A homeless couple say the support system is "very, very broken" and they feel living in a tent is preferable to entering a hostel.
Alan Cook, 39, and Hannah Ali, 32, have camped at a park in Derby since November, having overcome their heroin addictions, which followed significant trauma.
The pair left Derby in 2014 but said they were shocked to see the same people living in the homeless hostels on their return. Derby Homes, the city council's arms-length housing management company, said its focus was on "helping people access accommodation, maintain recovery, and move forward into longer-term housing".
However, Alan disputed this and said the people he saw in hostels had been "trapped in that same position for 12 years".
"I started taking drugs and ruined every friendship I had, completely burned every bridge, just destroyed my life," said the trained horticulturist.
In 2012, Alan lost a baby at birth and separated from his then-partner, which he said left him "bereft and everything fell apart", turning to heroin to ease the pain. He met his wife, Hannah, some years later, and both decided they would get clean for each other to build a future.
This rehabilitation process took about two years. They settled in their home city of Derby having been rejected by the other councils they approached.
The couple tried the city's recommended homeless hostels, but found them to be "a reminder of their past lives" where active drug users appeared to be making little progress. "I ended up having a severe breakdown due to the people that were living there and my past catching up with me," said Hannah.
Finding an Alternative
In November, the pair found their own alternative — deciding to camp in Derby. The couple have faced eviction from the park by Derby City Council, by which time they hope to have found mainstream accommodation.
"We actually love it when people do come through and say 'hello', it makes our day," said Hannah, who has offered cups of tea to interested passers-by.
Alan also criticised homeless hostels for requesting money he had legitimately earned, but since moving to the park he has been able to save all his earnings. He taped a sign to a tree near their tent advertising his gardening services.
The pair have now saved enough to buy a mobile phone and have ambitions of investing in a van.
Looking to the Future
After being told by the council they have to leave the park, the couple told the BBC they had saved up enough money to get a flat with a small deposit, but said it had been "very, very hard" dealing with estate agents and finding a landlord willing to accept them without references.
"They could come and look at the care that we take in our camp. If we can live in a camp like this, then we can live in a house and we could live so much better in a house. We just need to be given an opportunity," he said.
Original article by Ben Mellor and Matt Weigold
BBC News Derby