Stark rise in Portsmouth veteran homelessness with former personnel "falling through the net" despite support

Data from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) the number of former service personnel being owed homeless duty in Portsmouth and elsewhere in the last fiscal year is increasing. This includes those owed prevention duty - classed as being at risk of homelessness within 56 days - and relief duty, which is given to those without shelter.

The cost of living crisis, mental health illnesses such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), revaluations of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and social issues are cited as the causes behind the increase. Brian McGuffie, a one leg amputee who joined the Army as a teenager and served as a private, said problems start to arise when transitioning from military to civilian life.

He told The News: “When I left, I had no idea what living in civilian life would be and what to expect. It took me quite a while to adjust to day-to-day activities. I was still going out drinking and adjusting to not being on parade and going to work instead. It took three to six months to get settled, watching behaviours you would never see in the army which were different to the expectations you normally held. It was difficult seeing everyone who didn’t have all those values, who didn’t respect others or equipment.”

Mr McGuffie added he served as a “boy soldier” before being stationed in Colchester, where he suffered an injury which ended his military career. The problem affected his pancreas and he became diabetic in 1987.

“They said there was nothing else for me and ‘you’re a young lad, and you’ve still got a lot of future ahead of you’,” he added. “They said here’s £1,200, go out there and get yourself some accommodation, a life, and a job, goodbye. You’re out the door and that’s it.” The former soldier went on to have a successful management career at Tesco, but not without hardship. He became an amputee years later as his diabetes worsened and developed ulcers on his foot. He now supports former personnel with Team Endeavour Racing and Blesma, helping them settle into civilian life.

DLUHC statistics show the number of veterans in England owed homeless duty has risen from 1,850 in the 2021-2022 fiscal year to 2,110 for 2022-2023, with an increase from 230 to 280 being recorded in the south east for the same period. The total number of households in England owed the both types of duty is 298,430 for 2022-2023, rising from 278,110 the previous term.

Mr McGuffie said soldiers are regimented into a life where day to day tasks such as cooking and paying bills are done for you, with that lack of knowledge mounting on top of existing problems when they leave. He added that experiences people suffered in conflicts in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan would exacerbate any other problems which can lead of issues spiralling out of control.

“When they have PTSD, they find it difficult to switch it off because it’s always there,” Mr McGuffie said. “They can find it so difficult and get tearful, having a lot of regrets. They may have killed people and have to live with it. That is the facts of being a soldier and serving in a warzone.”

Data for Portsmouth matches the national picture, with 22 veterans owed homeless duty in 2022-2023, rising from four the previous fiscal year and six from the 11 months afterwards. Gosport has also seen a spike in reports, with rising from 11 in 2021-2022 to 21 in 2022-2023, with figures for the New Forest steadily climbing year on year.

Mr McGuffie said some resort to sofa surfing after service “which doesn’t last”, especially if they do not have a point of contact to help them. He added that disabled veterans are having benefits taken away from PIP re-evaluations, despite their condition not changing.

The former soldier said he knows of ex-personnel being classed as able to work because they walked into the meeting using a stick. “They do that because they’re proud,” he added, “Because they can walk more than 50 yards while stopping, benefits are being taken away. That leads them down a rabbit warren of not having enough money to live on, buy food and pay rent. They end up on the streets, and in and out of hospital.

“They will be under crazy stress, because they do not have enough money to pay their bills now, and can’t live or do a food shop. These are guys that may have led a platoon or company, and not had a day off work in their life until they were injured, and now they have to ask for benefits to help them. That would have torn them up.”

Mr McGuffie added he is not surprised by the rising statistics despite Veterans UK offering great support, and said services such as Citizens Advice are being cut. “Things which would have helped the guys in the past have fallen by the wayside,” he said. “A lot of them will fall through the net, where they are not getting the help or advice that they need about housing, benefits and jobs.”

The government run Operation Fortitude, an £8.55m scheme which has re-housed more than 600 veterans and supports 1,300 former personnel across 900 housing units. Its hotline refers callers the appropriate housing providers, charities and local authorities. Funding worth £20m was secured in the 2023 Spring Budget to develop new build accommodation for veterans and refurbish social housing for them. The Veterans Self Build scheme, operated by Alabare and linked to Operation Fortitude, trains former personnel in building trades and houses them when accommodation is built.

Supervisor Frank Nelson, 62 - who served in the forces for 17 years - said just over 380 veterans and their families have been rehoused since the scheme began - with every £1 of taxpayer funds receiving £16 in return. He said people have turned their lives around, including one who was reunited with his 15-year-old son.

“You haven’t got people going into crime or prison,” he added, “you have them back in jobs, houses, paying taxes and into society. It’s not just a case of shoving people in houses like battery hens and saying they’re not homeless anymore. It’s about giving them a journey towards setting themselves up, and giving them the tools to succeed and get on in life.”

Mr Nelson said it can only take two or three major incidents, such as marriage break-ups, to become homeless. The former police officer added the only way to support ex-personnel is to support them through difficult problems such as drink and drugs addictions, and boost their self-esteem through a career.

He said: “They see arduous things and do some terrible things while they are in the military, but they do get looked after. They don’t learn the skills which you need outside. Some get married, and get looked after, and when that collapses and they leave the forces, there are a lot of skills they lack. The military needs to train people towards doing that. All it takes is a catalogue of errors to end up in a homeless shelter.”

Colin Gaylor, 60, chief executive of charity Veterans Centre Southampton which supports serving and former personnel across Hampshire, said many people do not reach out for help, with government statistics not including those not seeking help. “As a service person, you are taught that you are the best and you can do things on your own,” he added. “It is instilled in you that ‘you can, you can, you can’. Sometimes, when you're out in the big wide world on your own, you can’t. In service, you’ve always got your mates and your officers that you can go to. You go out into the civilian world, you don’t necessarily have that.”

He said spikes in people owed homeless duty in Portsmouth and the New Forest are expected due to their military connections. “When many people leave service, they stay in the area and get into difficulty, or are coming to an area where they know there is a large percentage of serving and veteran personnel in the town they can link up with,” Mr Gaylor said. “People go where they feel like they’re safe in numbers.”

Gosport has the highest proportion of veterans by population in the UK - 12.5 per cent according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) 2021 census. The town recorded 8,422 former regulars or reserves, with only the New Forest, Fareham and Portsmouth local authority areas having higher numbers.

Conservative MP Caroline Dinenage said Operation Fortitude has been enormously successful, with no veteran being forced to sleep rough over Christmas Day. She added: “There are many challenges surrounding veteran homelessness nationwide, but my message would be that, if you are a veteran sleeping rough in Gosport, contact Op Fortitude and there will be a bed for you.” The politician said the statistics for veteran homelessness remain “extremely low” thanks to the government’s efforts.

Mr McGuffie believes the only way to tackle the problem is to have physical hubs in every major city, somewhere former personnel can access an individual case worker with a “finger on the pulse of every government department” and can get all the support they need at once.

Mr Nelson said further funding to tackle homelessness in general is “desperately needed”. The number of people owed prevention or relief duty is steadily rising nationally and regionally. Mr Gaylor said more people are being open to being ex-forces, meaning they can receive help if they ask for it. “It was only in the last census that there was a tick box to say if you were in the armed forces,” he added.

“That box needs to be on every form, whether it’s a doctors or council form, not so they get preferential treatment, but sometimes the needs of a veteran are slightly different to others. Different communities have different needs.”

A government spokesperson said Operation Fortitude provides a dedicated pathway to help those in need, with £2.4bn being invested to tackle general homelessness over the past three years. They added that future projects are being looked into. “We are immensely grateful to all our veterans for their service in defence of our nation,” they said.

“This Government is committed to ending veteran rough sleeping. The government supports millions of people through the benefits system every year and our priority is to ensure they receive supportive service and get the benefits they are entitled to as soon as possible.”