CROYDON COMMENTARY: After organising a vigil at Lunar House last night, Councillor RIA PATEL says that this borough needs more help from Whitehall to deal with a homelessness crisis being created by Government

Prison ship: the death of refugee on the Bibby Stockholm is being linked to the appalling conditions on board

Last week in Parliament, the Prime Minister falsely claimed that rough sleeping had gone down thanks to the Conservatives. In fact, the number of people sleeping rough has gone up by 74% since the Conservatives got into government in 2010.

This astonishing rise in rough sleepers is no news to anyone who regularly walks through the centre of Croydon. Rough sleepers are not just another statistic, they are real people who face real struggles and who are left trying to find what little shelter they can from the freezing winter nights in an underpass or a doorway.

There are many reasons why people become homeless. Sadly one that is becoming more common is people who have suffered under the Government’s heartless immigration blockade and sadistically cruel “hostile environment”.

When people who have suffered horrible persecution come to this country to start a new life they are too often treated as criminals. Instead of being able to find work and set up a home, they are forced to wait for official clearance and are effectively imprisoned in camps or to live in cramped, unhealthy hotels. This Government has cut the number of staff processing refugee claims, leaving people for years with no stability and under the constant threat of being sent back to the horrors they escaped from.

Obviously, this can have a terrible effect on refugee’s mental health. Sadly, a few days ago, a young man who was being held on the prison ship the Bibby Stockholm took his own life.

Last night, I helped to organise a vigil with the Croydon Refugees and New Communities Forum outside the Home Office in central Croydon. We were there not only to mark the life of Leonard Farruku but also to call on the Government to end the inhumane regime that led to his death.

Vigil for Leonard: Croydon’s Refugee Forum has to deal with increasing number of troubling cases in relation to temporary accommodation in Croydon

For people who do get through the immigration system, the inhumanity doesn’t end there. Once they are allowed to stay in the country, they are often given only seven days’ notice before they are evicted from wherever they are staying. As a consequence, many of them end up on the streets with nowhere to live.

On Wednesday last week, the Mayor of Croydon presented his new housing strategy to the council. It is hard to see how Mayor Perry’s housing strategy, even with the Labour amendment that was accepted, will deliver the housing that Croydon’s residents need.

Homes in the borough are unaffordable and inefficient. Housing is not secure for too many of our families and this strategy does not deliver a meaningful plan that has clear baseline and measurable targets that our residents can support and scrutinise progress.

It was concerning that the Equality Impact Assessment had no mention of temporary accommodation, which is often poor quality, overcrowded and needing transformation, and which disproportionately affects women, children and people for whom English is not the first language.

I raised a question with the Mayor specifically asking about refugees in Croydon and how he planned to ensure they had access to suitable housing. With climate change and the Government backing wars around the globe, we can expect to see many more refugees arriving at Lunar House here in Croydon and we should be offering them the support they need.

Mayor Perry, as is so often the case, had no real answer to the question.

This leaves us with a really bleak situation for people coming to our town. But thankfully there a bright spot in all of this darkness and that is the wonderful people of Croydon. All of those wonderful volunteers who are stepping up to help out while the Government and our council let us down.

Residents are providing food and shelter and basic necessities like clothing and bedding, as well as providing advice and emotional support to help people get a start in their new life. These volunteers do what they can, but they need your support to provide even more help.

At this time of year, we are reminded of the story of a Middle Eastern family who were forced to leave their home and were left with nowhere to live. The only shelter they could find was in a stable where the mother gave birth. That family received visitors who brought them gifts, starting a tradition of gift-giving that lasts to this day.

You may not have gold, frankincense or myrrh, but you can still give a gift by donating whatever you can to the Croydon Refugee Day Centre, and you too can bring some comfort and joy to a family this Christmas.

• Ria Patel, pictured right, is a Green Party councillor for Fairfield ward. When she was elected to the council in May 2022, she was the Town Hall’s youngest councillor

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