Too Long to Wait for Housing!

By Stephen Wilson, one of our reporters abroad

The contrast between the average length of time a person is homeless in Russia and Scotland remains striking.

How long might a homeless person wait for a permanent home in Scotland?  Another anxious question might be 'How permanent is permanent?'  It appears that our lives have become so volatile that the once cherished economic and social stability of the post-war boom time years of the 1950's and 60's now seem unreal.  

It resembles a mirage or part of a phantom memory which someone conjured up!  

That there was a time when it was relatively easy to obtain a half decent job and purchase a home now looks like a 'golden age.'  My parents grew up in a time when there existed a strong social safety net to cushion any period of unemployment, spell of illness or loss of work.  The thought that you might become homeless tomorrow was viewed as a either low or very temporary probability.

Now the question is not so much whether you might become homeless but for how long?  Of course, the average time a person is homeless depends on the particular situation you find yourself in.  There is always a worse scenario.  You could simply be in the wrong place at the wrong time. {or you could be in the right place at the wrong time or vice versa… Work this conundrum out!}

Russians have often found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.  For instance, in 1945, 20 million Russians were left homeless by the devastation of war.  

Another wrong time was during the late 1980's and the 1990's where whole factories were closing down and life savings were lost overnight.  And Russia is not the best place to become homeless because there is no statutory law where the local authorities are obliged to offer the homeless permanent accommodation.  The law passed which insists that orphans must be provided with a permanent home is often flouted by local councils and not enforced.

According to a survey by Validata, the average time on the streets for a Russian man is 5.8 years and for women it's 7.8 years.  Some homeless people in my locality have been lingering around for longer.  

Only last week I met up with a homeless musician who I have seen busking for the past 20 years or more here.  He told me “I have registration and two homes I can go to.  But I have argued with my family over what kind of life I want to live.”  The drummer told me how he adores dogs and is interested in religion.  He also complained about how the shop assistant near the park refused to serve him.  He offered me some grapes to eat and an electric shaver he found on the streets as a gift.  'Where can I use this razor?' he asked me.  Not far from him, I have noticed an elderly woman who often sits in one place smoking a cigarette or drinking the odd cup of coffee.  I have heard her screaming at drivers who would not give way to her.  She has been on the streets for years and clearly has mental health problems.  She likes to be left alone in peace.

According to housing advocates in Russia, the homeless tend to actively seek to get off the streets in the first two years.  However, after 2 years their energy gradually fades and they lose hope.  They give up…

They feel absolutely at a dead end.  It is as if 'no entry' signs loom up all around them telling them 'We can't employ you…'  'You can rent this room…'  or 'You are not allowed to do this or that.'  The reasons they can't obtain a job is the vast red tape which insists anyone applying for a job needs a special work permit and to be registered by the police at a particular address.  

The period of homelessness is longer in Russia than many western countries because there is a complete absence of a state system and laws to assist them by providing permanent homes or even easing access to work.  It is strange that some ignorant people disparage the homeless for not working when they don't even have the legal right to do this.  According to the 2022 report by Nochlezhka, “In countries which have a better-developed system for helping the homeless, this period {of being homeless} is under a year.  Russia has no system of social assistance and rehabilitation for the homeless.  People without a registered address cannot exercise many rights.  They have no access to social benefits, some types of medical care and much more.” {Page 7 of Annual Report of Nochlezhka, 2022.}

In Russia, in contrast to Britain where homelessness and housing is an important public social issue, this issue is hardly discussed never mind raised.  In none of the leaflets handed out to me campaigning for the Russian parliament does the issue of the housing question or homelessness ever arise.  Unlike In Britain there is no declared aim to abolish or decrease homelessness.  There is no formulated state social policy period.

According to researchers in Russia, the reasons for becoming homeless have considerably changed.  Whereas before, most researchers believed the main reason for homelessness in the cities was people migrating from poorer and depressed regions now being made redundant plays a more crucial role.  For most respondents in the 2022 survey by Nochlezhka's counselling service which  amounted to 2,152, the main reasons given for becoming homeless were losing their job and being unable to pay the rent.

So people in Russia can certainly be forgiven for believing the grass is greener on the other side.  For instance, when you hear that Scotland counts it as a scandal to hear that it takes councils an average of 9 months to find a homeless person permanent accommodation it would raise eye brows in Moscow. “What are they complaining about? Here local councils don't provide the homeless with permanent places period! And it is not deemed a scandal by local people!” 

According to Scottish government statistics, it takes an average of 270 days to find a homeless person permanent accommodation.  But when we come to Edinburgh things take a downturn.  In the Edinburgh city council the average wait is almost 2 years.  Homeless people there take an average of 699 days to find a permanent home…

Some regions of Scotland such as the Bute and Argyll and Edinburgh have even declared a state of emergency in regard to housing.  Indeed, the situation is critical enough.  As many as 9860 children were in temporary accommodation in Scotland from September 2023 and the number of those sleeping rough shot up to almost 1500.  The reasons for this homelessness lie in a lack of affordable housing, local people being priced out of the markets by the explosion of holiday lets and airbnbs.  At the same time the countryside is littered with empty houses which nobody can afford to buy because they are too expensive.

But even those who live in social housing or homes live in fear they might end up on the streets…  

For example, one middle aged woman told me “I still live in fear that I'll have to move again.  I still feel afraid.  The threat of homelessness was terrifying.  I still get nightmares about it.  Do you still feel afraid of being homeless again?  It is a feeling that never leaves you.  It haunts me.”

People with no place to live.  What a topic!  Who would believe we are still talking about this in 2024?