‘You just have to keep trying’: the people helping Birmingham’s rough sleepers

Outreach and charity workers talk about the day-to-day issues they face when dealing with the city’s homelessness problem

• England likely to miss target to end rough sleeping by 2024, says Crisis

Just outside a busy McDonald’s in Birmingham city centre a homeless woman sat with her belongings stacked in a trolley beside her, including a black cat in a carry case.

Mursel Demir, an outreach worker, sat down beside her and listened as she tearfully explained how she lost the room she was sharing in a hostel with her partner when their relationship broke down last week. She had not seen him for three days.