On Thursday, 20 June a man’s body was found floating in Aberystwyth harbour. For days, no one noticed the tent that belonged to him was now vacant — until someone set it alight.

The day his body was found was hot, 21 degrees, and the country was focused on a general election that was still two weeks’ away. The town was busy stretching itself into the day until someone spotted a shape in the water near the docked boats.

The shape wasn’t moving. At 11.40am the sun was high in the sky when someone called the police.

Aberystwyth was the end of the line for Carol Kovacs.

He was 59, a hard worker, he couldn’t find accommodation and without an address, he couldn’t find a job either.

The inquest into his death is set for October, and until then we won’t know much more about what happened to him.

Did he fall or jump? Was he in the water the night before, or early in the morning? Was anyone with him? How many people walked past the harbour before noticing him on that hot June morning?

His body was found only months after he had arrived in the town.

Carol loved fishing and was from the fishing-mad town of Ciacova in west Romania near the Serbian border.

He spent his time fishing in Aberystwyth harbour whilst rough sleeping in a small tent next to the river by Tanybwlch beach.

Weeks after his body was found, his two suitcases were still lying there by the river where he had slept, filled with warm clothes, a new wetsuit, fishing equipment and a Lidl freezer bag full of documents painting a picture of his life.

His tent was burnt down and his belongings ransacked.

Of what remained were fishing magazines, brochures for wading and rainwear equipment, a box for a set of Remington hair clippers, a Tesco’s food magazine.

There were bank statements, pay cheques, tax receipts, pension slips.

The police knew but didn’t seem to care that his belongings were there.

His family in Romania — including a sister Irina-Maria Kovacs and niece Damaris Muszkopf — informed by Romanian authorities, were newly grappling with his loss.

Meanwhile, Aberystwyth went on, walking around the spaces that Carol had occupied.

He was one of more than 150 rough sleepers across Wales and one of an increasing number of visibly homeless people in the small coastal town that became his last home.

Reports of dozens of tents popping up in Aberystwyth have been drawn to the attention of authorities by residents — upset at the sight, the mess, the assumed safety risks.

But how did Carol end up in this sleepy mid-Wales town — and why wasn’t he helped?

Nationally, homelessness rates are getting worse.

In 2023 there was a 27 per cent increase in homelessness in England and the highest number of households in temporary accommodation due to homelessness since records began.

In Wales,the number of rough sleepers has also increased, with 157 counted in May 2024. Ceredigion had the highest number outside of Cardiff. The May figures also show 1,386 people were in temporary accommodation due to homelessness.

The government’s pledge to end rough sleeping by 2024 failed — experts report the cost of living crisis is pushing more and more people into homelessness, which is being exacerbated by a “severe shortage in affordable housing” and lack of appropriate support services.

Homeless figures seem to increase each spring — this year there were six rough sleepers known to authorities in Ceredigion in January, growing to 17 in April.

What brought a Romanian fisherman to Aberystwyth?

Carol came to Aberystwyth to enjoy the fishing, having visited the tackle shop GB Fishing and Angling Centre for years whilst working up and down the country.

A veterinarian, in the 1990s he set out to explore the world, going from working on dairy farms in Romania to animal-handling roles across Ontario in Canada.

After arriving in the UK he travelled and worked around the country, from Cumbria to Birmingham to Salisbury, finally ending up in Wales.

Carol said he would send back money home to his sister and spoke with friends about saving money to do up her house in Ciacova, which he planned to return to soon.

He told friends he had lost his job in Llandysul, working on a farm where he had been given on-site accommodation.

One case worker said this is a common pattern of cash in hand, zero hour or otherwise unstable contracts leading to homelessness.

When accommodation is tied to a job they then lose, people, especially seasonal workers — a common job for EU citizens pre-Brexit — become both unemployed and homeless overnight.

In 2021 research by homelessness charity Crisis found EU citizens were three times as likely to experience rough sleeping compared to the general population, citing job loss as the main reason to lose their homes.

That year, 22,200 EU citizens were homeless, accounting for 9 per cent of the total homeless population.

The pandemic caused homeless EU citizen unemployment rates to double — 25 per cent were unemployed in March 2022, jumping to 52 per cent that winter.

For those who did have a job, they cited unacceptable working conditions, including working without a contract, being paid below minimum wage or not at all, and dealing with an abusive employer.

As Carol’s living situation became more precarious he lost vital documents that would have helped him claim accommodation and benefits, which he was entitled to as an EU citizen who had been in the UK prior to 2015.

Andreea Dumitrache, Communications Manager at the3million, the grassroots organisation representing EU citizens in the UK, said: “We are horrified by Carol’s tragic death and our thoughts are with his loved ones at this time.

“It is a disgrace to the UK that more and more people are falling into destitution, with nowhere to turn when they fall on hard times and cannot put a roof over their head or know where their next meal will come from.

“No matter where we were born, the colour of our skin, or how much we earn, we all deserve to live with dignity in the country we call home.

“The last 14 years of austerity have pushed people to the brink, underfunding public services and decimating the welfare safety net.

“This has meant more and more EU citizens in the UK have been pushed into homelessness after Brexit.

“Many people lost their jobs throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, are struggling with the cost of living, and when one thing goes wrong and circumstances change, there’s no help available.

“In some local authorities across the country, EU citizens now make up 60-70 per cent of people with no recourse to public funds that local councils are struggling to support due to lack of funding.

“There are many who are excluded from accessing Universal Credit, housing support and homelessness assistance.

“Even for people like Carol, who qualify for housing assistance on the same terms as a British citizen, the welfare state has been cut to the bone so much that it’s very rare for people to get the actual support they need.

“We are fighting through the courts to expand who is eligible for housing assistance.

“We need a government that supports the most vulnerable in our society, invests in public services and builds resilient local communities.”

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Carol was known to homeless charities the Wallich, Ceredigion Care Society and the council, but none were able to save him.

One council worker said the anti-immigration rhetoric being thrown around in the backdrop of the housing crisis makes people like Carol feel “they don’t have a right to access support when legally and ethically they do”.

None of these organisations would comment on Carol’s case, including the Wallich: “The Wallich works with more than 7,000 people across Wales who are vulnerably housed or have no other choice but to sleep rough.

“In Aberystwyth, our homelessness outreach team is working tirelessly with the council and other agencies to support a steady increase in the number of people currently on the streets.

“There are many reasons why people face homelessness at the moment, including family breakdown, trauma and poor mental health, loss of income, the cost of living or No Recourse to Public Funds.

“It’s also well documented that the country has a shortage of affordable housing that falls inside the Local Housing Allowance set by UK Government.

“Anyone in Aberystwyth who needs homelessness advice and support can visit The Wallich Solutions Service on Chalybeate Street.

“We also offer a shower, laundry facilities and practical items which help people sleeping rough with their general health and wellbeing.”

Ceredigion County Council said: “We are aware of the very sad circumstances [of Carol’s death] and our thoughts are with his family and friends.

“Outreach services were engaged with the gentleman and were exploring opportunities available to him prior to his death.

“We are also aware of an increased number of instances of rough sleepers, and we are working with partner agencies in regards to the increased prevalence.

“There is a large social housing waiting list which is allocated fairly in line with matched needs.

“Some areas have a higher demand and consequently, the waiting times can vary.

“It is not unusual for applicants to be waiting for extended periods before an allocation can be made.”

So why wasn’t Carol housed by one of the organisations he was in touch with?

Sadly, Aberystwyth isn’t immune to the housing crisis.

Charities like the Wallich have resorted to buying people tents, sleeping bags and camping equipment, almost as an apology for the horrific state of housing in the nation.

Shelter Cymru described the situation in Wales as ‘dire’, adding that rough sleeping can shave years off a person’s life: “People are sleeping in tents provided by support agencies along with survival packs with food, a sleeping bag and sometimes a portable stove.

“This is not an acceptable way for people to be forced to live and it is not in any way a long-term answer to the desperate plight of people who are forced to sleep on the streets.

“Shelter Cymru believes that everyone should have access to a safe and decent home, along with the support they might need to find or keep a home.

“We know that when people sleep on the streets it takes years of their lives and it risks individuals dying destitute and exposed to the elements.

“It’s unacceptable. We need the Welsh Government to ensure everyone in Wales has a safe, suitable and settled home they can afford.

“First and foremost we need more social homes to end the housing emergency.”

The majority of people in Wales who present as homeless are put into hotels and Bed and Breakfasts’, costing the state a fortune.

Homeless hostels are packed and unpleasant.

There are currently over 2,038 households on the waiting list for social housing in Ceredigion.

The shared housing offered by local authorities and organisations like Ceredigion Care Society have been described as worse than sleeping rough.

For many the Cambrian News has spoken to, they chose the streets over unstaffed shared housing, citing squalid living conditions sharing with unsupported people struggling with drug or alcohol addiction issues.

With the milder weather in the spring and summer months, Aberystwyth’s homeless felt able to sleep out in the fresh air in some of the beautiful spots Aberystwyth has to offer, escaping the unsafe and dilapidated HMOs (Homes of Multiple Occupancy) offered by homeless charities and councils.

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Neil Jones, 42, was born and raised in Aberystwyth and feels robbed of support in his own town.

Neil’s tent sat next to Carol’s in Tanybwlch before Carol’s was burnt down.

Struggling with depression and anxiety, Neil can’t work to afford private rent but has been waiting in purgatory on the council waiting list for two years.

His mum, Wendy Jones in Penparcau is heartbroken to see her son live in a tent in the Welsh rain: “Council flats become available, I phone the council and they just fob you off.

“Every time a bedroom becomes available, he never seems to get it, it’s ridiculous.

“I’ve been told before that he hadn’t been waiting long enough.

“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know — that’s how it seems to be.”

Before his fabric home, Neil was in the Jasper House emergency accommodation which he described as “like a cell” that his “anxiety couldn’t handle”.

He eventually walked out, and unable to stay with his mum who is housing his brother with mental health issues, Neil bought a tent and prayed for good weather.

Neil said: “It’s horrible especially when it starts raining and the long drawn out nights come.

“It’s cold and there’s no telly, there’s nothing to do, just your own mind.

“It’s made things much worse — I think about personal things, how I’ve landed here.

“I’ve got benefits to pay for a house, just no housing I can afford.

“It’s about not feeling safe — you’ve always got that feeling that you don’t know what’s going to happen, anything can happen when you don’t know who’s there.”

He said he’s seen more people becoming visibly homeless, passing rough sleepers in shop doorways and other tents joining his by the river.

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Some say people struggling with housing are drawn to Wales for its tolerance of homeless people and to Aberystwyth because of its friendly attitude.

Mark sleeps behind Morrisons in Aberystwyth in a sleeping bag and bivy.

He’s been here for five months, moving up from Bristol to be closer to his cousin who is in care, and the only family he has left.

The 60-year-old said though he didn’t choose to live in Aberystwyth, it’s friendlier here: “I’m homeless — in the city, as far as people are concerned, I’m a perv.

“Here, people leave you alone.”

The Dyfed-Powys Police acknowledge the need for a collaborative approach between agencies to tackle homelessness, stating they follow best practice guidance: “Homelessness is a complex societal issue that can only be solved with long-term support and collaboration from a range of agencies.

“There is national guidance on the prevention of rough sleeping which highlights best practice and collaborations between police forces, local authorities and third sector organisations to tackle the issue.

“Ceredigion Police work with Ceredigion County Council and homelessness services to provide advice, accommodation and referrals to other services.”

Though the people may be friendlier and the authorities gentler than in cities, stereotypes about homeless people have found their way to this corner of mid-Wales too.

Only last week the Cambrian News received a letter addressed to the Dyfed-Powys Police regarding tents “illegally camping” by Park Avenue whilst “surrounded by school children”.

The letter from resident self-dubbed Blue Christopher continued: “Not only are you, the Police, allowing this type of illegal behaviour to continue all across the town of Aberystwyth, but on this occasion, these people are just metres away from a children’s playground!

“Even so, I have witnessed these people to be under the influence of substances, and therefore, can you be 100 per cent sure they would not harm a child, particularly, if they are harassed by children?

“Because you constantly allow people to camp and lie around in public, as evidenced many times before, it will only attract and encourage more people to do the same thing!”

Rather than being involved in any type of crime, Mark, a gently spoken retired painter-decorator became a full-time carer for his cousin before they were evicted after being unable to pay bills: “We couldn’t keep up.

“Rent, gas, water rates, electric, the bills coming through the door were over a grand.

“They were never going to get that from us, we don’t get that kind of money, we could barely live on what we had.”

Mark says though he’s been offered shared accommodation, he “refuses to stay places with drug addicts and alcoholics”: “Why should I live like that?

“It wasn’t bad to start with, but two weeks in they let anyone in.

“There were parties with pipes, dope, and cocaine passed around.

“The landlords don’t care.”

One council worker who did not want to be named said: “Homeless people with different problems shouldn’t be put in one place without anybody helping them.

“The government is meant to look after these people.

“It’s easier to put them in one place so they know where they are but it’s not working.

“An addict put with addicts will carry on.

“We’ve got a problem with the HMOs — these places are horrible and haven’t been looked after.

“I’ve worked with a man who had sewage coming back through his sink.

“The law has to be changed to bring HMOs into a living standard.”

He’s noticed others arriving on the streets in Aberystwyth, but doesn’t know where they come from as it is “not his business”.

There are anecdotes of people at job centres in cities like Birmingham being given one-way tickets to Wales.

A local caseworker said on this: “In English cities, they might say to ‘go try your luck’ because they know the Welsh system has a duty of care to house homeless people, unlike English law.

“We have people presenting from the West Midlands who say they’ve got a local connection who may not.

“We’re a lot more friendly, some cities are brutal — for instance, we try and house them with their pets where possible.

“Because we have fewer homeless people than cities we try and take each on a case-by-case basis - this is really humane but it also means there’s extra pressure on our housing stock.”

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This rumoured ‘city to coast pipeline’ has been suggested in other areas of Wales too.

Rhyl town had a small group of tents crop up on its promenade this March, and a report in 2023 claimed the seaside town had an unusually high concentration of homeless people compared to the rest of Denbighshire.

In 2021 Llandudno Hospitality Association warned of the coastal village becoming a ‘ghost town’ after homeless people were housed in holiday accommodation, warning of the potential to ruin the tourist economy.

The year before, churches in Llandudno and Colwyn Bay opened their doors to provide a roof over the heads of an increasing number of homeless people found by the coast in Conwy and Gwynedd.

Rev Mike Harrison said: “While support for those who are homeless is often focused on our large towns and cities, coastal resorts like Llandudno and Colwyn Bay are seeing a rise in the number of people sleeping rough.

“Support for those who are homeless is available during the day but there’s never been adequate night-time facilities.”

Down south, Neath Port Talbot has seen a ‘dramatic rise’ in homelessness, increasing by 108 per cent since 2019, with a report citing lack of affordable housing, the cost of living crisis and pressures on the social care sector.

The report raised concerns about legislative changes such as the Renting Homes Act and Housing Wales Act, designed to improve standards of rented accommodation, however causing some landlords including 50 in Neath, to leave the market as a result.

Despite Wales’ friendly facade, it’s not exactly plain sailing for rough sleepers like Carol, Neil and Mark.

Neil mentioned seeing posts on local Facebook groups by residents complaining about rough sleepers leaving a mess: “I know it’s not ideal.

“I’m getting treated like [expletive], we’re getting segregated.”

Residents complain of the mess left by homeless people who are moved on by the council.

Down at the Tanybwlch Natures Reserve, belongings including abandoned tents, sleeping bags, clothes, tins of food and protein drinks are left in bags.

What is also left is litter and human waste, tissue paper and used sanitary towels left strewn across the path.

This growing issue has divided residents, with some saying “homelessness is no excuse for filth”, that those leaving a mess have “no respect”, some labelling them as shoplifters and drug addicts, that some people “might choose to live like this” rather than a situation they’ve been forced into.

Other residents disagreed, telling commenters to “leave them alone” and stop being “quick to judge and assume instead of finding out the facts”, stating that “these people are staying out of town because everywhere they go they get people giving them grief”.

Commenters argued people should remember “life goes up and down” and that some at the beach had mental health issues and “half the time have no idea what they’re doing”.

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Both residents and council workers report “zero police presence” in Aberystwyth and around Tanybwwlch, which is also described as a place where it is “easy to get drugs”.

On this Dyfed-Powys Police inspector Matthew Howells said: “The local Neighbourhood Policing Team patrol the town daily and where they come across people sleeping in the streets, officers will make the relevant referrals for support.

“However action will be taken, using Community Protection Warnings and Notices, to deter anti-social and criminal behaviour.”

Wales has had a higher rate of death from drug misuse than England since 2003, having increased in both countries in the last 20 years.

In Wales the main cause of death were opioids including heroin, morphine, methadone, codeine and tramadol, contributing to 125 deaths between 2022-23.

There was also been a large increase in deaths involving cocaine in the last three years, with 52 deaths recorded in 2022 with the presence of cocaine.

In Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire deaths from drug misuse has increased, with Ceredigion ranking eighth across the 22 counties, Gwynedd coming seventh and Powys 19th.

Carmarthenshire’s and Powys’ drug misuse death rate meanwhile decreased over the last three years.

Carol was known to drink a lot, with friends saying it got considerably worse during his final months.

Carol had previously received a written warning from one job for his drinking, however one friend, Basil Coates, who runs GB Fishing and Angling Centre in Aberystwyth, swore that “any inclination of suicide would be totally and utterly wrong”, seeing him only days before buying more fishing equipment as his “happy, loud self”.

Basil instead puts it down to death by misadventure.

Basil had known him for two years, learning of Carol’s travels, his family, and his dreams for the future: “He was a hell of a character - when he walked in he would say ‘hello, number one is here’ — considering himself the number one fisherman around here.

“He loved to fish for anything edible and would eat what he caught.

“He just went to explore the world.

“He was a workaholic, an alcoholic and an amazing character.

“I was shocked when I found out [he’d died], I know he had plans to go back home and get the house running with his sister.”

Carol described himself as ‘an animal lover’ who liked camping, biking and swimming. He liked to read about science, medicine, and history.

Amongst his books left behind was In Essence — Evolve your vision, change your world by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada — a book exploring yoga, meditation, the mind and karma, questions of the self, the universe, the source of existence, and what happens when we die.

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We don’t know for sure whether Carol knew he had an issue with alcohol, but he had a dream and people who cared about him.

One friend we’ll call him Steve, was one of the first to notice Carol was missing.

After getting to know Carol after he appeared in Tanybwlch where Steve walked his dog, he encouraged Carol to go and seek help from the different services on offer.

Carol left a message for Steve one day saying he’d done just that, but then the sign stayed the next day, and the next, and the next.

Steve was likely one of the first to realise Carol had died: “I told him his tent wasn’t suitable, that if he didn’t get down to the Ceredigion Care Society every day he wouldn’t survive the summer.

“He left me a message on a pizza box to say he’d done just that — that’s the last I heard from him.

“A few days later I heard a body had been found. Maybe it was an accident.

“I don’t think he was unwell. He was drinking a lot, but I would as well if I was living in a tent.

“I connected with him because we’d both served in the armed forces.

“He wanted a job

“The homelessness can only be caused by one reason — there’s no alternative for them.”

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The ‘Everyone In’ Problem

‘Everyone In’ was the UK government initiative to house everyone during the Covid-19 pandemic, reducing rough sleeping by 37 per cent thanks to an emergency injection of cash, strong partnership working and a shared purpose.

Wales is the only country in the UK to have kept the policy - keeping rough sleepers housed in any way possible, including paying for private hotel accommodation.

In 2022/23 there were 2,187 households in B&Bs, representing a 29 per cent increase from the previous year.

Carol lived in a hotel in Aberystwyth before he was allegedly kicked out to ‘make room for holiday makers’.

In 2023 a Freedom of Information request found that Cardiff council moved 155 homeless people out of hotels in Cardiff during Six Nations to make way for tourists, branded an “appalling” move by Shelter Cymru.

This was in the backdrop of an “unprecedented increase” in people becoming homeless after the pandemic putting pressure on limited temporary accommodation resources.

Though the ‘Everyone In’ campaign was a blessing for many struggling with homelessness during the pandemic, giving people consistent access to a safe place to stay, a mobile phone, and support workers, long-term it is far from ideal.

The luxurious-sounding lifestyle of being put up in a hotel is far from the reality according to local homelessness case workers and rough sleepers, who would go so far as to describe it as “inhumane”.

According to them, hotels and B&Bs aren’t equipped for the complex needs some people come in with, such as untreated mental health conditions, addiction, alcoholism or suffering the effects of trauma.

Without on-site staff support, the accommodation doesn’t address the issue that may have been perpetuating people’s homelessness.

Rather than giving people the life skills they need to live alone, hotel and B&B accommodation instead ‘infantilizes’ them, living without the ability to cook or clean for themselves and giving them little autonomy over their own space.

This, they say, ‘perpetuates poverty’ by forcing them to buy takeaways with their small benefits packages or relying on items like pot noodles which can be cooked with a hotel kettle.

One support worker said: “We have a lot less street homelessness compared to cities because of the Welsh government’s policy.

“For anyone who presents to a council as street homeless, the council has a duty to house immediately, not just if they’re classed as ‘vulnerable’ or ‘disabled’ as in other UK countries.

“I’m really proud that Wales does that.

“However a lot of people vulnerably housed are in need of supported accommodation for things like detox and rehabilitation and there is hardly any resource for this in Wales.

“Homeless people are increasingly presenting with complex needs and we don’t have the supported accommodation that would enable them to get back on their feet and into their own private accommodation.

“People with complex needs require 24-hour support - coaching them during the crisis point and daily input to get them out of the crisis situation.

“Because we’re rural and the population is so spread out, we don’t have access to intensive resources like that.

“Those who have been struggling with homelessness for a long time are stuck in this revolving door - they’re not allowed substances on many premises but can’t get sober without support.

“If someone with complex needs poses a risk to themselves or others, we can’t put them in a block of flats as it will put others at risk.

“If they’re using substances because they’re in distress due to an untreated mental health condition like schizophrenia, that person won’t get medical intervention by the GP because they’re using.

“If they can get a referral a mental health team, they face a long wait to see a psychiatrist to get the medication that they need.

“That person is left in limbo.”

The workers who support the most vulnerable are also struggling.

Workloads are described as “unmanageable” and they are blocked from working on preventing homelessness due to a “definite increase” in complex needs cases coming in.

Between lack of support from squeezed funding to services at every level, prison leavers who require housing are coming out “more traumatised and unwell” than when they went in and therefore struggling to be housed without intensive support.

A worker said: “You have a quiet resignation that you do what you can but you’re a very small cog in a broken system.

“It’s heart breaking.”

Though well-meaning, there is criticism coming internally for Wales’ ‘Everyone In’ scheme.

The duty to house is according to some case workers crippling an already broken housing system.

One case worker said: “Single people with mental health issues and substance abuse are being put in the middle of housing estates in four-beds in order to avoid using expensive B&Bs- and when our housing stock was built no one had ever dreamed of the bedroom tax- so we have got a lot more family houses than one-beds.

“If you have spare bedrooms you get 14 per cent deducted from your housing benefit, so we cannot permanently house someone in a property that is too big for them without them getting into debt.

“They’ll wait for a one-bed to become available, but most houses available are three beds.

“This means families who need houses even more can’t access them, the knock-on effect is adding to the housing crisis.”

In Ceredigion, there are 817 one-bedroom units set aside for general needs and sheltered housing stock, compared to 2,632 units with two or more bedrooms.

In Powys, the contrast is even more stark, with 1,878 one-bed units compared to 6,850 two-bed or more units.

Wales is struggling with a housing crisis at every level - house prices are skyrocketing, with the average full-time employee needing to use 6.2 times their earnings to buy a home, compared to the rate in 1997 when people would need to use 3 times the average wage.

In Ceredigion that statistic becomes even worse, with the average employed person needing to use 8.3 times their average earnings to buy a property.

With many being priced out of homeownership, private renting has boomed — with rental rates increasing with demand, rent went up by an average of 7.1 per cent in 2023.

Private rentals now make up for 12 per cent of Wales’ houses, accounting for more homes than are owned by local authorities.

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According to published reports, Wales has roughly a quarter of a million homes ringfenced as social housing.

The waitlist for social housing in Powys was 4,399 households long this July, 2,038 for Ceredigion, but with people rarely leaving social housing, the reality of getting a house is pretty bleak, as Neil has experienced.

The bleak reality is that Wales does not have enough homes.

Across six months of 2023, 2,108 new homes were built, but during the same time more than 9,000 people were placed in temporary accommodation because they had become homeless.

Meanwhile, one in 12 houses in Wales are unoccupied, accounting for roughly 120,000 properties.

To meet demand, 14,000 new homes will need to be built every year in Wales for the next 15 years.

With the slowing of progress on building homes during the pandemic and the subsequent cost of living crisis, this combination has driven costs for building projects up and up, making them more and more unaffordable.

An affordable housing project by housing association Barcud in Machynlleth, a housing-deprived town in Powys, has had to go through two sets of revisions due to increasing costs, currently going through its most recent revision this May.

Meanwhile, residents are waiting months for a private rental to become available, with young people forced to stay with their parents due to being unable to find a property.

But the issue of new housing stock being built stems back long before the pandemic.

Though house building peaked in 2014, the industry and first-time buyers took a hit after the 2008 financial crash, excluding them from the market by restricting what people could borrow and reducing the amount leant for housing projects.

Meanwhile, groups like Home Builders Federation complain of Wales housing standards putting builders off developments.

New requirements for new builds needing fire sprinklers and increased environmental standards are claimed to have significantly increased the cost of building a home.

Local Authorities squeezed budgets means there has been “very little home building” by them.

In an attempt to start to remedy this crisis, Welsh Government in October 2023 proposed a new law to extend the housing support local authorities can offer to help more households stay in their homes, in a massive homelessness prevention plan.

Local housing authorities would offer a “person-centred, trauma-informed” service.

MS Julie James added: “Everyone in Wales should have somewhere to call home.

“Today, we’re marking a new chapter to help people remain in their homes and prevent anyone in Wales from experiencing homelessness.

“This plan delivers our long-held view that homelessness is not just a housing issue.

“It sets out a radical and ambitious plan to ensure all services work together to spot the risk of homelessness early and take action to stop it from happening.

“For those who remain at risk, services will be coordinated in their response to ensure the right help is in place, delivered by the right people at the right time.”

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So if homelessness caseworkers think the ‘Everyone In’ scheme is flawed, what will?

A mid-Wales caseworker said: “If I had all the money in the world, I would build loads of one-bed flats, some shared supported accommodation, and some intensively supported accommodation for those who need it. We need wet houses as a way people can use and drink safely to stop the revolving door effect, with a harm reduction focus.

“We need emergency accommodation for those who need focused support and if absolutely necessary, B&B style accommodation with kitchens so people can cook for themselves.

“We need holistic support so drug and alcohol abuse and mental health support can be offered in tandem.

“We need hubs for intervention around benefits, family issues, mental health, addiction, family law to work on homelessness prevention.

“This would be general holistic support hubs to also give people what they need until they’re able to take on a tenancy of their own.”

The Kerslake Commission was set up to learn lessons from the dramatic if short-lived success of the ‘Everyone In’ initiative.

To help address the newly rising problem of homelessness, the Commissions’ 2023 report calls for an immediate increase to the Local Housing Allowance - this is used to calculate the housing benefit given to people renting privately and has been frozen for years, whilst private rental rates have increased massively.

The second “urgent action states “there is simply not enough housing available that is genuinely affordable”, calling for affordable developments to be transferred into social rent, regenerating unused or substandard housing, and building modular units.

The third action call touches Carol’s story - to give the Home Office discretion to grant status to people who are destitute but without ‘leave to remain’ status giving them access to government support: “Those with limited or unclear entitlements due to their immigration status should also be included in existing and future Government financial support packages due to their increased vulnerability to destitution.”

Few noticed Carol whilst he was alive in Aberystwyth, but on his death we sat up.

Some lit candles by his tent, asking who this man was who fell through the cracks.

In the meantime as Carol’s sister in Romania grapples with his passing and the charred remains of his tent are slowly washed away, the dawn of a new government gives some people hope, whilst others despair, about how the situation may change for people like Carol, Neil and Mark.