Paid Members Kaz Hayashi Posted October 25, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted October 25, 2020 10 minutes ago, Keith Houchen said: This post absolutely highlights why just giving someone a roof over their head will not end homelessness. In an old job, I used to run a money skills workshop with a homeless charity which dispelled myths around having a bank account. This stuff should be on the curriculum. I didn’t realise you did that, but you’ve nailed it. My team is called Progression and Engagement Team. We run a wood workshop, music production sessions, arts & crafts and other basic enrichment stuff such as cook & chat sessions (we invite them in to cook with us and have a roast dinner), also a video games club. It’s all just a way to spark up engagement, get them chatting. That then leads on to employability sessions, we put them through training and pay for CSCS cards for example. I have to apply for funding for every project but it’s so critical as I’m sure you’re aware. Anyway, sorry, unintentionally taken this off topic a bit, but yup, putting a roof over a persons head is pointless unless you assist them with the journey of understanding what it takes to keep the roof over their head. That is absolutely lost on Tory ethics. You can’t force a square to fit a circle, and if it doesn’t fit, it’s the squares fault in the eyes of Tory. They aren’t interested in helping a square to reshape, and don’t even think about providing a square hole in the first place. Meh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 23 minutes ago, Kaz Hayashi said: You can’t force a square to fit a circle, and if it doesn’t fit, it’s the squares fault in the eyes of Tory. They aren’t interested in helping a square to reshape, and don’t even think about providing a square hole in the first place. Honestly, this is one of the best descriptions I’ve read regarding Tory philosophy.  Brilliantly put. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patiirc Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 (edited) Agree with @Kaz Hayashiand @Keith Houchenon the issue of homeless and impoverished. I co-set up and ran a Homeless/ those in need project in Burnley for 18 months whilst sofa surfing myself. The clients often had substance misuse issues and mental health issues. The one abiding client we worked with was from Juvenile to Adult Prison . Didnt know how to live as never had by himself, was dumped with a flat following release and had absolutely no idea what to do. Bills, shopping, work and the rest were completely alien as he had never had to do them, never taught and didnt want to stay somewhere where he could leave on his own without being told. Whilst working subsequently with one of the Fulfilling Lives Projects I did lots of work about LGBT people with Multiple complex needs. It was not uncommon for demands for houses to be clean (nearly impossible whilst street homeless) and the rest whilst out of the system and largely going from help place to help place. Explaining to others about severe weather protocol is met with blank faces for those who have never worked with it, nor finding a home only for the client to reject it because of previous trauma, fear or mental health or substance misuse and go back to sleeping on the streets as they feel safer there despite the inherent dangers and massively shortened life expectancy. Housing First and a few of the wet housing multiple complex needs projects in Manchester seek to help, but there simply are not the resources both in terms of people and money for it to be sustained, Will always say for people to volunteer at a homeless charity/mental health charity/substance misuse charity if they get a chance. Not just serving meals but actually doing work, seeing the joy of someone having a hair cut, or their first meal out and treated like a human being in the first time for ages, or cooking spag bol or even just getting a chance to tell their story and get their mental health properly sorted. Then, maybe then they will realise its not about pop up shelters or just getting them housed. I'm out of the homeless/multiple complex needs game at the moment, however Substance Misuse and Gender are more than enough. How do you work with cohorts when there's no figures recorded to be able to get funding, no harm reduction for self medding especially when the scene is geared towards Chemsex and only very slowly looking at Lesbians and Alcoholism and DV. Homelessness features massively highly and if I can ever get my arse in gear an adult version of AKT would be a god send. Edited October 25, 2020 by patiirc Spelling and missing words, god damn concussion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 You mentioned prisons and it reminded me of a campaign Billy Bragg was involved with which got musical instruments for inmates. The obvious naysayers asked how much difference would it actually make. He replied not much at all because one of the real problems was illiteracy in inmates and that needed looking at. Prevention really is the cure but when you don’t have the tools or skills to cope on your own, what hope is there when the tories cut all the services that were there to help? Even if you try speaking in their language, it makes economic sense to fund these services as it’s cheaper than incarceration. But no, scum gonna scum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patiirc Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 14 minutes ago, Keith Houchen said: You mentioned prisons and it reminded me of a campaign Billy Bragg was involved with which got musical instruments for inmates. The obvious naysayers asked how much difference would it actually make. He replied not much at all because one of the real problems was illiteracy in inmates and that needed looking at. Prevention really is the cure but when you don’t have the tools or skills to cope on your own, what hope is there when the tories cut all the services that were there to help? Even if you try speaking in their language, it makes economic sense to fund these services as it’s cheaper than incarceration. But no, scum gonna scum. Exactly, trying to explain that short sentences actually add to recidivism rather than prevent it is lost on many of the hang em flog em brigade. Give people the tools and they've a better chance of success away from, crime, prison, crime rinse and repeat. Alas may as well be talking to a brick wall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members gmoney Posted October 25, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted October 25, 2020 21 minutes ago, Keith Houchen said: You mentioned prisons and it reminded me of a campaign Billy Bragg was involved with which got musical instruments for inmates. The obvious naysayers asked how much difference would it actually make. One of my mates was given a guitar by Billy Bragg while in prison. He now plays gigs here and there (well, he did) and has never been back inside. Some of the songs he's written should be criminal though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 @patiircAt least you can create an implosion with those sorts by pointing out something like 20% of The prison population are ex services. Suddenly they agree that there isn’t enough support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vamp Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 I remember having a chat with a police officer in the library I used to work in. He spotted a homeless person and said "I can't believe he's back. We put him on a train to the other side of London." It hadn't dawned on him that a police officer on the other side might just do the same. I also got made to wake up sleeping homeless people or ask them to leave if they "smelt bad." It was all about getting them out of sight. Still hate myself for giving into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators neil Posted October 25, 2020 Moderators Share Posted October 25, 2020 See it a lot with hostile architecture - governments paying to have ugly shit installed to stop the homeless sleeping there. But put that money into homeless programs? Nah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Kaz Hayashi Posted October 25, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted October 25, 2020 6 minutes ago, neil said: See it a lot with hostile architecture - governments paying to have ugly shit installed to stop the homeless sleeping there. But put that money into homeless programs? Nah. Gets even worse man, I remember when Iceland staff spoke out a few years ago, saying that they’d been instructed by management to purposely spoil out of date food in the biffa bins, to stop people digging for food. Some apparently told to pour bleach over food. That’s predetermined ABH at the very least isn’t it? I was in shock at the time, but I’ve been told by people that they’ve witnessed it still happening (not sure which shops). Imagine bring that fucking evil? It’s bad enough adding horrible metal bumps to potential seating areas, but purposely poisoning food with bleach is absolutely insane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Astro Hollywood Posted October 25, 2020 Moderators Share Posted October 25, 2020 25 minutes ago, neil said: See it a lot with hostile architecture - governments paying to have ugly shit installed to stop the homeless sleeping there. But put that money into homeless programs? Nah. We've got a highstreet filled with empty shops, even before the pandemic, and a fair few homeless about. We've also got these. Wouldn't want someone sheltering from the elements and dirtying up [checks notes] the front of an abandoned offie. One of the safest Tory seats in the country. We've never had a non-Tory MP, as far as records go back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted October 25, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted October 25, 2020 I live round the corner from a high street in London with a fair few homeless in the area. One day last year all of a sudden all the sheltered spots the homeless used (most of them door ways of empty shops) were blocked with similar things. Fucking disgusting. Now they just sleep outside the train station in the middle of the day instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chili Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 (edited) I live in Urmston in Manchester and we have (among many) one guy near the train station down the road from my flat. There is a smashed out old phone box near by where he sits in the day and he keeps his stuff in there which has grown to include a sleeping bag and several other bits and bobs after someone donated a sleeping bag etc to him. The local Facebook group had a few turgid folk saying how the phone box was an eyesore with all his gear in it and that it should be removed if it's not being used. Kicking off not because a person is homeless, but because his stuff in a disused phone box is apparently harsh on their poor eyes. I assume they think he just goes off to his nice house with his coffee cup of coppers and silvers when the day is done. Like what my Nan would say to me when I approached homeless people as a kid. Look, he's even wearing nice trainers. Edited October 25, 2020 by Chili Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators neil Posted October 25, 2020 Moderators Share Posted October 25, 2020 46 minutes ago, Astro Hollywood said: We've got a highstreet filled with empty shops, even before the pandemic, and a fair few homeless about. We've also got these. Wouldn't want someone sheltering from the elements and dirtying up [checks notes] the front of an abandoned offie. One of the safest Tory seats in the country. We've never had a non-Tory MP, as far as records go back. Fucking hell, look at that thing. Does it even work? Looks like it has a gap where you could crawl in and actually use it as a shelter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ElCece Posted October 25, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted October 25, 2020 1 minute ago, neil said: Fucking hell, look at that thing. Does it even work? Looks like it has a gap where you could crawl in and actually use it as a shelter. You can see its got a barrier across the gap if you look closely. Showing my naivety at first glance at though someone had kindly put a shelter out thinking it might be useful for a homeless person to utilise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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