AIBU to sleep on the streets in London?

I don't know where you are in the Midlands but there's this organisation. Have you tried them?

https://www.autismeastmidlands.org.uk/adult-services/employment-services/

Edit. Cross posted with the above poster

Don't do this. Honestly you would be better off never having a job and living on pip and ESA then this.

Where abouts in the Midlands are you?

If east midlands there is a charity called autism east midlands that may be able to help you :)

Don't do it!

London has more homeless people than anywhere else in the country, and being street homeless there is very dangerous. Violence, rapes, difficulty accessing medical care, theft.

I don't know if you think being street homeless will get you housed in London? London housing departments gatekeep to an extreme extent even if you're priority need (children or disability or another vulnerability). Local news where my friend lives reported recently on a mother fleeing DV. She was left on a park bench overnight with her young DC.

Also in your circumstances they'll probably say you're intentionally homeless and ineligible for housing.

If you do manage to get accepted they'll probably refer you back to your home area because you need local eligibility.

Even if you get accepted by a London council, it will be temporary accommodation, and London temporary accommodation is particularly horrific. It's also often outside London so you wouldn't even be in London to get any support from the job organisation you mentioned.

Also worth knowing that many London support services, perhaps including the one you're interested in, look good on paper but it's a facade. Phone calls never answered, gatekeeping on referrals, very limited eligibility criteria, often closed to new clients for indefinite periods, poorly trained staff who never turn up or call and don't actually provide the support you need.

I've got friends from and in various parts of the UK and ime there's much better support schemes for all types of disability (work opportunities and housing) outside of London.

Sorry to hear of your situation. Living on the streets on London isn't a good idea.

Might be worth contacting https://www.youarevalued.co.uk/

OP, I assume you're currently on benefits? If you're struggling to find a job have you considered spending some time volunteering. You're supposed to do at least 30 hours job search a week but you can spend up to 15 of those volunteering without affecting your benefits. That would help you find a role in society, get you some valuable experience and hopefully distract you from one of the most lunatic ideas I've heard in a long long time. Honestly you don't want to be homeless London or anywhere else.

I used to be a local councillor. a man once turned up at my advice bureau just as i was leaving on a cold snowy night - he was homeless, hadn't been able to wash for a week (because the local public toilet and pool recently closed) was wearing filthy clothes and had had his sleeping bag and blanket nicked which is why he'd come in - he didn't actually know I was doing a bureau he just hoped he could sneak in and sleep in the community centre. He'd not had a hot drink for a couple of days and the less said about how he smelt and the state of his clothes the better. It took me hours to get him into emergency accommodation. Thankfully the community centre I was at had showers and a kettle. He told me a lot about his life while we waited for the emergency housing officer to call back - nice chap - often wonder what happened to him... and because the homeless are so often referred to as "they" or "him" or "her" I'd like to add he wasn't "him" his name was Richard

Please do not do that.

Don’t do this.

Have you asked CareTradeUK who is taking over the contract in the midlands? My husband used to deal in the contracts for Welfare to Work programmes and they often change hands.

Also gently suggesting you reach out to your GP to talk about your state of mind. You are suggesting something that’s quite a jump and whilst I realise you may find it difficult to see the wood for the trees, putting yourself in danger/at risk, won’t be the answer.

Making yourself homeless in London is such an insanely bad idea. Do not do this, ambitiousaboutautism often advertise jobs around the uk looking for autistic job seekers, most don’t tend to be in lindon.
have a google for other charities that help support they won’t all be London based. Being homeless in London is such such a bad idea, you will be trapped in a cycle as it will be hard to go from homeless to renting even if you get a job, do not do this.
i appreciate the difficulty as I also have autism and struggled for years with job seeking, but this is a terrible plan

Don't do this. Speak to citizens advice and make sure you are claiming all you are entitled to, then go to the DWP (local job centre) and ask to speak to a disability employment advisor.

No. No. No.
Super dangerous!!
There must be another way. Anything else but sleeping rough in London

Have you looked for apprenticeships? I work in a big financial services company that offers degree apprenticeships so pay you and also fund your degree - my company is good for supporting colleagues with ND also.

Some streets in Central London are gold – literally paved with urine. Not trying to be nasty sorry but that's what the conditions are like for homeless people in London

Sorry I struggle to understand this and I'm wondering if it's a wind-up to make a point about lack of support.

If you can't cope with autism and a home, what makes you think you'd be able to cope with autism and homelessness?

Surely the unpredictability and overstimulation would be hell for your autism? Whatever benefits in job support you'd have would be cancelled out by the daily stress, fear, discomfort and inconveniences from being homeless.

Also FYI flashing a Blue Badge and medical evidence at people kicking you out of the way or drunks or perverts is not going to work.

I'm sorry I can't provide a better idea though (except looking for other support which I'm sure you have done).

I'm autistic and I did do this, for a while, when I was young. It's that feeling of "Well, technically I could do ANYTHING!", without the checks that typical socialisation provides. I have no horror stories as such- but what happened was that I got taken under peoples' wing- older men, they were protective enough, but they also lived a miserable life with very limited horizons, and all had big alcohol problems. It had the appeal of novelty, but in the end it's a sad, sparse, grim life and will send you off down the wrong path. Maybe address the core belief that you don't matter without work. Perhaps volunteering in an area of interest could give you some sense of meaning and control?

Perhaps another employment assistance service near you is still operating? BASE has a map
https://www.base-uk.org/find-member-organisation

OP, the National Autistic Society has a free module you can take with tips on how to find employment as an autistic person.
https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/autism-training-and-best-practice/training/e-learning

I don’t know if any good.

Please do not make yourself homeless OP, it is dangerous and will not help (in fact it would hamper) with your job search.

Have you considered the tech/IT industry? Retraining to learn to code would not be difficult for someone who managed to achieve an A* in A-level Maths, and software engineering offers plenty of remote working options. Tech companies tend to have relatively high proportions of neurodiversity in their workforce so are more likely than other industries to be willing and able to make accommodations for ND needs.

I really wouldn’t sleep on London streets, or any streets. You are putting yourself at risk in all sorts of ways.

The streets of London aren’t paved with gold.🤷‍♀️

I suspect the local council would rule you as ineligible for any support so even though you could do it, I think it wouldn’t work for your goal of getting job support.

You could join the student encampment at UCL in London with a tent and protest the war while also job hunting in London. You’d give your midlands address when applying but say you’d move down permanently if a job were offered.

You could just stay in education? Look for a masters program?

That's really sound advice

Do not even consider doing this. You'll be so vulnerable & likely come to harm.
You won't be in a better position to find a job anyway as you won't be officially living in London as you would need a registered London address for that.
Search for other organisations in your local area who can help with your job search or perhaps contact your nearest Job Center and explain your issue. They'll possibly have some organisations they can recommend.

Do not do this. London councils will not house you as you have no local comnnection.

There's no way you should attempt to live on the streets of London. It's desperately dangerous, even for hardened addicts and people who've lived like that for many years.
There must be other ways of accessing employment support. Are you claiming all relevant benefits, can you apply for PIP, ESA? You can still work on the former and part time on the latter. And you could get housing benefit?
Please please don't go down to London to sleep rough.

If you don't have an address in London you won't be entitled to the support. It's not about where you physically sleep, it's about where your address is.

Apart from everything that’s been mentioned about safety and how tough it would be, it just wouldn’t help you get a job. Without an address, it will be very difficult to access any sort of support, not even mentioning getting/accepting a job. You can test this approach by start saying that you’re living on the street in London while staying in your current home when approaching organisations for support or a job, as you won’t be able to prove it either way.