Charity hands out sleeping bags to island's homeless

The help came from the charity Guernsey Caring for Ex-Offenders, which focuses on resettlement of people released from the prison.

Its coordinator, Mary Herve, said it kept sleeping bags and tents available at its headquarters at Holy Trinity Church for those who found themselves to be homeless, and estimated that between six and eight sleeping bags had been given to people each year in recent years.

‘It’s very difficult when we have nothing but a bag and food to keep them going,’ she said.

‘Sometimes we have even had to take people to places to sleep where they won’t necessarily be warm, but will at least be dry and will have a coat and some food.

‘I don’t enjoy doing that at all.’

She added that the island ‘very definitely’ had a hidden homelessness issue, which was particularly pertinent for ex-offenders attempting to reintegrate into society.

‘Ex-offenders have the odds stacked against them,’ she said.

‘They have a criminal record which immediately reduces their chances of finding a job, they often have little to no money so can’t pay for things like a deposit on a flat, and some may have certain conditions imposed on them when they are released which prevent them from living in certain areas or properties.’

She welcomed the launch of At Home In Guernsey, a new charity focusing on homelessness, and said she was surprised that the island had not tackled the problem of homelessness earlier.

She called on the States to take decisive action before things got worse.

‘Guernsey needs more affordable accommodation, it’s as simple as that, and until we see that I don’t see things getting better.

‘I appreciate that it’s a complex situation and I’m not pointing the finger at anyone, but I really believe the drive for change ultimately has to come from our government.

‘What does it say about a well-off place like Guernsey that we can’t look after our most vulnerable?’

She hoped that the launch of At Home In Guernsey would give a higher profile to homelessness locally.

‘It would be really good if it was out in the open more, I know the charity is still in its early days but it’ll hopefully become a place that we can signpost people to and take some of the weight off of our shoulders.’

‘This won’t mean that we will distance ourselves from ex-offenders, it will simply mean that we can support them more effectively.’

• Read more in our news focus on homelessness in Monday’s Press.