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News in Brief 156 : June – July 2025

May 01 2025

News in brief by the Pavement Team

Revolving door

The for-profit housing provider Sparrow Shared Ownership has recruited the chief executive of Tower Hamlets Community Housing (THCH) as managing director. Anita Khan was chief executive of London’s THCH for over three years. The appointment was reported on by Inside Housing, which is investigating the rapid growth of for-profit housing providers in the country backed by private capital. Sparrow Shared Ownership is owned by giant pension fund the Universities Superannuation Scheme. According to Inside Housing’s investigation, the 10 biggest for-profits own 40,000 homes in England.


Farewell Francis

In late April 2025 the Vatican announced Pope Francis had passed away at the age of 88. In May, his successor Pope Leo XIV was confirmed. Onlookers will hope Leo follows the social awareness Francis espoused. Many will remember Francis fondly as a Pope alert to the difficult realities and struggles people across the world endured. He once turned down a formal dinner with politicians in favour of eating with homeless people instead (The New York Times, 2015). He also wrote at length about social inequality, regularly hosted lunches for hundreds of homeless guests and under his direction the Vatican built facilities such as showers, a laundry service and a health clinic for the use of local homeless people (Reuters, 2025). Let’s hope that legacy is respected and built upon.



© Royal Trinity Hospice
A new art project led by Royal Trinity Hospice and guests of King George’s Hostel in Westminster, London, confronts the subject of mortality. An art piece has been created by residents of the hostel, titled The Other Little Ben, highlighting guests’ hopes and fears towards dying and death. Creative lead for the project was the Pavement's good friend David Tovey, a multi-media artist with experience of homelessness. A total of 36 people staying at the hostel took part in creative workshops exploring themes surrounding the oftevn-dreaded topic of death. A short film capturing the process of the workshops, leading up to the art piece being created, was shot by Rob Jewitt. You can watch the short film on YouTube here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYFKNr6P6kg&t=5s


Displaced

A woman and her 19-year-old daughter are sofa surfing in west London, after their local authority refused to rehome them unless they accepted a property in Hartlepool. The pair were evicted from their private rented home in March, with Hillingdon Council responsible for sourcing suitable accommodation for them. However, the council presented only one offer of a new home – 275 miles away. According to the London Evening Standard, the mother made the difficult decision to refuse the property, fearing such a drastic upheaval would affect the mental health of her daughter. 


International news

A Brazilian street paper in Porto Alegre is helping turn rough sleepers into journalists. Boca de Rua (translation: Word on the Street) is a member of the International Network of Street Papers, an anti-poverty organisation supporting publications typically sold by people experiencing poverty or homelessness. Boca de Rua is a rare case in that it is both sold and written by some of Porto Alegre’s homeless population. Sellers are responsible for content in the quarterly newspaper, with weekly editorial meetings to discuss what gets printed. Participants are then given about 50 newspapers to sell, keeping the money they make.



Poster for the Be The Change theatre project © The Islington People’s Theatre
The Islington People’s Theatre is welcoming new participants to its Be The Change project. The project offers a range of free applied theatre and creative arts workshops run by professional facilitators every week to adults who are experiencing homelessness, or who are vulnerably housed, adults looking to support their mental health and adults in recovery. You don’t need any acting experience to attend. Be The Change is run in partnership with the Margins Project and takes place at Lower Hall, Union Chapel, Islington, London, N1 2UN. The workshops are organised into blocks of 10 weeks, with each block focusing on a different theme. The current block of workshops started in early April and focuses on comedy. Sessions run every Thursday from 6:30pm – 8:30pm. The project is scheduled to run until May 2026.
Visit the Be The Change website to find out more: islingtonpeoplestheatre.co.uk/projects/be-the-change-2


Failing health

Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) is in hot water following an investigation into the closure of a GP service for homeless people. Hunter Street Health Service, which had 167 registered patients, was shut down abruptly in 2023. A whistleblower flagged the closure, raising concerns for patient safety. Fast forward to May 2025 and an investigation has criticised the HSCP for shutting the service down without a proper consultation. Scotland’s Independent National Whistleblowing Officer ruled that the HSCP ignored long-term risks to patients once the service was removed. The Scottish Deep End Group of doctors, representing GPs working in deprived communities, called for the reinstatement of the service. A statement published in the Daily Record read: “We believe that the reinstatement of the specialist general practice should be considered as an option to ensure the provision of flexible, inclusive, tailored healthcare for people experiencing homelessness.”


Safe space

The Herald reports on campaigners urging MSPs to support plans for more all-female safe and secure homeless centres in the country. A petition has been put forward to the Scottish Parliament, highlighting concerns that in hostels, hotels and bed and breakfast establishments used to house the homeless, the ratio of men to females has been as high as 14 to one. Laura Jones, of the Scottish Tenants Organisation, brought the petition forward and has raised concerns that women in some temporary accommodation settings may be exposed to an increased risk of sexual assault and exploitation.


Quick fix

Edinburgh Council has spent a combined total of £4.4m to use the Aaron Lodge Hotel, the Edinburgh Thistle Guest House and the Miju Hotel as temporary accommodation for people experiencing homelessness. “We need significantly more financial support from the government to deliver sustainable, long-term solutions,” Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener Lezley Marion Cameron told Edinburgh Live.

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June – July 2025 : Resilience

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