At 1am on Wednesday 14 November, a group of volunteers joined POST (Routes to Roots in partnership with Bournemouth Churches Housing Association) staff to help with the Poole annual street count.

Having been warmed with hot drinks, they were given their instructions and routes, logged in with the Police, and eventually set off to various parts of the Borough of Poole to collect and log the required information. Five teams covered Poole Park, Baiter Park, Poole Town and the car parks, Lower and Upper Parkstone, Canford Cliffs and Branksome Chine areas, and various known tent locations.

A total of 16 rough sleepers were found on the night – an increase of 25% on last year’s count. Nine of these people were known to POST and the Poole Rough Sleepers Core Group as ‘active’ rough sleepers. Two stated they were new to the area; two were unwilling to engage; and three were known to have previously accessed homelessness services within Bournemouth and Poole.

It was particularly poignant how obviously frightened some of these people were when approached by a group of strangers in the middle of the night, however much effort they put into being friendly. Apart from the need to make these counts for the Borough, the night proved successful in that people were found and directed to the POST services at URC, Skinner Street. The following day people did actually present at the office and several have now been housed.