00:00 "Over the past year or so we've seen that pressure build and it's pushing people to
00:07 the limit. They can't afford certain things and it's just becoming so difficult for people
00:15 just to maintain the roof over their heads. It's a situation that people shouldn't be
00:20 in and it can't be right that people are worrying about whether they're going to be homeless
00:24 in the next month, the next week or whenever."
00:28 Caring in Bristol works in imaginative and creative ways with people experiencing or
00:33 at risk of homelessness, with the public and community partners to bring about lasting
00:38 change in Bristol. Let's chat to the Caring in Bristol team to find out more.
00:43 "We're in Bristol at the Caring in Bristol offices. We're a local homelessness charity.
00:48 As a homelessness charity we believe that homelessness is not inevitable so a good deal
00:53 of the work that we do is helping people to move away from a homelessness crisis. If we
00:58 can stop homelessness in its tracks it's better for the individual and it's much better for
01:03 the city too. We have a number of projects which support people facing homelessness.
01:10 That might be working with our food projects to help people who have to make the tough
01:15 decisions around their personal budgets or we give information advice across Bristol
01:22 communities, helping people to understand what their rights are and what their options
01:27 are in terms of their housing. And we have a youth project as well so we're helping younger
01:33 people who are facing homelessness so we can help them to recover from a period of homelessness
01:39 or to avoid it in the first place."
01:41 The cost of living crisis is a very real worry for many people in the city of Bristol. But
01:46 thanks to charities such as Caring in Bristol, 97% of people experiencing homelessness in
01:51 Bristol are not sleeping rough. Let's find out more from Team Caring in Bristol.
01:57 "The project is growing at the moment. We're currently building a new youth shelter. That
02:03 will be emergency accommodation for younger people who would otherwise find themselves
02:08 out on the streets. So it's going to be a safe haven that gives them the support that
02:13 they need to move forward and get their life back on track. Homelessness affects people
02:19 in a whole range of ways. People often think that it's just street homelessness. That means
02:26 it's just visible to people. But it's the hidden homelessness that is a real problem.
02:31 We have a cost of living crisis that's currently playing out. We have rising rents. And we
02:38 have a scarcity of accommodation for people and that all adds to the pressure that people
02:44 are feeling. And that's building and that's pushing people closer to the point of homelessness.
02:50 And it's our role to try and move people back from that point."
02:56 Only time will tell what the impact of winter will be on people experiencing or at risk
03:01 of homelessness.
03:02 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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