Opinions on homelessness?

[Lord Percy]

Just wondering what you guys think of this.

Before I start, I'll just say that I know this won't be true for all, but I'd like to paint a general picture.

Was out last night and at about 3am when everyone was leaving the club, getting takeaways and stuff, there was a homeless guy begging right next to a cash machine with a great big queue of drunk people. I had a bit of a rant to my mate about my personal opinion on homelessness, and then he egged me on to actually talk to the homeless guy, so I did.

He wasn't a waster, an addict, an alcoholic or whatever. He was a very normal and very sober guy, but homeless. I asked him how he ended up in that position. I can't remember his answer, but his words and his tone of voice didn't give me a real feeling for any kind of suffering through rock bottom destitution or anything like that. So I asked him if he knew what his options were. He said he didn't have any. I asked him if he had ever found work. He said he'd done odd bits and bobs last November, but most of the work was being taken by 'the immigrants'. So my mate said that if immigrants can get jobs, so can he. He somehow politely disagreed.

I then suggested that in a country as major as the United Kingdom, with a relatively world famous welfare system, it is very hard to end up destitute and remain that way for long, and that, with 60 million people here, there really are so many avenues of possibility, because in the end all you need to do is ask one of the many organisations who would be willing to help, be it the government, a charity or any religious community (finally a good point for religion ).

He seemed to always respond to me like a child defending something that isn't even true. I told him all these things and it was always, "yeah but, yeah but, yeah but...", as if he was the exception to every other person who's had to think about how to survive in such a situation. What's more - he had a girlfriend and child somewhere but he apparently couldn't even shack up with them. Our conversation came to a close with him cutting a sentence short to ask somebody for a cigarette, at which point I decided he was a lost cause.

I know I'm looking at this from a comparably much more privileged perspective, but I honestly believe that if I ended up in such a position, I wouldn't be there for long. As I've already mentioned, there are many ways out of such predicaments, even if you don't have a single friend in world.

tl;dr - for a lot of people, homelessness is a choice borne of the wrong attitude and poor motivation and is really a thing that can only be fixed by their own actions alone. Begging is the lazy answer in a country as affluent as Great Britain. They'd soon be on their feet if it were real poverty.

Opinions?

[scorps]

ask some of our soldiers who are now on the streets what they have been through trying to get somewhere to live once they left or got bumped from the armed forces. Not all homeless people are wastes of space but I dont know where you get the idea ffrom that benefit agencies and housing places will help them.
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Do not presume that I am male.

[TheSmiler]

Not all homeless people are wasters, you only need to miss one payment or if younger have a falling out with parents. If you lost your income and were kicked out of your house how long do you think you could rely on family or friends... sooner or later they will get fed up and you will be out on the streets as you will be in the way. There is already a lack of council housing and YMCA spots.

Being on the streets is cruel you can't apply for benefits as you need an address. For the address you need income or a job (most places will ask for a job before you can be employed) there are limited spaces at temporary housing homes.

Just be glad its not like America, the amount of homeless people is shocking and there is no safety net, with limited beds available and soup kitchens.

Also check out this link below it was a series on BBC3 will help open your eyes.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01jhxpg
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[Lord Percy]

[fatpies]

[Lord Percy]

[fatpies]

[instigator]

[daemonoid]

https://www.nosecondnightout.org.uk/

Seems to be having a real impact and this is the way to help people on the streets. Don't hand over change, make the phone call instead!

My mother used to work for the DSS/BA/whatever rebrand it is at the moment followed by the housing association. She was of the firm belief that there is always help available, but that the explanation of that help is too difficult for many to understand.

Homelessness is not an isolated problem, it is a symptom of greater problems, usually mental health, dependency or poor education. Homelessness doesn't need to be solved, these other problems need to be solved and the problem will take care of itself.
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[st3v3]

[barrkel]

[Frost]

I see a few 'homeless' round here but i know for a fact that they're not. I know from various people that all of these 'homeless' actually have places to live, get benefits and stuff, they just beg on the streets to get extra cash.
In Bristol there was always some guy coming round with this sob story saying he'd come down to start some work but he didn't start till tomorrow and he needed some cash to book himself into a homeless shelter for the night. He'd be out every friday & saturday night telling this story to everyone. Later you'd see him buying 1 can of special brew whilst stealing another 2.

I don't doubt that there are people out there who are genuinely down on their luck and in need of help. But i get the impression that most of the ones hassling people are just scroungers and the ones in real trouble are suffering in silence. For that reason i'm more likely to give change to some one who doesn't ask for it than someone who does.

[Walloper]

[Lord Percy]

[ocatoro]

homelessness is no joke. i was almost made homeless at one stage but taken in by a friend. i would never choose it as some do as a way out of problems like debt.

my father was homeless for a few years in his early 20s. the boxing club used to let him stay there occasionally because he was a regular there. my mother took him in and here i am.

on the other side of the coin, i was once behind a local homeless guy in the queue at the cashpoint. i was nosy so i checked his balance. he had over £1600 in there. at the same time i was in my student overdraft. he then set up by the machine and started begging for money!! turned out after speaking to him another time, that he had a static caravan on a plot of land a few miles out of town too, so wasn't homeless at all.
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[Lord Percy]

[thx1138]

In these days of austerity many people are just a couple of pay checks and a county court hearing away from it.

[st3v3]

[st3v3]

[daemonoid]

[WannaBeDude]

tldr

The ones ' blagging ' at cash machines etc , USUALLY have their lies and deceit WELL homed , and deliver it as such.

I've helped 2 local ones out, until I've had enough of their bullshit, and fucked them off.
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Jogging on, destination living.

[betamax]

I live in Wolverhampton. On the flyover between the bus station and train station there is a beggar, always looks malnourished and wraps himself in a blanket and repeats the line "Any spare change mate!".

There is a car park next to the station, I saw 'Beggar man' pay for parking at the train station and go into the car park at about 5 pm so decided to follow him. Cunt unlocked an 03 plate Vectra, put his begging blanket in the boot and took a coat out, smugly drove off with his days "takings".

Fuck the lot of them.

[WannaBeDude]

NO --- wheat from chaft, not ignore all by guilty by association.
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Jogging on, destination living.

[unitynotsocri...]

most are not homless.they beg n steal and spend their social,mostly sick pay coz they is victim addicts,on drugs n alchohol and gambling for some.A small minority are people with mental health and mental/social disabilityor dicks like me who ended up smelling of piss n dribbling through the wonderfull intervention of Rochdale NHS and Social services........save lives in your community....kill an nhs manager.......
It has its wonderous moments,but nearly evry begger,including nearly every big issue seller spends it mostly on EXTRA drugs/alchohol.Been hard for me,not being a drinker to find bottled water that i need for life and washing,is more expensive than cider.Thought many times last few years since accident to go busking,i've never begged,but to nervous about peoples behaviour n being robbed,not just by other homeless but by our normal footfall.
Yeah its shit,but most of the homeless issue is really handicapped by all the sponging do gooders who get PAID in the INDUSTRY.There are hundreds of thousands of volounteers in this country who give their love care n time,most are not religeous,they CARE,then there are loads of lefty parasites who work for councils,charities who really spend most of their time producing statistics to justify their jobs,a situation known to many who's employment was under the manpower services commission years ago..........just like Soldiernitzens 'norm setters' in nhs,immigration,dwp and local councils.........most of these well paid vampires would never stand up and shout for change.......because they'd lose their jobs and so they carry on 'only carryiong out orders'.

BENEFIT FRAUD .....CRIMINAL?

M<anchester council has a good scam ,like others,and many housing associations and some charities,including the salvation Army.It goes like this...

get a homeless person in your home,hostel etc who is entitled to benefit.Then claim up to 220 a week housing benefit from national goverment under the deception that you are providing 'care' and 'help' when in actual fact your just providing a small room where the nhs health drug/alchohol workers and housing officers can see to their needs,no qualified nursing special addiction qualified staff.
Manchester has a few big tower blocks converted into small flats with an office downstairs ,thats called a care home.These places are overwhelmingly backed up with people with medical priority due to life threatening illness through drink and drugs.They are nearly all on the long term higher sick rate,many with dla.All the extra benefits does is help them destroy themselves quicker.It costs the taxpayers an extra small fortune,especially in cities attending unconcious drunks as well as the police service and all the stuff nicked from shops for drugs.

Remember in 99 percent of cases if you give money to a begger it will be for dugs/alchohol.
the sickest thing is the councils and housing associations and others,deliberately 'Keep' homeless people in these terrible enviroments for up to two years to maximise the housing benefit yeild,two years may be up to 32k!!!Blocking the system further with the worst of the worst....people who show no restraint on destructive negative behaviour to themselves and others.
moral parental,and punitive solutions will be the only ones that will work.
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[WannaBeDude]

I'd like to read your stuff more tbf - but you gotta use a bit more rtn key , caps etc m8 - otherwise, me or others don't bother, not that you may mind, i'm no grammar Nazi - far from it, but when you make it so hard to decipher - its like wtf - fuck it. Like tef for instance ..
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