People may be begging for a multitude of different reasons

Some of the most common are:

• Financial difficulties caused by mental illness such as depression or anxiety. These issues could mean someone is unable to work, but finds it difficult to claim benefits.
• Loss of accomodation or employment due to difficult behaviour such as violence or crime.
• Addictions, such as gambling or harmful and excessive use of drugs and alcohol. For some people, rough sleeping increases drug or alcohol use in an effort to help time pass more quickly and forget about their difficulties.
• Past traumas and experiences can lead to distrust between people who are begging and service providers. This creates a perpetual cycle where people do not accept the support they need to move away from addiction and begging and ultimately can become genuinely homeless.
• Many people simply struggle to engage with the help and support offered to them by our services and so resort to begging as a source of income.