Homelessness is a lifestyle choice according to Suella!

In 2016, myself and 8 friends from a few different churches started to take food, bedding, clothes and other items down to the homeless in the city centre around 20 miles from where we live. We did this up until covid hit and we weren’t allowed.
We would have liked to have resumed after lockdown but by then our clapped out old minibus had failed the mot and we couldn’t afford to pay for all that needed to be done.

During our time doing this we got to know the regulars and they told us their stories and despite what that heartless person I shall call Cruella is saying, it is definitely not a lifestyle choice!

One man was living with his girlfriend in her flat and went home early one day and caught her in bed with his brother… 3 guesses who was asked to leave???

Another young lad lived with his mother and his name wasn’t on the tenancy so when she died he couldn’t stay there and because he was single and had no dependents the council didn’t want to know.

One young girl couldn’t get on with her stepfather constantly pestering her for sex. Her mother didn’t believe her and threw her out.

Another man from Romania had paid someone a large sum of money on the promise of a job here in the UK but when he arrived there was no job and he was left with no money to get back home.

There are lots of other instances we heard of where through no fault of their own people were left homeless.

So no Suella it is most certainly NOT a lifestyle choice, and why would it be. Who would choose to give up home comforts and live on the streets where you don’t know if you’re going to get through the night without being spat at or pissed on or even physically attacked,or raped by some callous unfeeling low life who think they are better than you or even worse, for the fun of it!!!
This woman has absolutely no idea what she’s talking about up there in her ivory castle where the reality of most people’s lives have no significance or interest to her whatsoever.

Suella Braverman hang your head in shame!!! 😡

More nonsense from the overpaid and over privileged members of this government.

Dillonsgranma

Cfaz49

I have a son who is one step away from the streets. At the moment he is sofa surfing. He has just had a serious back operation and is awaiting a gastric op for complicated diverticulitis and other problems. His doctor and advisor at the benefit’s office are trying to get him some accommodation. He was a gardener by trade. Not an addict and pretty much teetotal. But…. Male, single and sick… not a chance of any sort of help from anyone in the housing department. It’s a very short step for all of us from a home to the streets.

If he is your son then why can’t he stay with you? I really can’t understand

Perhaps Cfaz49 lives in a one bedroom property and the living area is too small to accommodate a lodger for more than the occasional night on the sofa - assuming if there is a sofa. Or it could be rented property where taking him in would breach her tenancy. Or it could affect her benefits. Or she might live in a different country.
I'm sure there are other possibilities too

MayBee70

JaneJudge

I want to post what I want to post without minimising homelessness as I think rough sleeping and being homeless or being in inadequate temporary housing is a massive issue BUT I think there is a percentage or proportion of people who live in their cars/vans and wash at service stations etc and it is a choice so they can make money/work cash in hand and then move back to their own countries with their money (I know a few people like this through my own work and previous work, they are/were all men) that's the only people I know who do it as a choice and I don't think it is ideal

Oh, so it is down to foreigners again …Of course…

Some of it, yes.
According to CHAIN data, 64% of rough sleepers in London are foreign. Easily checked.

My son who is 29 and Autistic and has severe OCD is technically homeless after his care home closed down in February 2022. We agreed to have him home “temporarily “ rather than letting them force him to live miles away from us, which would probably have resulted in his being sectioned. My husband is 76 and in poor health, I’m 66 and registered disabled because of spinal problems. It’s not ideal, he wants his own space and bit of independence again. The only way he’ll get somewhere to live now is for us to officially evict him, then we are back to square one of him being put anywhere they want. Certainly not his lifestyle choice.

She is a thoroughly evil waste of flesh

Nannan2

But the sale of the cheap housing was the only way these folk could get on property ladder- and if they would be staying there for years & years anyway no houses were likely to be freed up for others it makes sense that they get a good deal & buy their own home than pay rent for life! What councils should have done is REPLACE the bought houses but they did not.

At the time of the big sell off of council houses, the councils were not allowed (by Thatcher's govt) to build more.

Care leavers are NOT discharged from the care system now until they reach 17, when they are then able to access benefits BUT the additional help they need between 16-18, and post 18 simply isn’t there due to funding and lack of the right support systems and staff. The govt did introduce a “staying put” scheme for those in foster care, which has been successful for a few

Braverman, like her predecessor, and most of our current cabinet, have no compassion whatsoever and are unlikely ever to.

Yes, there certainly are a few homeless who simply cannot cope with living conventionally, but they’re certainly not the majority. Having previously worked within our benefits system and worked with many homeless people, the issues are down to many factors, lack of social housing, lack of affordable private rents, reviews being required re local housing allowances and lack of funding in almost every area which affects homelessness ie addiction, prisoner leavers, care leavers, young homeless !

But the sale of the cheap housing was the only way these folk could get on property ladder- and if they would be staying there for years & years anyway no houses were likely to be freed up for others it makes sense that they get a good deal & buy their own home than pay rent for life! What councils should have done is REPLACE the bought houses but they did not.

Crazy, deluded woman.

Cfaz49

I have a son who is one step away from the streets. At the moment he is sofa surfing. He has just had a serious back operation and is awaiting a gastric op for complicated diverticulitis and other problems. His doctor and advisor at the benefit’s office are trying to get him some accommodation. He was a gardener by trade. Not an addict and pretty much teetotal. But…. Male, single and sick… not a chance of any sort of help from anyone in the housing department. It’s a very short step for all of us from a home to the streets.

If he is your son then why can’t he stay with you? I really can’t understand

Tory supporter then GrannyGravy??

Seriously who would choose to be homelesss! People who say this is the case have no idea of the reality of life for those struggling. Its looking more and more like we are going down the path of America with entire families living in their car ( if they can afford a car )

Surely lack of AFFORDABLE HOUSING is at the root of many homelessness problems? That and addiction and mental health issues. Real help us VERY limited for all these issues due to lack of government intervention or spending. I have no idea how to fix it, nor obviously have many successive governments and not just Tory ones. We need more affordable housing, in fact housing in general. Again, no government have ever fulfilled their promises on that one and I don’t expect the next government, probably Labour, under Starmer, will manage it either. As a country we are failing our people, And just how do those in favour of mass immigration, often for economic purposes, propose we house and care for them when many of our own citizens are homeless, poor and disenfranchised? Or are we all happy to pay a great deal more through taxation, which may well be mismanaged anyways?

All to further her ambition to be leader of Tory Party and to keep the immigrant story on the front pages.
As you say she is a Buddhist . How she can be I don't know, but I do know that her ideas are not mine.

CvD66

For those who are genuinely interested in what works to help the homeless, here is a twitter posting from a MP that has handled this issue well:
5 years ago Milton Keynes was dubbed ‘tent city’ by the media. Today, no one needs to sleep rough on our streets. How did we do this?
For starters we didn’t make tents a civil offence. Tents are a symptom, not the cause. Firstly you need somewhere that people can go so we built a shelter on the top floor of the old bus station. On the ground floor we brought together all voluntary and statutory services
So everyone has a warm and safe bed for the night and in the morning, they have access to all the services they might need from a cuppa and a friend to a GP and mental health services. This was no easy feat to get all homeless services to work together but it creates success
People who sleep rough lead chaotic lives and are very vulnerable to exploitation. They often have mental health conditions and self medicate to survive. Having services under one roof means they do not fall between the gaps and are treated as a whole person
The hairdressers and laundry means they can regain self respect. The number of people who have gone on from the Old Bus Station into employment and their own place is incredible because of the hard work of staff and volunteers
We still get many who do not succeed but we are there to catch them again. If you have been living on the streets for years, one night in a shelter is not going to solve all your problems. It takes persistence, patience and understanding
We still have some people that refuse to come in. 16 at last count to be precise. They are well known to the Council and are visited everyday to ask if they will accept help. My hope is one day they will. But if we force them, we are setting them up to fail.
Instead we need to support them. We need to remain humble and not treat them like children. Homelessness can happen to any of us. We must not forget this
So making tents a civil offence, creating a record is not the way to end rough sleeping Suella Braverman. Bringing together services both statutory and voluntary to embrace someone and help them up is the only road to success.
Let’s talk more about the underlying problems: lack of mental health provision, cuts in addiction treatment, lack of affordable housing and many other issues this government has made worse over 13 years in power

Thank you for copying and pasting the twitter post I flagged up 6 hours previously, and linked to, but that no-one could be bothered to read...

MayBee70

She’s comparing the UK with San Francisco which does have a problem with rough sleepers. But the problem with San Francisco is it’s part of a country that doesn’t have a NHS or, from what I can gather, a social care system. Has it occurred to her that this country, thanks to her government, is going the same way as America. I still can’t get my head around her comments. As Home Secretary she’s making Priti Patel look like Mother Theresa. I was told recently but haven’t checked the validity if it that, when a refugee is granted settled status they then have 7 days to find new accommodation etc. I don’t know how much help (if any) they receive. As James O’Brien said, there’s a problem with homeless people living in tents so this governments solution is ‘take away the tents’! Almost unbelievable. And this woman is a Buddhist!

That's quite an achievement - making Patel look like Mother Theresa. I wonder what that does for Patel's chances of becoming the next Tory Leader when Sunak goes.

Braverman referred to foreigners in her disgusting outburst about tent dwellers. She wants to make the link between homelessness and immigrants to stir up right wing voters ahead of the next General Election. We have a duty to refugees which the Tories would like to forget.

choughdancer, absolutely agree with you. The increase in homelessness, drug and alcohol problems goes hand in glove with Thatcher’s right to buy and the austerity started by Cameron

CvD66

For those who are genuinely interested in what works to help the homeless, here is a twitter posting from a MP that has handled this issue well:
5 years ago Milton Keynes was dubbed ‘tent city’ by the media. Today, no one needs to sleep rough on our streets. How did we do this?
For starters we didn’t make tents a civil offence. Tents are a symptom, not the cause. Firstly you need somewhere that people can go so we built a shelter on the top floor of the old bus station. On the ground floor we brought together all voluntary and statutory services
So everyone has a warm and safe bed for the night and in the morning, they have access to all the services they might need from a cuppa and a friend to a GP and mental health services. This was no easy feat to get all homeless services to work together but it creates success
People who sleep rough lead chaotic lives and are very vulnerable to exploitation. They often have mental health conditions and self medicate to survive. Having services under one roof means they do not fall between the gaps and are treated as a whole person
The hairdressers and laundry means they can regain self respect. The number of people who have gone on from the Old Bus Station into employment and their own place is incredible because of the hard work of staff and volunteers
We still get many who do not succeed but we are there to catch them again. If you have been living on the streets for years, one night in a shelter is not going to solve all your problems. It takes persistence, patience and understanding
We still have some people that refuse to come in. 16 at last count to be precise. They are well known to the Council and are visited everyday to ask if they will accept help. My hope is one day they will. But if we force them, we are setting them up to fail.
Instead we need to support them. We need to remain humble and not treat them like children. Homelessness can happen to any of us. We must not forget this
So making tents a civil offence, creating a record is not the way to end rough sleeping Suella Braverman. Bringing together services both statutory and voluntary to embrace someone and help them up is the only road to success.
Let’s talk more about the underlying problems: lack of mental health provision, cuts in addiction treatment, lack of affordable housing and many other issues this government has made worse over 13 years in power

This such a good example of how things can work. CvD66's last paragraph sums up what I think so well.

People often blame homeless people for having drug or alcohol problems. If I were homeless I would have the same problems. Being cold, in pain, hungry, frightened, lonely, destitute... what is the easiest cheapest way not to feel these any more? A couple of bottles of cheap cider, or a drug will get you through the night. If you have nothing left it's hard to see further than the next few hours.

I've been involved locally with a food service that gives a hot meal every day to anyone in need. I've often been told that it's pointless, or it's their fault because they take drugs and alcohol and we shouldn't be feeding them. Surely people addicted will be more likely to beat their addiction once they have a safe, warm, clean place to stay and a full belly? How can anyone expect them to kick their addiction without these things?

The example CvD66 gave above about how homelessness can be turned around shows that the answer is not removing even more of their few belongings (tents) but thinking about how to help them get out of their tents and into homes.

Just imagine being homeless in the recent storms. Some cheap alcohol or drug just stops you feeling the cold and wet, while at the same time putting you in danger of frostbite or worse. For goodness sake it is a 'lifestyle choice' for a vanishingly tiny minority!

For MayBee70 … homeless people can claim benefits. They need a ‘ care of ‘ address. Usually the job centre or a hostel address. Of course problems can arise if the person moves around a lot.

I worked with drug addicts/alcoholics for a number of years. I found the majority wanted what we all want- a home, a job , a relationship, people to love them and people they could love, some money. I met very, very few who didn't want a home.

The sale of council housing with huge discounts has a lot to answer for
Should never have been introduced.

Primrose, thanks for your accurate summary of the provision for care leavers. It was long recognised that children who remain in their birth families get support into adult life. Local Authorities have After Care teams who offer practical, emotional and financial support. It’s far from perfect but it’s there.
I’m aware of people in their 50’s who are still in positive contact with their foster carers, or with a social worker they shared good relationships with

As for Suella, I think if her as Cruella. A lifestyle choice! Mental health problems aren’t a lifestyle choice. Thatcher, selling council homes, refusing to allow councils to invest the money from sales in building housing for affordable rents. All political choices