Portsmouth councillor calls for compassion after sharing homelessness experience

From homelessness and addiction to the council chamber, Kate Dorrington has spoken about her recovery and why others deserve the same chance to rebuild.

Portsmouth City Council met on Tuesday (November 10) to discuss a motion on the Prime Minister’s plan to offer every rough sleeper a route off the streets by Christmas.

Cllr Kate Dorrington drew on her own experiences of homelessness and addiction, having previously used women’s refuges and treatment centres, to highlight the importance of support services in helping people rebuild their lives.

In her maiden speech to the full council chamber, she thanked residents in her Central Southsea ward “who placed their trust in me to represent them”.

On the motion she spoke “not only as a councillor but as someone with lived experience of addiction and recovery”.

She added: “I know what it’s like to need support when life feels overwhelming, I was once one of the people many would have described as being a complex case.”

She said that her position as a councillor is “living proof” that people can “change, recover and rebuild their lives when they receive the right support at the right time”.

She wanted to share her story “not because it’s special or unique” but because it “challenges some of the perceptions people have about what a complex case looks like and what people are capable of achieving”.

Too often “society judges people by what they see on the surface” and if Portsmouth is serious about helping people “we must look beyond those behaviours and see the person behind them”.

She described people experiencing homelessness as the “most vulnerable people in our city, I often call them the walking wounded”.

“They carry the effects of trauma, poor health, substance dependency, social isolation and years of disadvantage – some of them have spent so long simply surviving that they have lost hope,” Cllr Dorrington added.

The barriers for those experiencing homelessness “are rarely just about housing” she added, arguing for many it is a consequence of addiction, mental health, debt, broken relationships, stigma and a lack of trust in services

“Every journey into homelessness is different, and every route out will be different too.

“We must meet people where they are at, not where we think they should be.

On the benefits of housing, she said it’s “more than a roof over someone’s head, it’s stability, safety and hope, it creates the foundation people need to improve their health, relationships find work and move forward”.

However, she said people with complex needs getting a home “is only the beginning, the real challenge is helping them keep it”.Giving people a home without support is “setting people up to fail” which is why “wrap around support services are so important – support cannot end when the keys are handed over.”

Housing, mental health, substance misuse, GPs, social care, probation, community organisations and the voluntary sector “all have a part to play,” she said.

The should “work together around the individual rather than expect the individual to navigate these complicated system on their own”.

Through her work in addiction recovery “I’ve seen people rebuild their lives, they’ve rebuilt relationships, found employment, pursued education and became positive contributors towards their communities.

Those sleeping rough “are not statistics, they are someone’s son, daughter, parent, brother sister or someone’s friend. They deserve the same compassion and opportunities that any of us would hope for if we found ourselves in crisis.

In closing she said that “lasting change happens when people are empowered rather than judged”.

“People should never be defined by the worst chapter of their lives – the people we are talking about today are not beyond help, they are people with potential, hopes and strengths just like any of us,” she added.

If you, or someone you know, is sleeping rough or at risk of homelessness, you can visit the council’s website or contact its Housing Needs, Advice and Support team on 023 9283 4989.