with a small group of people which actually helps people move on into a better life."

The rise in rough sleeping has put pressure on support services - both Framework and Archer Project are having to fundraise to keep operating.

The government this week announced £1 billion of extra support for councils to tackle homelessness, £48 million of which is for Yorkshire and the Humber.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Raynor said: "I am determined to break the cycle of spiralling homelessness and get back on track to ending it for good.

"This largest-ever investment marks a turning point, giving councils the tools they need to act quickly and put in place support for people to tackle, reduce and prevent homelessness. It's time to turn the tide."

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