On Thursday 26th March, every council leader in England received a letter from Luke Hall MP, the Under Secretary of State for Local Government and Homelessness. It asked their councils to house all rough sleepers “by the end of the week” to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Before that, the deadline was 2025 – which shows what can be done when there’s a bit of urgency and money is deployed to help local councils to get on with the job.

So what’s happening in Hastings? At the end of February, comparative figures for rough sleeping were issued by central government: it turned out that Hastings was already doing well with a 56% reduction since 2018 (one of the top ten reductions in the country). As Cllr Andy Batsford said at the time: “Against the background of short term funding for rough sleeping from central government, the disaster of Universal Credit for the vulnerable, and cuts to mental health and welfare services, the officers at Hastings Borough Council [HBC] and our voluntary partners have done an incredible job in supporting and addressing the biggest homelessness crisis we have seen in generations.”

The government edict less than a month later was therefore less of a shock to HBC than it might have been, although the extra funding was very welcome.

According to Cllr Batsford there are now only two known rough sleepers – who are both refusing to be housed. 

As there is a lot of talk about rough sleeping being far worse than the official figures, how can we know there are currently only two rough sleepers in this area? According to Cllr Batsford, the council has a good handle on the ever-changing situation. Not only are there four council officers out every day checking on numbers, and on the wellbeing of rough sleepers, they also receive information from their voluntary partners, particularly Seaview Project, who are commissioned by the council to give regular updates. However, there may always be some off the radar – in woods or otherwise well hidden – who don’t access services. Self-isolation is their life, and they are unlikely to accept the restrictions inherent in the provision of formal temporary accommodation.

The public perception of rough sleeping is coloured by the fact that there are many more people without income who beg on the streets or gather for companionship. These are part of what is termed ‘the street community’. Although some might be homeless, most are not, technically. On the other hand, there is a far greater invisible army of those who sofa-surf around and those already housed in temporary accommodation waiting to move on to somewhere permanent.

As Cllr Batsford says, it hasn’t been an easy predicament to deal with: “Traditionally Hastings is a low-wage economy and there have always been mental health issues. But at least there was cheap housing.”

Unfortunately, that started changing 20 years ago, and rental values have jumped within the last five to ten years. The rental on a one-bed flat used to be just over the housing benefit rate, but now it is 40% higher. “The numbers of homeless took off after austerity started to bite”, Cllr Batsford confirms. “But once Universal Credit kicked in there was an explosion. It’s all about breakdowns, and money being stopped. Before, someone could help, but no longer: it’s a draconian regime.”

People often give to the street community thinking they are homeless. But having somewhere to live is only the start. Being without a proper income is a problem even when housed and, for those used to living on the streets, even being housed can create its own issues of loneliness. We are in a new landscape which affects us all. Compassion for others is perhaps one of the few gifts this new reality brings.  

Over that time, AoP has been successful in introducing a wide variety of creative activities in a safe, accessible environment. It’s ironic that nine months later, the population at large is now experiencing problems previously confined to a minority.

Still life arrangement 

During the current pandemic, AoP has had to rethink its way of working and in the process has been able to widen its target audience to anyone who wishes to join in. Tara Reddy, the driving force behind AoP, says of the current situation: “The way people work has changed dramatically over night, for some it has made people slow down, be more empathic to other people’s needs. It’s critical to ensure that people keep well, stay connected and be creative.”

Seeing the crisis coming, she set up a dedicated Facebook AoP members page to ensure the work could continue, supporting people to connect and stay creative for wellbeing.

Each week a different topic is posted for people to draw, photograph, collage, write about or explore using any art form they choose and then post on the AoP Members Facebook Page.

Alongside promoting art activities, the Facebook page signposts people to opportunities in the wider community and services available to support people’s wellbeing such as: Hastings Emergency Action Response Team, Extinction Rebellion Hastings, Hope for the Homeless, HVA Phone Line, Next Door and Isolation Station – all run by volunteers and set up to respond to the pandemic. 

A painting in still life

And what about the workshops that used to be run at the Warrior Square surgery? Stay Connected and Be Creative art and wellbeing sessions are now carried out ‘in the ZOOM room’ every Friday at 10am for two hours. This provides opportunity for AoP members to engage with each other and focus on participating in an art activity – each week something different: still life drawing, creative writing, dance and lots more.

On Mondays at 10am they are in the ZOOM Room with singing sessions facilitated by Jenny Miller of Barefoot Opera. On Tuesdays at 11am there’s a mindfulness and wellbeing session delivered by Lucy Pappas. 

Tara has a full-time job with One You, East Sussex but is now working from home.

After the novelty of COVID-19 self-isolation wore off (about four days!) I started thinking about how we dealt with infections previously. In my East End school during the 1970s we had an inspiring nun teaching us RE – she didn’t wear the habit, which she said had developed from humble clothes, so her navy cardigan and skirt and white blouse were more in keeping. She lived in a council flat, was radical in her teaching, but most of all made sure we met people we wouldn’t come across on our council estate. 

One of these was Pam. Pam was almost immobile and near horizontal, using a huge wheelchair. Severely disabled by polio as a child in the 1950s, she spoke of her life, and how nobody else need struggle like she did because of the introduction of the Polio vaccine. We had all taken the oral vaccine placed on a sugar cube when we were younger. 

The 1950s Polio epidemic ravaged families with 8,000 cases a year –10% resulting in death. The iron lung was a regular sight in hospitals, breathing for those with collapsed lungs. Pam was the voice of 43,000 children who contracted Polio in that decade. Yet ten years later numbers were negligible.

WIPING OUT DISEASES

We’ve come leaps and bounds since then, with vaccinations for several conditions. TB was rife in the east end, but better conditions and the BCG vaccination virtually wiped it out. Smallpox is now but a memory. Yet we are now falling back. Why? Because in 1998 Dr Wakefield published a flawed study into the MMR vaccine in The Lancet linking it to autism. The study has since been completely discredited and the doctor struck off the medical register. Subsequent research found no link. Wakefield was found to have undisclosed financial conflicts of interest, to have been dishonest and to have mistreated children with delayed development. The BMJ called his work “an elaborate fraud”. A journalist found Wakefield planned to capitalise on the scare by forming a company that would profit from “litigation-driven testing”.

THE RISE OF ANTI-VAXXERS 

But the findings took hold and spread across an internet barely policed and lacking fact checking. Social media gave anti-vaxxers a platform. Vaccination rates fell leading to outbreaks of disease like measles. The MMR rate for Hastings in 2013 was 85% – far below the coverage needed to stop the spread to those who, for health reasons, couldn’t have the vaccination. Across the country immunisation fell to 73%.

While all vaccination pro-cedures show side effects in a minority, these are outweighed by the benefits. The human story of one child’s side effect is heard and shared by worried parents, yet the miracle of health for many millions of children is not newsworthy. We need to deliver to parents unbiased information – but we must also stop the spread of falsehoods. It’s heartening now to see how quickly Facebook respond to my reports of snake oil adverts aiming to stop Coronavirus. 

VACCINATION NEEDS TRUST

Vaccination relies on trust and the knowledge that benefits outweigh risks. Re-establishing that trust is the duty of all of us. Challenge unproven assumptions on social media, report fake news and commit to finding out a little more than we already know about vaccinations. Amid this global pandemic, anti-vax voices are less vocal. The complacency in our lives of minimal infectious diseases is shattered, and countries are collaborating to produce a vaccine. May it come soon, with minimal side effects and maximum benefits for us all.

Paul Barlow is a School Partnership Manager and was a Hastings Councillor for four years.

Coronavirus pod at the Conquest
PICTURE: Dave Young

Vikki Carruth, the Trust’s Director of Nursing and of Infection Prevention and Control, issued a statement last month that “our staff have worked together to put in place everything that is required of us, to be prepared and respond if needed”.

National guidelines from PHE direct the Trust not to “get into a running commentary about numbers tested in our pods”. Any confirmed cases will be announced by PHE. At the time of going to press there have been none in the East Sussex healthcare area.

NHS 111 has an online coronavirus service that can tell you if you need medical help and advise you what to do.

Use this service if:
• you think you might have coronavirus;
• in the last 14 days you’ve been to a country or area with a high risk of coronavirus;
• you’ve been in close contact with someone with coronavirus.

Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital. Call 111 if you need to speak to someone.

Self-isolation
If there’s a chance you could have coronavirus, you may be asked to stay away from other people (self-isolate).

This means you should:
• stay at home
• not go to work, school or public places
• not use public transport or taxis
• ask friends, family members or delivery services to do errands for you
• try to avoid visitors to your home – it’s OK for friends, family or delivery drivers to drop off food

You may need to do this for up to 14 days to help reduce the possible spread of infection.