VISIT any country in the world and, more often than not, you will see signs of homelessness, particularly in major cities and towns.

Yet anyone visiting Jersey for the first time could be forgiven for thinking that homelessness simply isn’t an issue for this most affluent of islands. Certainly, there is little to suggest otherwise when walking around the streets of St Helier, with only the occasional derelict shop or building offering any indication that Jersey has been impacted by the global economic hardships of recent years.

This, however, is far from the case, as Sanctuary Trust Jersey trustee Tim Ringsdore rightly points out.

‘Homelessness is a very real issue in Jersey but it is something that is not very visible,’ says the married father-of-two, chatting from his home in St Saviour.

‘I think there has been some terrific support going on behind the scenes, both by the government and by some of our local charities, but there is nevertheless a big problem here. I hadn’t realised the sheer size and scale of the problem until I got involved with Sanctuary Trust. It really shocked me.’

Indeed. It is estimated that there are currently over 1,000 people in Jersey who are either sleeping rough, sleeping in their cars or ‘sofa surfing’, with no place of their own to call home.

‘Unfortunately, it is a problem that I can’t see diminishing given the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and the challenges faced by the economy right now,’ says 63-year-old Tim. ‘Last year alone, Sanctuary Trust saw a 65% increase in demand, which is a very significant increase, and so there is definitely an issue in the Island, even if, as mentioned, it is an issue which is hidden.’ Formerly known as Caring Hands, Sanctuary Trust was founded in 2011 by St Brelade resident Colin Taylor with the aim of offering sanctuary for men experiencing major crises in their lives.

The charity quickly became a local success story, and has since become one of the most recognisable charitable organisations in the Island, which is ironic given that the issues it addresses are largely hidden from view.

‘I first became involved with Sanctuary Trust in November of last year,’ says Tim, who is also a board member and chief executive with the Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority.

‘I’ve always tried to support local charities whenever possible – I’ve been involved with Autism Jersey, the JSPCA and Durrell, among others – and so I was immediately inquisitive when my daughter pointed out that Sanctuary Trust were looking for some new trustees.

I knew that they supported men, but I didn’t know much more than that, and so I did some research and I was surprised and shocked at the quantum of the problem [of homelessness].

‘‘ Homelessness is certainly a predominantly male issue. I’m not an expert on this but I think it’s a combination of factors, not least split homes. The man is expected to look after his children and wife and support them, and rightly so, but he then becomes secondary. Men have to make sure that their family is housed but they often don’t have enough money to support two homes, and so they become homeless as a result "

‘I knew right away that it was a charity I wanted to support. I applied as a trustee and I’m very grateful that they saw me as someone who could be a valuable member of the board. I really want to try and make a difference.’ It is with this in mind that Tim will soon be embarking upon a fundraising challenge aimed at raising awareness of homelessness in Jersey.

In the spirit of Sanctuary Trust’s annual ‘Sleep Out’ initiative, the challenge will see Tim sleeping rough for 12 nights across 12 parishes over the 12 months of 2023.

‘The plan is that I will sleep rough in a different parish on the last Friday of every month, with the first night being 27 January in St Brelade,’ says Tim. ‘We are hoping to arrange a few events around each date, whether it’s a coffee morning or otherwise, and really try to encourage people to come along and get involved.

‘I don’t think anybody can really appreciate the hardships of living rough,’ he continues. ‘I mean, I’m only going to be doing it for 12 nights out of a year. There are some people who have to spend night after night living rough, seven days a week, and it must be especially gruelling at this time of year. Can you imagine how difficult it must be?’ As Tim points out, there are multiple reasons why and how an individual might find themselves homeless and living on the streets.

‘There are people who are struggling for all sorts of reasons – it’s not always just drink and drugs. In terms of men, there is often an issue with broken homes. You find there are men who are effectively trying to manage and support two families, and they’re unable to do so financially. In addition, there are people coming out of prison who need to be rehabilitated and they have nowhere to go, and there are those with mentalhealth issues and substance problems. Sanctuary Trust is helping such people to get back into society.

‘Since joining the Trust, I have been amazed at the support which the team provides for these men. It really is fantastic. There are some brilliant results – many people are getting the help and support they need.’

As with everything in the modern world, however, it doesn’t come cheap and it currently costs Sanctuary Trust over £350,000 a year to maintain its basic service for the homeless.

‘And those costs are going up with every passing year,’ says Tim. ‘It’s another incentive for me to do the challenge because, by raising awareness, it will hopefully result in more donations to the charity. Sanctuary Trust needs as much money as it can get.’ As with depression, poor education, workplace fatalities and suicide, homelessness is one of the many pitfalls of modern life which seems to disproportionately affect men more than it does women.

Asked why he thinks this might be, Tim replies: ‘Well, I’m not the expert on this but I think it’s a combination of factors, not least split homes. You know, the man is expected to look after his children and wife and support them, and rightly so, but he then becomes secondary. Men have to make sure their family is housed but they often don’t have enough money to support two homes, and they become homeless as a result.

‘As I say, I’m not an expert, so I couldn’t say for sure why it is mostly men who become homeless, but it clearly is. I don’t see many women in this situation. Obviously there is the local women’s refuge, which does a wonderful job of looking after those who have been experiencing abuse, but homelessness is certainly a predominantly male issue.’

Born and raised in Jersey, Tim grew up in St Helier and attended Vauxhall Junior Boys’ School and then St Helier Boys School, both of which are now gone (‘nothing to do with me’).

Having left school at 17, Tim began working as a trainee with Channel TV and ultimately stayed with the company for 24 years.

‘I then moved into telecoms with JT in 2000 and spent 15 years doing various roles,’ he says. ‘As managing director of the Channel Islands, I set up a business for JT in Guernsey in 2002 and spent years travelling back and forth between the two islands. I then did the same in London and spent 18 months there before moving back to Jersey.’

Further relocation followed when Tim and his wife moved to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands in order for Tim to manage a local telecoms business. And then Hurricane Irma struck.

‘We were with friends in their rented house, which was gutted – the roof came off and we were flooded,’ he says.

‘The six of us sheltered in the downstairs toilet – all 6 x 4ft of it – along with two cats and we were there for 14 hours.

‘It took us two days to cut ourselves out of the drive – one of my cars had been flattened by the roof. We did manage to get our other car home, however, and it is still with us today.

‘At the time, I had applied for another role in the Virgin Islands, but, unfortunately, it was blown away in the wind.

‘We managed to hop onto a flight to Puerto Rico about a week later and then onto Miami where we stayed with our daughter for a month. We then went to our cottage in Devon for six months and it was while there that I was offered the position at the JCRA back in Jersey, and so we moved back to the Island.’

Returning to his forthcoming fundraising challenge, Tim says that he hopes to raise at least £12,000 over the course of the year in support of Sanctuary Trust.

‘Another aim of the challenge is to personally experience it firsthand so that I can better understand the difficulties faced by people who are living rough and, hopefully, do more to tackle the problem as a result.’

It won’t be the first time he has undertaken an attention-grabbing challenge in order to raise funds for charity, however. Last year, Tim walked every road in the Island – a total distance of 350 miles – in support of Autism Jersey and the JSPCA.

‘I spent a lot of time planning it beforehand,’ he says. ‘I used an app called Strava, which a lot of sports people use when planning walks, and I used it to do a lot of the logistics. It took an awful lot of time and effort but it was great fun.

‘It was something I’d been telling myself I would do for years. It was terrific – I discovered so many little roads that I thought I’d been down but hadn’t. And it really made me appreciate just how wonderful this Island is. No matter what time of year, it is always a beautiful place.’

• For more on Sanctuary Trust, or to donate, visit sanctuarytrust.org.je