Is it time to re-think 'verifying' people sleeping rough?

Across England, services that support people sleeping rough are constantly over-stretched. This is hardly surprising when you consider that in the 15 months between May 2023 and June 2024 more than 38,000 people who had never previously slept rough were found by outreach teams.

We know about these 38,000+ people because they were ‘verified’. In other words, outreach workers confirmed that each one of them was bedding down in the open air. That could mean in a doorway, carpark, stairwell, derelict building, car, woodland, park, make-shift shelter or other location not designed for habitation.

The practice of verifying rough sleeping has been around since the 1990s. The original intent was to ensure that the finite resources available to rough sleepers went to those in most need, which is understandable. And our own conversations with outreach workers show that most are broadly in favour.

“Without verification it always worries me that some might say they are rough sleeping when they are not and take resource from those who really need it”

But many outreach workers also acknowledge the drawbacks of verification, not least because it can be very time consuming. Most rough sleeper verification happens by sight; outreach teams go out at night or in the early hours of the morning to look for sleep sites and approach anyone they find bedding down. This might sound straightforward, but it can be challenging to find sleep sites, even with detailed directions.

The need to be visible to outreach workers forces people sleeping rough to be visible to everyone, which heightens their vulnerability. Most people, when they see someone sleeping rough, feel concern and a desire to help, we know this from the thousands of reports made to StreetLink every year by members of the public. But some aren’t so kind and violence and abuse are common, with some even having their sleeping bags set on fire. Women especially who sleep rough in visible locations are at high risk of assault. This vulnerability often leads to people moving around at night or to deliberately sleep in places that are less visible or accessible. But this can mean outreach teams might only find people on the second or third attempt.

Some teams do work differently though, and verify based on evidence. For example, in a rural area someone may be rough sleeping in woodland or on canal tow path but may go into the nearest town to access a day centre, health services, or be in contact with a rough sleeper team by phone. Instead of trying to find one individual in a remote difficult to access area, an outreach worker will verify based on information provided by service staff and the person sleeping rough themselves.

But even verification based on evidence still requires people to remain vulnerable in order to access a service. Homeless Link’s Principles for Rough Sleeping Outreach, which were developed based on the views of people working in rough sleeping outreach and people with lived experience of rough sleeping, say that verification should not be a barrier to advice and/or support. In other words, we need to acknowledge that a traditional verification process does not serve all groups of people, especially those most marginalised. Outreach teams should be able to apply professional judgement and take a multi-disciplinary approach to assessing someone’s current situation. Anyone who states they are rough sleeping should at a minimum be provided with advice.

The Mayor of London’s newly published Rough Sleeping Plan of Action lays out the plan to end rough sleeping in London by 2030. One of the key elements of the plan is to phase out the current practice of outreach teams ‘verifying’ that someone is rough sleeping before they can access support. A new approach, which is to be in place by 2028, will be based on an assessment of people’s needs.

So, are we ready to move away from rough sleeper verification? We asked some colleagues from frontline organisations for their views.

It shouldn’t take a sleeping bag to prove you need help

By Clare, Expert Link Network Member

I’ve seen it from both sides. I used to be homeless, and I’ve also done outreach where we had to verify rough sleepers. And I’ll be honest, the whole verification thing just doesn’t make sense.

To get someone verified, they’ve got to be bedded down. That means in a sleeping bag, lying down, at a certain spot. Even if you know they’re rough sleeping, even if staff have seen them there every night, if they’re just sitting in a chair, that’s not enough. You can’t book a time to meet them either. You’re not even supposed to call them in case they just show up when you're there. Because then it’s not “proper” verification.

It’s ridiculous. Homelessness doesn’t work to some timetable. People move around, because of weather, danger, fear, whatever. Especially people escaping domestic abuse. They’re not going to be in the same spot two nights in a row just so an outreach worker can tick a box.

And then there’s the damage it does to trust. Most people who end up on the streets have been through heavy stuff. Trauma, abuse, being let down by loads of systems. So, when they finally ask for help, and the answer is basically “Prove it”, that just pushes them away again.

Some people will just walk off. I did. I told them to piss off, to be honest, I didn't even know what they were there to do, why would I have talked to them when they didn't explain? Others will go along with it because they’re desperate, but that doesn’t mean it’s right.

And even when someone is verified, things don’t always move forward. Maybe there’s no space. Maybe no follow-up. People can miss out on support completely, through no fault of their own, and that’s stupid. They’ve done what was asked of them, and still get nothing.

I know services are under loads of pressure. I get that. But this system is broken. It doesn’t work for the people it’s meant to help. And it’s not fair on the staff either, having to follow rules that don’t make sense.

We need to start believing people when they say they’re homeless. Not making them jump through hoops. Not waiting for proof in the form of a sleeping bag.

Just believe them. Ask what they need. Help them. That’s it.

I do think things can change, but we need a system that leads with compassion, not suspicion. A system that actually meets people where they are. That’s what I hope future policy gets right. Because no one should have to prove they’re suffering before they’re seen.

Rough Sleeper Verification: Ignoring legal rights

By Shannon Johnstone, Policy and Research Manager, Expert Link

Although rough sleeper verification doesn’t fall under the legal definition of gatekeeping, I believe the way it’s being used in practice is gatekeeping.

Under the Housing Act 1996, anyone who approaches a local authority and indicates they may be homeless, even by saying something as simple as “I’m sleeping rough, is there any help?” - should be treated as having made a homeless application. From that point, the council has a duty to make inquiries and offer support where appropriate, this could include interim accommodation.

(Side note: Housing law is actually rather decent – get yourself independently trained and you can advocate amazingly.)

But instead, what we often see is local authorities commissioning outreach services to “verify” that someone is rough sleeping. This practice side-steps - gatekeeps - the legal duty to accept a homelessness application. In effect, it creates a parallel process: one that delays help, causes confusion, and can result in people being left unsupported even after they’ve 'engaged'. ('Engagement' should be a whole other blog series!) It also creates way more work for charities and their workers that just doesn’t need to be done!

And look, this is personal to me too. When I was sleeping rough, I was told I had to be verified because I “looked too clean to be rough sleeping” - whatever that sentence means. A worker and a security guard were sent out to find us during quite a rough storm. We were told to wait where we were, and when they arrived, hours after expected, there was no conversation, no support, no explanation. They simply said, “Yep, we can see you’re rough sleeping” and left. No guidance was offered about making a homelessness application and the support it entails. Nothing positive happened as a result.

Instead, it started off my relationship with the whole sector, with not being believed, being retraumatised due to my own childhood experiences, and lowering my already pretty unwell mental health, I probably wasn’t worth helping anyway, right?

This is not an isolated experience. Through our work at Expert Link, I’ve heard many similar accounts: people being forced to wait in unsafe locations, being missed entirely because they moved, or not being believed unless they were in a sleeping bag at a specific time. In most cases, people are never told about their legal rights at all.

I don’t know if verification was intended to be a gatekeeping tool. But that’s how it functions when it’s used to filter who gets access to services, especially when services are under pressure and trying to manage limited resources. The people under the most pressure though are those facing this reality.

We need to be honest about this. And we need to change it.

People don't have to be “caught in the act” of homelessness to be entitled to support. They don't have to prove their suffering to be helped. A simple disclosure and a request for help should be enough to trigger the protections the law already provides, such as accommodation.

It’s time to move away from whispering about the unjust practices we take part in - and start shouting about what we should be doing instead. We need approaches that build trust, centre people’s legal rights, and treat those facing homelessness with the dignity they deserve.

And in case it wasn’t clear - you can’t get the real solutions without involving lived experience properly.

A lot of women are being missed

By Chantel Hopkin, Outreach Team Leader, CGL

The data from the women’s census has helped us as an outreach service identify that a lot of women who are or have rough slept are being missed. This is due to them having on-off places to stay, putting themselves in vulnerable situations just to have somewhere warm and dry to stay, but not necessarily safe.

After the 2024 women’s census I set up a women’s focused outreach, working in partnership with the sex worker outreach drug and alcohol team, and Bevan healthcare here in Leeds. We are out between 22:00-02:00am, offering support around harm reduction, drug and alcohol treatment, physical health, mental health, any issues they may be having within their current tenancies and temporary accommodation for that night or future nights.

Carrying out this outreach session has helped me understand how the hidden homeless are treated when it comes to ‘verification’ and being identified as rough sleepers. On numerous occasions, when I have spoken with housing options regarding temporary accommodation for these women, the response is often “but are they bedded down?” or “Have you actually found them rough sleeping?” This can be very frustrating and puts women at further risk.

For example, we currently are currently working with pregnant female who stays between other working girls houses and males’ houses, neither of which are particularly safe. We tried to get her a telephone assessment and again were asked if the woman had been found bedded down. We explained she was rough sleeping, but she wasn’t on any of the daily rough sleeper lists, making the local authority question if she was a ‘genuine’ rough sleeper or not.

Outreach teams should be the ones to determine if someone is a rough sleeper, we should be allowed to use our professional judgement to identify rough sleepers, and our professional opinion should be accepted by local authorities without question. The verification process needs to change. We know women hide, we know they are more likely to walk around all night out of fear, so why is there still the expectation that we must find them laid in a doorway somewhere before offering them a safe space to stay?

I feel the local authority and most other support services are aware that women tend to stay in 24-hour restaurants, coffee shops, sofa surf, or bed down in other hidden places which makes ‘verification’ very difficult. For example, a couple of months ago a woman approached the outreach van; she had been badly beaten up by her boyfriend and had fled her home area, so had no support in Leeds. She told us that, because she had left him, her boyfriend was out looking for her with his brother. With nowhere to stay, not ‘verified’ as a rough sleeper, and unable to reach the out of hours housing team, this left the woman at risk of violence from her ex-boyfriend. We need to do more to protect women and so much more needs to change to for that to happen.

Where do we go from here?

'Verifying' that people are rough sleeping is not a legal requirement. And as Claire, Shannon and Chantel have shown, it also doesn't serve those who are most vulnerable. In fact, it can increase their vulnerability. Looking to the future, we need approaches that can meet the needs of everyone who is experiencing homelessness, to prevent or rapidly move someone away from rough sleeping. This could include wider adoption of a multi-agency, evidence-based approach to identifying people sleeping rough; the assessment approach being developed by the GLA; an expansion of services that are designed to recognise and mitigate the vulnerabilities of women, young people, LGBTQ+ people, and other minoritised communities; and work to ensure greater awareness and understanding of housing law and the legal rights of anyone experiencing homelessness and rough sleeping.

The following resources and training opportunities may be helpful in moving the conversation forward:

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Viv Griffiths

National Practice Development Project Manager