Peter has more to worry about than his appearance...
... like where he’s going to spend the night or get the cash for a meal.
| The worst thing about being homeless is having to beg for food. |
The first thing you notice about 18 year-old Peter* is the smell.
He carries with him an overpowering odour of sweat, stale food and urine. His face is dirty, covered in acne and he looks much older than his years.
But then Peter has more important things to worry about than his appearance and his odour. What he worries about is where he's going to spend the night or whether he can get the pennies together for an evening meal. Because, despite his young age, Peter has been sleeping rough on the streets near the city library since he was 16. He is one of the army of young people for whom Sheffield's streets are now their home.
It is something he still can't come to terms with.
"I feel degraded, shameful," he said. "The worst thing about being homeless is having to beg for food. I want a place to live but I just can't get it."
Peter has never really had a family life. Before his life on the streets he was in care and the only member of his family he was close to is now in prison. He quite literally has nowhere to turn.
"I've been staying with this kid I met about a week ago who's got a hat. I've stayed with him for the last few nights, but he disappeared last night and I don't know where he's gone. It looks like I'll be out sleeping rough again tonight."
Even the day offers no respite. Peter said: "I get up in the morning. I normally sleep either by the library, behind the Cathedral, or in the car park underneath Poxy's nightclub. I get up and go for my breakfast at the Cathedral, because it's free. Then, I go straight down to my pitch and start begging. I beg until 5pm and then I walk about for the rest of the evening."
The only people who help are those people perhaps least able to.
"Homeless people help each other out. If you need something to eat, theyll give it you straight away. If they've got an extra jacket, you can have it."
And Peter is not alone. In October 1998, local agencies estimated that more than 1,500 young people between the ages of 14 and 25 were homeless in Sheffield. A massive 35 per cent were under 18.
"It's pretty bad," said Claire Turner, a worker based at the Youth Information and Support Centre near the Peace Gardens. "People only think of homelessness as sleeping rough, but the teenagers you see sleeping in the streets or begging are just the tip of the iceberg. A lot of them are sleeping on friends' floors or moving from place to place."
Vulnerability and a lack of experience make the situation worse for teenagers and procedures designed to protect them can create further obstacles. She said: "A person will come in and they don't want anyone else to know what's happening to them their dad's beating them or they're addicted to heroin.
In danger
"We always try to respect confidentiality, but, when a young person, or their brothers and sisters are in danger, we have to act on it. We have to say 'Look, we don't want to tell, but we have to keep it on file'."
Despite the gloomy picture, Claire believes there are effective ways to improve things. She advocates more preventative measures, such as support accommodation or hostels. "There's a worker to help, you have your own room and start learning about how to live independently."
And she calls for back-up, such as tenancy support projects, which helps support young people and gets them off the street.
"There needs to be more support so they can make the transition to living independently. And there needs to be education so that people can cope with independent living."
But there is a long way to go. The youngest kid who Peter knows is sleeping rough is only 12 and according to Claire they get younger every day.
"There have been reports of homeless children as young as eight or nine. It's terrible. There is a real need for help."
* Peter is a pseudonym.
About the team
This article was produced by editor Sara Hawkins, 14, and reporters Davina McDowell, 13, and Shefina Coke, Katie Duckenfield and Tara Aston, all 12. It was published in the Sheffield Star.
