Your honest experiences on living close to homeless shelters please?

[Summergarden]

Work has started on building a large temporary housing unit in close proximity to our home (half a mile away). There will be approx 40 rooms for families and 10 extra for single persons.

I’ve tried to remain open minded about it and know that this type of temporary housing is very much needed but local friends have worried me a bit by voicing concerns regarding likely increases in the crime rate, especially drug dealers loitering around the unit. It is only a few hundred metres from a large secondary school and close to two large primary schools.

If you have personal experience of living close to a similar housing unit and can share your experience of how you have found it, whether you suffered resulting problems (or hopefully didn’t! 😊) etc I would be grateful thanks.

I would move if I was you.

Fernickty

I agree. I live in a very naice area of my city, where houses command a premium and are desirable. However, there is a temporary housing B&B across the road and until very recently, there was a halfway house for recently released prisoners about 600m away. There was maybe 5 incidents of ‘antisocial behaviour’ in 15 yrs across both properties. Very minimal.

Half a mile is a long way away and shouldn’t cause any issues.

When I lived in one it was absolutely fine. The odd very minor drama, but nothing anyone nearby would have clue about. The biggest dramas while we were there was a woman's baby was sick in the hallway and she refused to clean it up and someone's toddler crying in a hallway as mum and dad has popped out for a cigarette.

Considering most of us there were at our all times lows there really wasn't anything much going on. Most of us worked, but low wages and high childcare costs made private renting unattainable without the council's help.

There's a long-term shelter about 200m from my house. The main thing I've noticed is that there are one or two people who've been there for years. They beg - politely - at the local Co-op every day. I know their names, and they are harmless.

Apart from the usual suspects, I have no idea who moves in and out. So I don't expect you won't notice they're there, but it probably won't be the nuisance you think.

My grandparents watched a man being battered to death from their flat window... Sorry not what you wanted to hear. It wasn't a hostel for families though.

I can’t see how anything could bother you from half a mile away.
We lived about 400m from temporary social housing and it didn’t bother us at all. Though people who lived next door were a bit bothered by people arriving in taxis late at night quite often and regular vans double parked to unload. But no worse than living next to someone who returns from work late at night regularly.

Not a homeless shelter, but pre-children I lived in a flat where a methadone clinic opened up directly across the street. There was a lot of pearl clutching by neighbours but it was absolutely fine. People went in, people came out. I suppose the neighbours felt their appearance lowered the tone of the neighbourhood, but none of their wilder prophesies came about.

A homeless shelter nearly half a mile away wouldn’t bother me in the slightest.

It’s a family one, it’ll be fine. We have family currently in one. It’s very peaceful. Everyone in there is working but can’t afford market rents. All waiting for council accommodation.

One opened about 500 meters from where I used to live, and I'm afraid I saw and experienced a lot of undesirable things very quickly. It wasn't for families as far as I know though.

I saw solvent abuse going on outside my house, fights and a lot of begging and loitering in groups around the nearest cash point which was very intimidating. Also saw numerous drug deals.

Housing for vulnerable people is desperately needed, as is support for those who have substance abuse problems. I'm not sure what additional support or activities they are offered to help them. For vulnerable people who do not have substance abuse issues, I don't know if they are housed separately?