People who have experienced homelessness become walking tour guides – as rough sleeping crisis gets worse

The founder of an organisation which helps people affected by homelessness has told Sky News that Britain’s rough sleeping crisis is continuing to grow.

Zakia Moulaoui, who started Invisible Cities eight years ago, says many of the resources set up to help the homeless are also seeing their ability to help squeezed when they are needed most.

Invisible Cities is a community interest company that trains people who have experienced homelessness to become walking tour guides of their own city.

It encourages guides to offer personal tours, highlighting stories of real people and raising awareness of social justice.

Speaking at one of its training sessions in Manchester, Zakia said the Christmas period was often the hardest for those experiencing homelessness.

“Having started Invisible Cities in 2016 and compared to now, there’s definitely a rise in the number of people on that journey of homelessness, not only rough sleeping or street homeless, but at any one point in hostels, sofa surfing, in shelters and things like that,” she said.

“At the same time, organisations that exist to support people are more and more strained, funding is smaller and people are at capacity.”

What does the data say?

Figures released in November showed that, for the second year in a row, England reported an increase in rough sleeping.

The number was up 27% on the previous year.

The number of people sleeping rough is now 61% higher than it was 10 years ago, and 120% higher than when data collection began in 2010.

‘It’s been a rollercoaster ride’

Stephen Agnew, who became homeless as a 10-year-old and spent three decades sleeping rough, now works as one of the Invisible Cities tour guides.

He said: “It has been a rollercoaster ride, it has been ups and downs, but it has been amazing to come out the other end from where I was as a kid to become a tour guide and to get my own place.

“It is just such a different aspect to my childhood.”

Invisible Cities currently works with guides in Manchester, York, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Cardiff and has plans to expand to more cities.

Its aim is to help build confidence and public speaking skills in guides and also offer tourists the chance to see a side of a city they otherwise might not have.

‘It helps if you have a goal’

Sky News joined tour guide Andy Mercer for a walk around Manchester.

After a period sleeping rough, he lived in a friend’s garage before finding a way out of homelessness.

He said: “It helps if you have a goal. If you really have nothing and somebody offers you an opportunity, then have a go.

“If you think you might be good at it, if you like talking to the public, then it might be worth having a go.”

As for the tourists he guides around Manchester, he said they “appreciate the fact that I seem to enjoy it because it brings back good memories”.

In his tours, he recounts his stories of the city’s nightlife scene from the 1980s onwards. He says he aims to draw attention to the link that often exists between alcoholism and homelessness.