00:00 It's a cold night in central London, and 50-year-old Jay is getting set for another night on the
00:07 streets.
00:09 He says his tent is a lifeline.
00:12 JAY, Tenant (through translator): Just my sleeping bags and my bits and pieces.
00:15 I ain't got much now.
00:16 At least in the tent, we're like, people can't stand over us and look at us and spit on us.
00:22 Yeah, a bit of privacy.
00:24 ALI ROGIN: But shelters like his have been thrust into the spotlight recently by Britain's
00:28 interior minister.
00:30 Suella Braverman has floated the idea of limiting the use of tents by homeless people, and described
00:37 life on the streets as a lifestyle choice on social media.
00:42 Jay and his tent mate Billy take issue with that.
00:46 Reuters has agreed not to show their faces.
00:48 JAY, Tenant (through translator): No one, I guarantee you, anyone you speak to, no one
00:51 would choose to be in this position.
00:52 BILLY, Tenant (through translator): I didn't choose to come out of the army as a medical
00:55 discharge and have to go to the streets, because I ain't got no one behind me.
00:58 ALI ROGIN: London Mayor Sadiq Khan, charities, and even lawmakers in Braverman's own governing
01:03 Conservative Party have all criticized her comments.
01:08 The Conservatives promised to end rough sleeping, or sleeping without adequate shelter, by 2024,
01:14 in the run-up to the 2019 election.
01:17 But just over 4,000 people were unsheltered between July and September, according to the
01:23 Combined Homelessness and Information Network.
01:26 That's a 12 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
01:31 Here's Jasmine Bazran with the homelessness charity Crisis.
01:34 JASMINE BAZRAN, Crisis Charity, Homelessness and Information Network, Braverman (through
01:35 translator): So, we are reaching breaking point here, and we must see interventions
01:39 put in place to reduce this.
01:41 ALI ROGIN: Others who spoke to Reuters called for extra resources.
01:46 As for Jay, he's challenging Braverman to spend time on the streets herself.
01:50 JAY, Braverman (through translator): I would absolutely love for them to spend a week in
01:53 our streets just to see what it's like.
01:54 They might have a different attitude than you know.
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