Volunteers Melanie Nalini and Tanya Trapletti painting the nails of Maria Michael and Monica Jardin at the Streets Fest event in Finsbury Park

“THE best people in the world” came together to dance, talk and share food as part of a festival for homeless people on Friday, amid warnings that the cost of living crisis is pushing increasing numbers of people onto the streets.

Hundreds gathered as Streets Fest returned to Finsbury Park with music, free food, clothes and health check-ups, as well as help and advice for those sleeping rough.

Organised by Streets Kitchen in partnership with Jamming for Change and Islington and Haringey councils, the festival is now in its fifth year. Streets Kitchen is a grassroots organisation working to provide food, clothing and information to the homeless community in London. Its Solidarity Hub is based in Seven Sisters Road.

Thomas Lisiecki and Jan Davies from Better Lives

One of the many services available on Friday was Driving for Change, a mobile dentist providing check-ups and referrals for those living on the streets. Operations manager Keith Higham highlighted the difficulty homeless people face accessing healthcare.

“What we see can be tough,” he said. “We give a full check-up and referral because you can’t get into a dentist without a fixed address.”

Kira Tuominen, who volunteers with Streets Kitchen, said of her work with the homeless: “I love it, they’re the best people in the world.”

Islington Council’s homelessness chief Sarah Turley and her Haringey counterpart Maddie Watkins with Jon Glackin, founder of Streets Kitchen

Ms Tuominen, who has volunteered with Streets Kitchen for several years, warned that the situation on the ground has worsened in the last year, adding: “It’s always been super busy but it is especially now – just over a year ago it started increasing and increasing.”

Streets Kitchen organiser Elodie Berland said: “We’ve seen across all our outreaches that numbers are going up.

“New people are coming out as well as people we’ve known for a while, so it’s a combination of people new to the streets and people who have been out for a while, who get stuck in a loop with health issues or no recourse to public funds,” Ms Berland said. “It is really worrying.”

Denise Reese of NicK & Six

She said the cost of living crisis is “heartbreaking” as more people are driven out of their homes.

“We do see a lot of new people not knowing where to go for services and support – people who don’t know how to get a shower and where to get advice,” she said.

“This is why Streets Fest is so important. It’s important on many different levels. Firstly that we celebrate being together and joy and community, but also that we get together and make sure support is there.”