Walking through Kingston you will inevitably stroll past beds and blankets that have been intricately folded and placed under bus stops and bridges to avoid the rain.
When the sun sets people experiencing homelessness will gather up these bundles and seek shelter from the weather and the noise of Kingston in hopes of getting some sleep.
One of these people, perched under the bus stop with a cigarette in his mouth and a smile on his face, is Andre Gigel, a 28 year-old man from Romania affected by homelessness.
“I came here hoping for work, something, anything,” he said.
Gigel has been in Kingston for four years and has been waiting on his settled status which can be applied for after living in the UK for five years and means he could stay and work in the UK.
“You think when you come to England life will be easier, but it’s not. England has many issues too,” Gigel said.
Homelessness in the UK is predicted to rise due to the cost of living crisis.
The homeless charity Crisis estimates 300,000 households could be forced into homelessness in 2023.
Homelessness in Kingston is already an issue.
Kingston councillor Andreas Kirsch said: “In Kingston there are over 900 households living in temporary accommodation and 3,700 on our housing register for social housing.”
One organisation offering support for those who are struggling is the Kingston Churches Action on Homelessness (KCAH).
Their aims include helping people get into short term accommodation, equipping people to find long term housing and building peoples’ life skills to help them retain their accommodation.
Communications officer for KCAH, Sue Cole said: “All it takes is a collusion of a few unfortunate circumstances for someone to fall into rent or mortgage arrears and find themselves in crisis.”
She said homelessness comes in many forms and could affect anyone: “The bottom line is that homelessness does not discriminate.”
Megan Kelly
Maurizio Kayonjo