WHY WOULD I CHOOSE TO BE OUT HERE?

ROUGH SLEEPERS HIT BACK AFTER HOME SECRETARY DESCRIBED HOMELESSNESS AS A 'LIFESTYLE CHOICE'

- DAMON WILKINSON

JESSICA West is sat on the pavement outside Starbucks sheltering from the pouring rain. The night before, as temperatures in Manchester city centre dropped to 6C, she slept in the doorway of a Wagamama. 

“It was cold man, really cold,” the 23-year-old said. “I got kicked. Someone said ‘Do you want some beer?’, then poured it over me.”

Last week the Home Secretary Suella Braverman caused outrage when she depicted rough sleeping as a ‘lifestyle choice’ and said she planned to crackdown on the pitching of tents in towns and cities.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, she said: “We cannot allow our streets to be taken over by rows of tents occupied by people, many of them from abroad, living on the streets as a lifestyle choice.”

It’s not a description Jessica, who says she’s been homeless for four years after fleeing a difficult relationship, agrees with. “Why would I choose to be out here?,” she said. “If I had the choice I’d rather be anywhere else.

“As a woman everyone thinks you’re a prostitute or they think we’re all Spice heads or heroin addicts, but not everyone is like that.