Homelessness is a lifestyle choice according to Suella!

Oh Cold that is a terrible story. My experience volunteering at a foodbank in Kent is that the majority of our homeless clients are local people with a variety of needs, including mental health issues, relationship breakdowns and addiction.

Love her or hate her at least she has the courage to tell the truth. Living on the streets is a lifestyle choice for some - not all. There is help out there for those who want to be helped and turn their lives around but many I am afraid do not want to. There have always been rough sleepers for as long as I can remember, living in the country we often encountered 'tramps' who most certainly didn't want four walls!

JennyCee

How many of these people are illegal immigrants or are they still relishing our British hospitality in clean sheets, central heating, constant hot water and how many meals?
If we weren’t taking superb care of these people we may have been to help these homeless people you’re speaking about.

That is true. We are paying out millions every single day for these people staying in hotels and will be doing so for ever unless something is done.

I have nothing against helping people but we must help our own first.

The problem we have here in Nottingham is that the council demolish existing buildings and build new or convert others into accommodation for students!!!! What about the homeless? The residents of our city? Don't they count? Obviously not. Even an empty Argos store is currently being converted for students.

susz

Love her or hate her at least she has the courage to tell the truth. Living on the streets is a lifestyle choice for some - not all. There is help out there for those who want to be helped and turn their lives around but many I am afraid do not want to. There have always been rough sleepers for as long as I can remember, living in the country we often encountered 'tramps' who most certainly didn't want four walls!

That’s very true. A few years ago an elderly lady turned up in our village with an old pram containing all her worldly belongings. She was dressed in layers of clothes and hanging off her pram were carrier bags of more stuff, a kettle, shoes, saucepan etc. she was quite well spoken and polite.

She hung around for a few days and I gave her some warm hats and gloves and other people gave her food and warm clothing. Someone got in touch with the local council and they came out but she said she was fine as she was and went on her way.

Primrose53

JennyCee

How many of these people are illegal immigrants or are they still relishing our British hospitality in clean sheets, central heating, constant hot water and how many meals?
If we weren’t taking superb care of these people we may have been to help these homeless people you’re speaking about.

That is true. We are paying out millions every single day for these people staying in hotels and will be doing so for ever unless something is done.

I have nothing against helping people but we must help our own first.

And how, exactly is this government ‘helping our own’? I seem to recall that, during the pandemic’ they were going to stop people sleeping rough. What came if that? Another one of Johnson’s unfulfilled promises.

We all know there are some people who choose to be tramps. My grandma used to give them soup in the '40s and '50s
They are VERY few and far between. And there are no doubt foreigners/refugees out there too. But we all know that there are far, far more homeless now, and it seems pretty clear why. Surely we all know also that the entitled a******es in this government do not give a s***. It's offensive to use the words Braverman used, to all those who are homeless and in heartbreaking, health-threatening, bleak circumstances. How dare anyone even focus on the tents - find the answer to the PROBLEM

Hymnbook

The problem we have here in Nottingham is that the council demolish existing buildings and build new or convert others into accommodation for students!!!! What about the homeless? The residents of our city? Don't they count? Obviously not. Even an empty Argos store is currently being converted for students.

Is that actually being done by the council? I think not. They may have granted planning permission but it will be private developers, or the university, paying for and doing the work.

undines

We all know there are some people who choose to be tramps. My grandma used to give them soup in the '40s and '50s
They are VERY few and far between. And there are no doubt foreigners/refugees out there too. But we all know that there are far, far more homeless now, and it seems pretty clear why. Surely we all know also that the entitled a******es in this government do not give a s***. It's offensive to use the words Braverman used, to all those who are homeless and in heartbreaking, health-threatening, bleak circumstances. How dare anyone even focus on the tents - find the answer to the PROBLEM

As James O’Brien pointed out, Braverman’s solution to the problem is to stop giving homeless people tents.

Lovetopaint037

Oldbat1

Thatcher selling council houses has a lot to answer for.

This. It gained her votes and saved Councils paying upkeep at the same time gaining them money. A short term solution
as the promised rebuilding didn’t take place.

This has been pointed out already on this thread, and on many similar threads over the years.

THE COUNCILS WEREN'T ALLOWED TO SPEND THE MONEY, FROM COUNCIL HOUSE SALES AT KNOCKDOWN PRICES, ON BUILDING NEW COUNCIL HOUSES.

THERE WAS NO PROMISE OF REBUILDING.

Thatcher's whole ideology was based on reducing state spending; which includes money spent on local services.

silvercollie

Well I happen to think that certain of the homeless, for a multitude of reasons, choose to be so.
Have you read her entire comment on this subject?

I have read this, [posted by GrannyGravy13

I have read more than just the headline , what she implied was that we shouldn’t allow tent cities to pop up in and around our major cities. This is not an unreasonable want in the 21st Century.

To which I responded that taking away the tents would merely result in cardboard cities in their place.

I haven't actually seen exactly what Braverman said. Did she have any proposasl for ending homelessness?

Thank you CvD66 for your informative post. (I did click on the link actually) What was done in MK is essentially what the charity Crisis do at Christmas - take people off the streets, provide a warm place to stay, suitable meals and company of volunteers, then follow up with professionals to give the help needed to stay off the streets. Many are helped each year.

Before Covid I volunteered with the Salvation army giving out clothing to the homeless. (An yes we gave out tents and bedding when we could.) After the pandemic, although their soup kitchen resumed, the clothing distribution didn't initially and meanwhile I had started volunteering elsewhere - the local foodbank. I also volunteered with the local Night Shelter for the homeless which operated for the coldest 3 months of the year. The homeless regulars were picked up by minibus in the town and bussed to a local venue, mostly churches, for the night where they slept in sleeping bags with airbeds, were given a homecooked meal (sometimes cooked by me) then were provided with breakfast before being returned to the town centre in the minibus in the morning. Volunteers were available to give advice or just provide friendly company and a game of dominoes.

On Saturday nights a podiatrist was one of the volunteers and she would work on the feet of our clients who needed it. (She was lovely. She once gave me treatment at the end of the session when there was still time, though she only managed to deal with one foot as time ran out!)

Some of the regulars were helped out of homelessness into accommodation and helped with getting furniture etc when accommodation was found. Again my volunteering with them ended due to Covid and I'm not sure what the charity is currently doing as winter approaches again. While volunteering with them I twice did a sponsored rough sleep to raise funds. The second time it was bitterly cold and after that I realised I was getting a bit old to do it again. I was pleased to see our local Labour MP at the second rough sleep! Respect!

This thread has made me aware that I probably should be finding out what the needs are as I could spare some time again in the winter months. I originally felt challenged to get involved after my DD helped with a soup kitchen in Birmingham and raised money and items such as towels and toiletries for a charity providing facilities for the homeless to have showers. I'd just been reading about a homeless boy in a book the year 7s were studying in English in the class I worked with and various things came together to prompt my involvement.

The people I met in these volunteering roles were homeless for all sort of reasons. Of course not all were helped as their lifestyle choices made helping them challenging, but those who wanted to be helped often were successfully helped off the streets. Feeling very challenged again today. It can be too easy to simply send a donation to Crisis and feel like I've done my bit but it's not enough!

Chocolatelovinggran

CvD66 thank you. What an inspiring read.

Me too.

Mental illness, often self medicated with drugs and alcohol, is not a lifestyle choice nor is homelessness. SB has no compassion, no empathy and no understanding of what makes people vulnerable to becoming homeless.It's said she's trying to appeal to Tory party members as she want to become leader, if she is, what on earth does it say about the Conservative party?

MaizieD

silvercollie

Well I happen to think that certain of the homeless, for a multitude of reasons, choose to be so.
Have you read her entire comment on this subject?

I have read this, [posted by GrannyGravy13

I have read more than just the headline , what she implied was that we shouldn’t allow tent cities to pop up in and around our major cities. This is not an unreasonable want in the 21st Century.

To which I responded that taking away the tents would merely result in cardboard cities in their place.

I haven't actually seen exactly what Braverman said. Did she have any proposasl for ending homelessness?

As usual she was just pointing out why it wasn’t anything to do with her running of the Home Office or the current government. You’ve got to hand it to her though. She certainly knows how to play to her fan base, doesn’t she.

MayBee70

Tent cities are not and never should be the answer to homelessness here in the U.K. or abroad.

How can anyone help an addict that doesn’t want to be helped? They are not currently allowed into hostels as they are alcohol/drug free.

Help those who want to help themselves first, those who are homeless through no fault of their own.

Then move onto those with addictions which will take time.

I also think there will always be a small number who live on the streets and wouldn’t have it any other way.

So is being an addict a lifestyle choice? Or does someone’s position in society make them more vulnerable to becoming an addict?

MayBee70

So is being an addict a lifestyle choice? Or does someone’s position in society make them more vulnerable to becoming an addict?

There are paupers and princes who are addicts, not sure if there is an addicts template

I listened to an interview with a lady who had worked for shelter (Jeremy Vine)for many years, she said that as uncomfortable as the general public might find it some people much prefer the streets to four walls. For them it is a lifestyle choice.

Extraordinary that the number of people making that 'lifestyle choice' have risen (according to the figures in the OP) by some 220,000 in the last 13 years...

I have just seen lefty Jo Phillips (journalist and former spin doctor) and she called Suella Bravermann every horrible name she could think of.

She also said that every local authority in the country is allowed to remove tents from the streets and this has been the case for many years. So she is asking why SB is making out this is her new idea. 🤔🤔

MaizieD

Extraordinary that the number of people making that 'lifestyle choice' have risen (according to the figures in the OP) by some 220,000 in the last 13 years...

I’m didn’t say that

I volunteered at a Homeless shelter and one of the biggest problem s we had was Drug Users. You could not keep them in the same building as young mothers and chldren and other people. They would be partying at night every nght and in the morning youhad to clean up their needles. We tried putiing them in one building but that was far worse as they encouraged each otehr and the drug dealers gathered outside. Most so called homeless are the druggies. Don't beleive me lok at the homeless i Los Angele and Oakland in America and ther eat least they are honest. I took to drugs and mow I liveon the streets, Theu die there too. The only alternative is to lock them up away from drugs but no that is CRUEL.

Primrose53

I have just seen lefty Jo Phillips (journalist and former spin doctor) and she called Suella Bravermann every horrible name she could think of.

She also said that every local authority in the country is allowed to remove tents from the streets and this has been the case for many years. So she is asking why SB is making out this is her new idea. 🤔🤔

They may allowed to, but if they don’t then this proposal is needed to make removal of tents compulsory. Do we want streets full of tents?

Germanshepherdsmum

Primrose53

I have just seen lefty Jo Phillips (journalist and former spin doctor) and she called Suella Bravermann every horrible name she could think of.

She also said that every local authority in the country is allowed to remove tents from the streets and this has been the case for many years. So she is asking why SB is making out this is her new idea. 🤔🤔

They may allowed to, but if they don’t then this proposal is needed to make removal of tents compulsory. Do we want streets full of tents?

I think the point is though, what does it have to do with Braverman, if the managements of the tents in their area is already under the jurisdiction of local councils? She should butt out and deal with issues which are relevant to the role of Home Secretary, like ensuring councils have adequate funding to tackle homelessness.

The increase in homelessness, drug/alcohol dependence and abuse are all linked to the policies of our government over 23 years.