Posted on: 3rd July 2025

A small but important prayer gathering at Holy Trinity Boar Lane. Thanking Pastor Isaiah for chairing and Rev Jon Swales (Lighthouse), Chaplain to the Crypt, Andy Muckle and Dave Paterson (Homeless Charter) for sharing. Stories of aggressive behaviour amongst the homeless/rough sleeping community.

Accounts are increasing with warmer weather, including aggressive incidents:

- Stories of fights being split up,

- Knives are being carried and threatened.

- Items are being thrown at people.

- People are losing hope, going out into the city centre to find a sense of purpose, which may mean street begging, followed by accessing drugs.

- Better weather means, for some, more time out on the street, being enveloped in addiction.

- Riots such as Harehills and Southport happened in the warmest part of last year.

- Staff and volunteers are showing resilience but also feeling fatigued by having to deal with increasing challenges.

- Key hot spots include Penny Pocket Park near the bus station.

- Harder to get people into accommodation with high rents, providing a major blockage in the system.

Please note that this is not a reason to not go into the city Centre and you're unlikely to see problems if you do, but it’s important to be aware that challenges are happening and the city/rough sleeping and homeless community need your prayers