Street Sleepers

It must be utterly miserable.

A timely shout out Printmiss

Exactly my thoughts this morning Printmiss. I was walking my dogs and it was bitterly cold, I thought about getting home and a nice hot cup of coffee. My thoughts turned to the homeless people and what it must be like not to gave the basic things I take for granted. I was only out for an hour but I was really chilled so how much worse for people on the streets. Many of the homeless people are there through force of circumstance, it could happen to anyone. At the library where I volunteer we are collecting warm clothing, sleeping bags and food etc for them, every little helps.

I agree PRINTMISS I always feel that too.
It has been a problem ( certainly in the cities) for a long time now, in Oxford 25 years ago there were a lot, apart from those with mental health issues, a lot were drug addicts.Add to that, family break ups and you can see how it happens, a slippery slope to rough sleeping.Really sad.

I must add, that the churches in the centre and drop in places give a tremendous amount, not only hot food but warm coats/socks etc.There are some places to sleep inside as well.

A high percentage of rough sleepers are ex forces. What a way for them to have to live. On a cold morning like this it is a sobering thought. There but for.......

Sometimes we get so taken up with the minutiae of our own trivial problems that we forget about those with little or no hope, so thankyou PRINTMISS for the reminder.
I will give some thought to how I can donate some warm clothing.

A subject always close to my heart. My OH always gives food to a couple when he leaves the pub on Friday night. It started off a few years ago when he felt peckish after a few beers and they asked him for money. He gave them money and the food, and now it's a regular thing

DD gives fruit to people if she can - the first time she did it she had just bought a big bag of oranges and asked a man if he would like a couple - she said the look on his face was wonderful and he told her he couldn't remember the last time he ate one.

I can remember when there were hostels for tramps so they could spend the night with a basic level of decency. I remember visiting the USA in 1974 and feeling superior that we didn't have people sleeping in doorways.
I am now ashamed to live in a country that tolerates this.

A young lad came to my door a couple of nights ago, one of those people selling bits as part of some scheme or other - he was just out of jail, it turned out. Now normally I smile and shake my head; but this boy was shivering with cold, with red chapped hands, and I couldn't turn him away. In fact, I invited him in, which my man friend thinks was ridiculously dangerous; it didn't feel so. The tale he told me was that if he sells 3 items, he gets a bed for the night. That made me so sad! (Although I only bought one...)

Some of you might be interested in proposals to make rough sleepers with bedding criminals- unbelievable as if they haven't enough problems. Check if your local council is proposing this. There has been an outcry in Newcastle
www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/news/press-releases-and-statements/criminalising-homelessness-back-door-liberty-urges-newcastle-city
It's yet another example of how terrible our society is getting- as if people choose this life.
When we opened a local building to the public on HODs weekend the man sleeping in the porch stowed his bedding away and told us he tried to keep the area tidy by picking up rubbish-Makes you want to weep doesn't it!

I agree. I feel that I live like a millionaire even though I am only a retired teacher on a reduced pension. A hundred years ago only kings and aristocrats lived with secure homes, good food, clean clothes, baths, heating, affordable health care and a good chance of having what one wants in life. Now it is ubiquitous.

Yet some do not share our good fortune and I rarely go out into poor weather and do not think of those who have to live outside in the cold, rain and snow. I feel desperately sorry for those who have, through misfortune and not choice, suffer on the streets.

All those who sleep on the streets are individuals , different reasons for being homeless, different needs. What we think of as tramps were men who moved on , slept in sheds, most were alcoholics . Numbers increased after the two wars, we now know the cause was PTS with many.

Now some causes are alcoholism, drug addiction, high number of family break ups., young people who are not afraid to run from care and head for the cities. There was a time when many towns had Doss Houses but these were closed down.

Another problem is for some, they form their own communities, think of travellers, they stick together, friendships are formed and if given accommodation they miss their little communities, they don't feel they belong in any other world.

Regardless of their reasons for being on the streets thry need all the care and support we can give them, they don't need judging, just human compassion.

We had to go into Birmingham city centre last night and we couldn't believe the amount of homeless people we saw. We had a three minute walk from the car to our destination and were stopped three times and asked for money. There were also other homeless people gathered together. It was appalling. I worked in the same city centre for 40 years but have never seen this many. Apparently people have set up food stations in the streets for them to go to. There but for fotrune.

I often go to the library at opening times after dropping the kids at school so have gotten to know a few of the local "hidden homeless" who wait for it to open to bid on council flats. They camp on the outskirts of town because the hostels are dangerous. There's so many who aren't your steriotypical doorway addict (not that I don't have sympathy for them too, there's no support for recovering addicts, they're housed with active users and dealers). The "hidden homeless" are really stories none of us want to hear because they could be us: things like: landlord gave notice, couldn't find anywhere else, outstayed their welcome "sofa surfing".

Their tents regularly get vandalised, or reported to the council by dog walkers who then remove their tents

I also pass an active addict on the way to work every day, he slept in a well sheltered doorway of a commercial property that hasn't been used in a long time - at least he was out of the wind and the rain. He never did me any harm - he's the vulnerable one sleeping on the ground at the mercy of passers by… well the doorway has now been boarded up. What harm was he doing sheltered there?

Can you imagine if we destroyed all bird's nests and put up spikes on all tree branches so they couldn't make themselves a bit of shelter? We treat animals better than some humans.

My thoughts exactly. As I pull my curtains every night whilst getting ready to turn in for the night I always give thought to the poor souls who have nothing, no comfortable warm bed. There seems to be a very large number of the population who feel the same as me and yet we feel so helpless. I try to stop to talk to people sheltering in shop doorways when Im in the town, and pass a bob or two before walking on feeling so inadequate. I dont have a lot but feel like a millionaire by comparison. What a complex world we live in.

I feel for the young people who feel safer on the streets than at home because of abuse at home . With rents and house prices continually increasing unfortunately it will probably get worse !!

I have serious problems with homelessness and poverty - I live on a huge mainly council estate in a very deprived area. Two local tenants hang around the local shop begging and I always say I never take my purse out and no haven't any spare cash with me. The town centre has homeless people on every corner, sitting by bank ATMs. As a "saver", I feel guilty not giving them anything, but have a nasty feeling that giving them money will only encourage them to carry on drinking/drug taking etc. That said, DS's best friend was Sally Army and the officers always told him to leave donating to those most experienced who know how best to help.

When I was a kid the local tramp was picked up twice a year by the police, given a cell for the night, a good meal and a warm wash.

Homelessness is a symptom of the society in which we live. It is so easy to be smug that we are the goodies because we have worked and saved but we are responsible for all this. We have a vote so we are culpable. How many of us are guilty of inaction until something happens. What if our currency fails? We ( well most of us ) have not experienced war but then we have been "friends" with the people of Europe for most of our lifetimes. What now? Our warm beds are just a few steps away from a cold doorstep or worse. It does seem that we need fundamental change before it is too late.

It certainly makes us grateful for what we have. Why cant Councils open up unused places, for these poor people to at least have a roof over their heads and having some warmth, nodody should be out on the streets in this day and age, something must be done.

I used to manage a large, operational venue in the south including line managing the 24/7 security teams.

The venue was in a town where there were high numbers of sleepers many of whom found their way to our building, sleeping in the numerous doorways and load in docks.

Rather than take the attitude of 'why do you all come here' as many might, the guys (and it always seems to be men, not so many women) were once asked why was our building their place of choice.

Because they knew we had CCTV, that there was 24/7 security cover with regular patrols they made sure to sleep in view of the cameras; feeling safe as a result.

If we ever had to open up the building early, security guys would go round and do as they called it, 'their early morning alarm call'

The sleepers were always respectful, got up, packed up, moved on and left the place clean and tidy, knowing they had a safe place the following night if needed.

It is shocking that people accept things like homelessness and food banks as part of the fabric of our society. It is political and unnecessary and political and people have to take responsibility for the consequences of how they vote and stop making excuses for things like homelessness - it is also shocking how judgmental some people are when they see people in these situations.
Most of us spend a large part of our days going to and from places, the shops, home, visiting etc. Even in the Summer when there are no 'going to' places in your life, it is a very long day.

People just like to think that they have what they have because they worked harder for it, or because they made better choices, or because they're more driven/moral etc…..

I read a heartbreaking story recently about a homeless heroin addict:
He was a sucessful young professional newly wed and his wife died as a result of a very voilent random street crime. Nothing was managing his resulting mental health problems until he found heroin, it was the only thing that gave him any relief from the awful flashbacks.

He's not a homeless heroin addict because he's a weaker less driven person who didn't work hard. Something awful and random happened and he lost everything.

People really really don't want to think about things like that (because it's really awful), but that could be any of us.

My god if something awful and voilent happened to my kids I do not think I could hold down a job and function enough to keep my house ticking over & paid for!