HOMELESSNESS is a pressing issue in Newport, and at the Olive Branch day centre on Lower Dock Street, volunteers are at the forefront of efforts to support the city’s rough-sleepers and give them the help they need for a brighter future.

An average 25 homeless people visit the centre each day, coming in for a hot meal and a place to socialise and relax in the warmth.

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Among them is John, aged 56, who found himself on the streets after being released from prison.

He said: “I had nowhere else to go. I’ve been living outside, and it’s the first time I’ve been homeless. It’s a pretty awful experience.

“When I was in prison I lost my home and all my possessions.

"I had money in the bank but I couldn’t get to it – a six-month sentence cost me around £20,000. I lost everything.”

John bought a tent and was given a sleeping bag by the Olive Branch staff.

He is now trying to improve his situation, but isn’t finding it easy.

“I’m still so shocked by my situation that focusing is hard,” he said. “I’m shocked by how difficult it appears to be to get out of being homeless. It all has to be co-ordinated.”

John went to university and was self-employed until his imprisonment.

He now relies on help from services like the Olive Branch to navigate things like the benefits system, which he had never needed to learn about until now.

He said: “Slowly but surely I’ve got to know the various charities. They all try to help you get your life started again. But it’s tough, especially at my time of life. Life can change quickly.”

Another visitor to the Olive Branch is Steve, aged 58, who has recently moved off the streets into a hostel.

Though technically no longer homeless, people like Steve often return to the day centre because it is a place where they feel safe, and where they are surrounded by people they know.

The staff welcome them back, but ask for a small donation for any meals they request.

Steve was homeless for six months after falling behind on his bedroom tax payments and losing his flat in Pill, where he had lived for 15 years.

“I had to pay £21 a week [in bedroom tax], which was a lot out of my benefits, so I fell into arrears,” he explained.

“When I was on the streets, at first I just walked around and slept wherever I could – in doorways, in car parks, and sometimes in the hospital toilets.”

After a couple of months, Steve ended up in a tent near George Street Bridge.

“It was wet, muddy, and there were rats everywhere,” he said. “There were big rats chewing into the tent and eating what food we had.

“I lived there for three or four months. It was very, very uncomfortable.”

Steve said those six months were the lowest he had ever been.

“Unless you become homeless, you’ll never know what it’s like,” he said. “I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

“It’s terrible to have no place to go to. I was completely miserable all the time.”

He described the Olive Branch as a “godsend”, saying the staff “bent over backwards” to help people.

If you are homeless, don’t give up hope. There are people who can help you,” he said.

The day centre’s manager, Alison Hawker, said she understood how people could look at the city and think it didn’t look good, but that homelessness was a massive issue and the city’s rough-sleepers needed support.

She said: “Look beyond what you can see. There’s a person under that blanket, who had a life, and sometimes through no fault of their own they’ve ended up on the street.”

She said homeless people often mentioned the bedroom tax, and others fell into trouble because they lacked the money skills to manage their Universal Credit applications.

Homelessness isn’t just a physical state, she added, saying: “Mental health is a massive issue.

“We know of people who are highly qualified and have ended up on the streets because of their mental health.”

She said the Olive Branch was a non-judgemental service which offered people dignity, hope, and wellbeing.

“We want the Olive Branch to be a place of safety and belonging, because when homeless people are on the streets, people don’t want them to belong there,” she said.

“Once they feel they belong, it can improve their mental health and then they are prepared to face some of the challenges of getting off the streets, rather than taking a substance to help them forget they’re there.”

Mike, aged 38, found himself in a downward spiral of drug addiction, and spent nearly five years on the streets and in various hostels.

He said: “I got in with the wrong crowd and started doing drugs about 10 years ago. I didn’t want my family to know, so I moved into a hostel. Things spiralled out of control.”

Mike went to the Olive Branch where he was given “a push in the right direction” and began a methadone treatment programme with the Gwent Drug and Alcohol Service (GDAS).

“I got myself clean, then I was in a hostel for 16 months, and I got into my first flat two months ago,” he said.

“Being homeless is a very lonely place. It’s dangerous, there are a lot of suicides.

“We need a lot more help because once you fall into a homeless pattern, it’s so hard to get out of it. I tried to take my own life twice.

“I’m housed now but my depression is still there.

“If there was more work with homeless people, there’d be less offending and less drug use.

“When you’re on the streets, it’s cold and you don’t want to be there. The drugs take you away from that.”

The Olive Branch is currently open three days a week, but is seeking more funding to increase its service to five days.

Ms Hawker said more staff at the day centre were always welcome, too.

She said: “We’re always looking for volunteers, and people who want to improve the city.

“We’re a place where you can do that in a safe environment.”