Rough sleeper spending Christmas on Portsmouth's streets admits 'I don't know if I'll make it'

Rough sleepers in the city centre are figuring out their options for Christmas, with some resigned to staying out in the cold.

Others will be seeking shelter as centres, churches and more open their doors to Portsmouth’s homeless – but all of them seem prepared for a lonely Christmas season.

One rough sleeper, who wished to remain anonymous, said he has become accustomed to spending Christmas alone.

He said: ‘I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere on Christmas Day – it’s definitely not something I can look forward to.

‘If there’s lots of people there and a couple of people get into a fight or something, it becomes more hassle than it’s worth.

‘The thing is it’s cold already and I don’t if I’ll even make it through Christmas if it gets colder.’

Another of Portsmouth’s rough sleepers, who also didn’t want to be named, explained how he found himself on the streets earlier this year, and this will be his first Christmas out on the streets.

But his focus is on finding somewhere warm for the day – and has pleaded for members of the public to show their generosity to people like him.

‘I’ve not been on the streets for very long so this is my first Christmas being homeless,’ he said.

‘I’m not really sure what to expect, but I’ll try and get to somewhere because you have to keep warm.

‘I don’t know anybody out here so it’s pretty lonely, so if people have got time to give us a hot drink and have a chat, that’s always nice.’

Bev Saunders from the charity Helping Hands says there will be plenty of places for rough sleepers to go at Christmas.

She said: ‘Helping Hands will be out and about on the streets, the burger van in Commercial Road will be doing breakfast on Christmas morning and there will be other places to go during the day.

‘But the bottom line is these rough sleepers will still be out in the cold and feeling very lonely.’