This year there has been a 64% rise in people sleeping rough in Leicester, according to statistics released by the government.

Information collected from 27 Health Needs Audits across England showed:

• 86% reported some kind of mental health issue, diagnosed or undiagnosed.

• 44% had been diagnosed with a mental health issue, compared to 25% of the general population.

• 41% said they take drugs or are recovering from a drug problem.

• 27% are recovering from an alcohol problem.

About the project…

David Rowlands will be living and sleeping on the streets of Lecister for seven days and seven nights between the 5th-11th March 2018, to raise awareness & hear the often-unheard voices of the homeless community within Leicester.

During ‘National Conversation Week’ he will be visiting a range of support services available to the community to gain a better understanding of the unmet health needs of the homeless.

At 18.00 – 18.30 on each of these days, he will be publicly speaking about his experiences of the day at the Leicester Town Hall Square fountain. Staff, volunteers & services users that he has visited throughout each day will also be invited to attend these events Organisations will have an opportunity to speak about their projects, addressing some of the challenges they are facing & celebrate their achievements.

The focus for these events are going to be Mental Health, Service, Drugs & Alcohol, HIV, hepatitis C, Relationships, Health & Well-being.

Jon Ashworth, Shadow Secretary of State for Health & Labour MP for Leicester South says ‘I want to lend my support to David Rowlands for the phenomenal project he has taken on sleeping homeless on the streets for a week. We have seen a disgraceful increase in rough sleeping and homelessness here in Leicester & across the country. In Leicester we have seen a 64% increase in rough sleeping in the past year. We have had 8 years of austerity cuts, cuts to local authorities, cuts to housing, cuts to public services & you can really see the devastating impact this is having on people’s lives. As a society we have got to do something about homelessness. We need a society where nobody should be sleeping rough on our streets. Please support David & get behind him, it’s an amazing thing you’re doing. Let’s build a society where everybody has a roof over their heads and nobody sleeps rough on our streets in the cold at night’

David Rowlands, Director of www.DR-web.co.uk says; ‘While I have set myself a challenge, I find it absolutely interesting on so many levels. This project is going to provide a refreshing insight into real life experiences of homeless community in Leicester, as well as breaking down the stigma, hopefully challenging your perceptions and influencing change in the future.”

‘Many services across the city are working collaboratively to encourage those with addiction issues to engage with treatment and care services, but often people’s voices are unheard. Moving forward preventing homelessness is going to require collaboration with a multi-disciplinary approach.’

Throughout the week, he will be collecting donations by ww.JustGiving.com which will raise the profile of the project. This initiative is a great way to get people to back the project & help make it a reality.

Donations

• Will support costs to produce a printed publication and video.

• Host a meeting of all supporters in the second quarter of 2018.

• Generate start-up costs for new projects in the city.

• Support existing organisations to make service developments.

A publication and video ‘Time to change’ supported by students from De Montfort University will be produced of his experiences over the week which will address & devise solutions to the key health challenges that matter the most to the homeless community in Leicester.

This will be shared across the city with our supporters that we have collaborated with as well as patient organisations, healthcare providers, physicians, stakeholders & policymakers.

Watch this short video about the project

John Ashworth Video

Learn more about the project