Dying of cold

Thats a really good thing you are trying to set up grannyactivist, I don't have any experience or advice to give but wish you good luck with your endevour I'm sure it won't be easy.

That's terrible, grannyactivist. I hope you manage to get something organised before it happens to anyone else.
Do you have any idea why they were sleeping rough?

I too wish you good luck with this - and it would be good to hear how it goes so others can learn from it.

I often feel desperate for those sleeping rough when I am snuggling down in my warm bed - to be out in this weather is unthinkable and unimagineable.

In many cities they have groups going round and checking on rough sleepers, taking them somewhere for the night to have something to warm them up. It's often easier to sleep when it's warmer during the day, and stay awake at night.

I don't know the dead man's background, but I do know that one of the other local rough sleepers lost his house, wife and children in a fire. He started drinking and lost his job and now lives on the streets and is an alcoholic. We have only two or three men actually sleeping on the streets (in beach shelters usually or a park), but there is one living in a tent in nearby woods (very well supported by the local community) and two others who share a semi-derelict caravan on a piece of land lent by the owner. We have a community Christmas lunch, a food bank and a cafe that will give meals in exchange for vouchers issued by local churches. The charity shops will often help out with winter clothes etc. so it really is just emergency accommodation that's needed.

We have our local homeless (by choice) person, Brian. Every winter I fear will be his last but he seems to survive. He was offered accommodation in the next village which he accepted - for a week - and then moved out. He just doesn't do indoors. He has a tent in the summer in the woods and in the winter dosses down in the shelter in the village cemetery. Everyone looks out for him and gives him warm clothes/duvets/boots and hot food. He used to have a good job in Dunn's the gentleman's outfitters in London, but one day just walked out and never went back and fetched up here, in Fife, about 12 years ago. I think he's comfortable with his lifestyle and the local support he receives.
I wish you luck GA in sourcing your emergency accommodation.

We had a chap like that who lived in a ditch just round the corner from us. He chose this lifestyle and refused the offer of a caravan. He had a transistor radio and you could hear the cricket commentary as you went by. He died getting run over when crossing the lane after surviving countless winters in the cold and damp. Very sad.

When we lived in Hull, this was one of the projects my husband worked on.
He was the architect, nearly 20 years ago. It had to close down this summer because there was not enough money to run it.
However, lots of people have rallied round now. Many pensioners have been donating their fuel allowances to it, and the local schools have been cooking for it. They had over fifty sleeping bags donated, so people do not have to sleep in the cold. I noticed this before Christmas, as I quite often read the local paper, as that was where I was born.
It is heartwarming to know that even in a city where many people are quite poor, they still look out for others who are worse off.

www.hulldailymail.co.uk/heartwarming-Christmas-message-people-Hull-Linda/story-25757208-detail/story.html

By the way, Harp stands for Homeless and Rootless Project.

I heard a really heartwarming story from one of the people who phoned me yesterday. Her husband (he works in housing) attended a conference on homelessness and was chatting afterwards with a barrister who had also attended. He assumed the man had little personal experience of homelessness and suggested it probably wasn't a problem in the wealthy area he lived in. The barrister disagreed and pointed out that he had allowed a homeless man to live in his porch for the past two years!

It was really sad when HARP closed. When I was a teacher our harvest festival produce, left over Christmas party stuff (there was loads) and leftover free fruit was taken to them by our caretaker.

I'm sure we weren't the only school that did it.

I thought it had opened again, though, vampire. For three months at least, and hopefully for longer. It was in the Hull Daily Mail about it.

Harp do a wonderful job here in Southend. So much so that they have opened a new shelter.
One night a week our local church gives an evening meal, a bed, then breakfast for 30 people.

I don't have the same contacts any more. I hope it has reopened.

Grannyactivist - that's a great story about the barrister allowing a homeless person to live in his porch for two years. When I was a child my mum had a tramp who used to call on her once a year. He spent the year travelling around England and my mum was a regular stop for hot water for a shave. She always offered him food and drink as well but he would never accept it.

Link to the site, vampire.

www.hullharp.org.uk/

An update for those who are interested. I had meetings yesterday with several people who have expressed concern about vulnerable people in the town (the homeless and others) and we have a joint meeting tomorrow after a memorial service for the man who died. So far there have been some very useful responses from people wanting to be involved who have valuable skills and expertise. I'm so glad I live in a town that has great community spirit. (And which, incidentally, has a higher than usual proportion of older people - could the two be connected?).

Not necessarily, grannyactivist. In Hull there has been a sleepeasy of kids at college to raise money for the homeless, and a 22 year old has backpacked round the world and put the money he saved, £13,000 into a youth hostel.

www.hulldailymail.co.uk/pictures/Pictures-Sleepeasy-event-Wilberforce-college/pictures-25953746-detail/pictures.html

Glad it is going well grannyactivist. And glad that you live in a town like that.
Team effort can be a great thing.

Can anyone beat this in their area?

www.hulldailymail.co.uk/8216-Stop-feeding-homeless-hot-food-8217-s/story-26163154-detail/story.html

Can't even give them sandwiches!

I am speechless Jen.

A member of the public complained! That says it all. I hope this person can sleep at night. Well done to the outreach people for trying to find alternative cooking facilities, I hope they achieve their goal.

Yes, hilda, I did wonder who that member of the public was. Probably anonymous so not able to find out under FOI.