In October I accompanied a dear friend to a talk at her church, the Heath Evangelical Church in Cardiff. Paula Harris was interviewed there about her work with homeless people, including ‘street kids’, in Brazil.
She returned home to Cardiff to work with homeless people here. It was a fascinating account, and Paula kindly agreed to meet with me to talk more about her life and work.
Filling some gaps
Born and raised in Cardiff, Paula was an only child. She says herself that she had a privileged, charmed upbringing. She went to Sunday school from the age of five to 16, but drifted away from the church over time as she turned into a ‘typical teenager’. She worked as a primary school teacher for several years but, over time, felt something was missing from her life. She eventually found her way back to the gospel. This led to her decision to leave Britain to work abroad.
Paula spent a month in Calcutta working with the Tier Fund, a Christian social action organisation. Throughout the world, religious organisations and places of worship often fill the gaps in support for people left by their governments. She had a great sense of belonging, living with other Brits and Irish people. Then Brazil came calling.
There are of course a number of causes of homelessness for Brazilian children, one of the main ones being the absence of fathers from the family home and stepfathers not wanting to raise someone else’s child, especially boys. When mothers choose their husbands over their children, the latter end up on the street. Or the children are part of entire homeless families, sometimes being the main breadwinners. Brazilian authorities have attempted to address this situation, with some success in the south of the country but less in the north. Economics have had negative impacts, as in the UK.
Relationship breakdown
Paula often went with colleagues to places they were warned to stay away from by locals, who believed the areas to be dangerous. But while there were street robberies of mobile phones, Paula didn’t fear for her safety on the whole. The project she worked with was well known in the area.
She and her colleagues would do anything from dressing wounds, getting kids washed and fed, and washing their clothes, to encouraging them to go into children’s homes where appropriate. It was important to show the children there was still kindness out there, and that life could be better. The children were getting by with begging, stealing, and raiding bins. Though not all children’s homes offered a solution – in some, adults might take advantage.
Many children couldn’t read or write, and could only go to school for a few hours each day, in the morning, afternoon, or evening. With nothing else to do for the rest of the time and no source of support, they could fall into crime, in common with homelessness throughout the world.
Paula returned to Cardiff and began working with homeless people here. She found a key theme between homelessness in Brazil and in Wales (and no doubt throughout the UK): broken relationships, whether between parents and children or between partners. But why do we have such a problem with homelessness in apparently the sixth richest nation in the world, and what can we do about it?
Paying attention
From talking to homeless people, Paula finds the main issue from their point of view is communication – not being listened to. “People think homeless people just want financial support, but there’s more to it than that. They’re usually isolated and don’t have coping mechanisms. Often, they’re dealing with traumas and addictions. They need help building relationships, getting motivated for education or work, and not being treated as if they’re no longer part of society.”
Of course, it’s hard to apply for jobs when you don’t have a fixed abode, and there are negative public perceptions. There are highly intelligent people on the streets, who were ‘successful’ in their lives before their circumstances changed. In a financial climate such as now, this could happen to any one of us. Homelessness in the UK doubled during the ‘official’ austerity years, 2010–2019.
Another issue for homeless people in finding jobs is how they get paid if they’re not allowed to have a bank account. Chwarae teg to HSBC, which does allow this, to try to help people get back on their feet.
Paula is attached to the St Mellon’s Baptist Church, regularly going into Cardiff city centre in all weathers to talk to people, encouraging them to go to the few places where support is available. These include St John’s Church in the Hayes, where there are several meetings throughout the week, including the group Voices Action Change. Grangetown Baptist Church and Rainbow of Hope on Broadway also offer support – but many such groups are run on volunteers and a shoestring. The Welsh Government needs to listen better to the needs of homeless people, and step up its game.
Out in the cold
There are two main places for homeless people to go in Cardiff for a bed for the night, the Huggard Centre and Tresilian House. But they have to leave during the day. There are no activities during the day, and some may be at risk of being coerced into crime and gangs. How about work experience or apprenticeships, or working with local community groups? Isolation will only worsen if we leave people out in the cold, literally and figuratively.
I asked Paula whether a public education campaign would help change perceptions of homelessness. “Yes, it would help. Homeless people aren’t hostile or dangerous. They’re happy to talk about what has happened in their lives and what support is actually needed.” While governments could have better policies in place, we also need to get rid of ‘blame culture’. But Paula also believes there has to be individual responsibility too, to acknowledge problems and get help.
I asked about the common belief that homeless people ‘bring it on themselves’ and are ‘cheating the welfare system’. “With the low payments they currently get, it really isn’t a career choice for most! Defrauding and scamming will never end, it’s human nature [in every corner of society]. Perhaps poverty and homelessness will never end either. But we can get better at supporting those in need.”
Paula quoted a verse from the Bible, Jeremiah 21:9: “The heart is very deceitful above all things.” We can all lie to ourselves and think the worst of others, but does that make us good people? Does that make us better than others?
One society
So, this is one woman doing all this by herself, without financial support. Imagine a properly resourced service and many more Paulas – what a difference that could make to people living on the streets.
Finally, I hope no one is offended by the themes of Christianity running through this article. I have great respect for Paula’s faith and the service it leads her to offer others. As a Muslim who doesn’t have a problem with it, I don’t see why anyone else should.
If you’ve been inspired by Paula’s story and would like to volunteer with and/or donate to homelessness charities, you can contact Shelter Cymru, Crisis, The Wallich, and Helping Our Homeless Wales. (This list is not exhaustive). And start lobbying your Assembly Member!
The Museum of Homelessness (MoH) found that at least 1,474 people died while homeless in the UK in 2023, a 12% increase on the previous year. The number in 2022 was 1,313, an 85% increase compared to just three years earlier. Cardiff saw a 59% increase in the number of people who died while homeless in 2023, 58% of those deaths in the category ‘deaths of despair’.
A co-director of MoH, Matt Turtle, said, “The systems of care for people living with poverty and homelessness are in tatters after 15 years of cuts and corruption.” We can and must do better. In the face of austerity, we should all be huddling together.
