On the cold concrete under the winter sky, wrapped up as best he can be in donated fleeces and blankets, sits Mr Singh, 58, one of the 65 rough sleepers in Ilford. The air has a vicious chill and the passing trains shudder the tracks above him every ten minutes. Under the bridge he lays, it is damp and there is a faint twinkle in the distance from a flickering street light. It is only 5pm, but the winter darkness has already cloaked the lone figure and hid him from the world. Mr Singh (Full name withheld) spends most of his nights awake in fear for his life on these dark lonely streets after seeing so many of his friends die in the exact circumstances he finds himself.
6 out of 10 homeless people who have died in the London Borough of Redbridge this year have been illegally migrated men from India. Just like Mr Singh, these men fall victim to government procedure and lack of legal documentation and thus become physically stranded on the streets, desperate for a return to their families and loved ones back in their homeland.
Mr Singh, who previously spent his days working in the hot north Indian sun as a farmer in Punjab, faced the challenging and dangerous trek to the UK in 1998 through Europe by plane, boat and lorry in hope of a better life and opportunities so he could send money to his wife and son back home. Having spent 2 decades in UK, he has been sleeping rough for the majority of that time as it is incredibly difficult for him to find work, housing or access help services in Britain due to his illegal status.
Perched up against the mossy wall, using the bricks as a support, he tells me it is through the good work of local charities, such as the Ilford Salvation Army, he is sometimes able to get a bed through the winter months, depending on what happens that day. “Sometimes I work some cash in hand jobs like manual labour but any money I get I spent on food and now I’m getting older so it’s becoming harder to do these things,” he shared with me before his eyes welled up and tearfully explained how much he misses his family and how he’s terrified he will never say goodbye to them. “My fate is in god’s hands, I don’t know what will happen, but every day I pray for my son, my wife and I pray I will see them soon.”
Wrapped up in-between the blankets Mr Singh clutches onto an unbranded vodka bottle that’s half empty. It’s his only vice to numb the physical pain, it’s how he will get through this night and live to see tomorrows sun.
Jagdeep Singh Sohal, Sikh Empowerment Voluntary Association (S.E.V.A) leader, who has been volunteering and feeding the homeless in Ilford since June 2015 said “They’re good people but their circumstances lead them to live on the street and then they get involved in drink and drugs to survive, not because they want to. It just becomes a vicious circle. Some of them in this cold weather have a drink to get away from it all, they’re stuck in a rut.”
Mr Sohal, who is a part of the only Sikh organisation in Ilford who feed the homeless, spends his time every Tuesday and Thursday preparing and giving out food for rough sleepers in Ilford town centre. Come rain or shine, a van full of donated food and drink parks up and he and his team of around 10 volunteers each week pitch up a table and organise an orderly queue ready to serve. “Really we just feed them. We need to do more, help them get back on track.” He said to me at one of his feeds, with a line of vulnerable people behind him eager for food and a hot drink.
He explained to me how social media is vital to their project: “God willing if we’re ever short of an item we put it on Facebook a couple weeks beforehand and someone orders the item for us and its delivered.”
Mr Sohal, who’s organisation makes up to 80 portions a week that all go, believes these men shouldn’t be left to die on the Ilford streets. “I think the council need to do more to either send them back home or provide something for them in the short-term to help, it’s no good having them on the streets.”
“Of the 65 rough sleepers in Ilford, 44 of them have no recourse to public funds” according to Councillor Jas Athwal, Leader of the London Borough of Redbridge Council, and as a result the council holds little power over what they can do to help.
Councillor Athwal said “I don’t want to forget about these people, these men deserve to be with their families” and explained how he is working with third-party organisations to help. The council have provided the land for the Salvation Army’s winter shelter to offer a roof over the heads of those sleeping on the streets and are also opening another shelter to get the men in “stable circumstances” to begin the long legal process of getting them home.
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