City homeless man claims he's been left in limbo by council after refusing to relocate to Birmingham

Ryszard Krawczyk was allowed to stay for three nights at the YMCA in Henwick Road, Worcester, as part of the council’s No Second Night Out project after finding himself on the street.

However, after then refusing to accept a place offered to him by the council at a hostel in Birmingham last week, he has found himself back out in the cold with no other emergency accommodation available to him.

Mr Krawczyk, 39, has been accepted onto a seven-day employability course for construction, starting on Monday at the YMCA and also has connections in Worcester, where he has lived most of his life.

He said he knows of another person who was offered a bed through the scheme “three weeks in a row” and believes “it’s a failing system”.

“I have local connections, I was born in this city, I feel hard done by,” he said.

“I am registered with my GP, I have counselling here and I would feel unsettled moving somewhere else, and feel settled here.

“Someone comes in the queue in front of me and they don’t actually [necessarily] need it as much me.

“He has had his No Second Night Out extended to Monday next week and they cannot give me a reason why [they can’t do the same for me].”

Mr Krawczyk and his partner – who is also homeless but did not wish to be named – now face the prospect of sleeping in a tent indefinitely with the weather beginning to get colder.

Until July he said he had been subletting a room in Middle Street, in the Arboretum, paying £75 a week but said the landlord then “wanted his property back” so he had to leave.

For the last few weeks he was then living in Evesham with people “I thought were friends” but he moved out when things turned sour.

“I was just feeding their habit,” he said, explaining that the main tenant was an alcoholic and “he was very violent”.

“I was funding his addiction – he was aggressive towards my girlfriend, so I came back here.”

Mr Krawczyk and his partner then “stayed in Pitchcroft in the stables for two nights” before being woken up by the police in the early hours of Sunday, September 15, who then moved the pair on.

READ MORE: City homeless man claims he's been left in limbo by council after refusing to relocate to Birmingham

“I approached the city council and they put me and my girlfriend [on] No Second Night Out in the YMCA and we were accepted.

“I actually know the staff at the YMCA, I get on with them really well, they were very helpful,” he said.

However, after three nights, the minimum he was entitled to on the scheme, he was told he could no longer remain there, with the council not obligated to extend emergency accommodation.

The CCP – or Caring for Communities and People organisation – which operates the council’s homeless prevention service, interviewed Mr Krawczyk last Friday and advised him to go back to the council and ask for his No Second Night Out allowance to be extended, he said.

“I’ve gone to Worcester City Council and they have refused this and have only offered me accommodation in a Birmingham hostel,” he said.

However, while Mr Krawczyk waits for a resolution to his housing issue he is remaining “positive” thanks to his upcoming course.

“There may be chance of me working on a house build site,” he said.

In 2011, Mr Krawczyk spent a year on the streets in the city due to a break down in a previous relationship but back then “didn’t want to engage” with the help available.

“It was through fault of my own, really,” he added.

A city council spokesman said: "It would be inappropriate to discuss the individual circumstances of this case.

"The council does work with people who have recently found themselves homeless through schemes such as No Second Night out where both support and short term accommodation is provided to move people away from the street.

"During this period the council then works with individuals to identify a range of housing options appropriate to their needs.

"However, there are times when finding local accommodation can prove very difficult and can take longer than desired but we continue to work with people to explore alternative options in the meantime."

No Second Night Out was launched in 2011 by the city council, in line with the outreach service, following advice by the government in a report focused on ending rough sleeping.

The aim of the scheme is to ensure new rough sleepers are identified and helped off the streets immediately.

Their needs are then assessed and advice is given on their options while emergency accommodation as well as healthcare is provided if needed.