Helping for the homeless.

[jenny lucas]

The thing I like about busking is that there is a clear commercial transaction - they offer music I like, I pay to listen. no one tries to tug at my heartstrings, I don't have to feel pity for them, or guilt, etc etc. It is a 'genuine' transaction, unlike begging, where I have absolutely no idea whether it is 'real' or not - or whether I am being taken for a sucker.

[Pet66]

Yes Jenny some of the busking is lovely. I do know however that the big issue sellers have to purchase the magazine, for something like a third of the cost they are selling it for, then the profit has to go to buy more, and their needs. Just that evil people jump on the bandwagon and scheme. Make fools of us or try to.

[jenny lucas]

I guess it boils down to WHY they are begging in the first place! Is the UK truly a place where someone will starve in the gutter if the public don't give them money?

Maybe I'm just being smug middle class naieve etc, but surely those who beg 'want' to beg - as in, they are rejecting all other 'state help' for one reason or another - possibly, yes, sigh, because what they want money for is for drugs or booze.

I'm pretty sure the nice lady in my town is part of a 'professional' begging family - to them it is just a job, nothing more nor less. (OK, I have no idea if they are professionals, but given that they must be EU members, and therefore free to work, why is she spending eight hours a day outside Waitrose instead of in a 'proper' job....? The only answer surely is that she makes more money begging/selling BI than any other work she is likely to get??)

So, the bottom line is - does ANYONE in the UK actually NEED to beg to keep body and soul together - rather than to make more money than by a 'real' job or to buy drink/drugs? If the answer is 'yes', then who are they, and why?

[Chris From The Gulag]

Shades of Michael Palin ... " Arms for an ex leper " ... in The Life of Brian ?



And now for something completely different ... back to the thread !

[jenny lucas]

I can't remember that bit! Something about him hopping the whole time? Does he curse jesus for curing him - and thus depriving him of his livelihood??

[Chris From The Gulag]

Yep ... as well as playing the traditional beggar !

Ex-Leper : Okay, sir, my final offer: half a shekel for an old ex-leper?

Brian : Did you say "ex-leper"?

Ex-Leper : That's right, sir, 16 years behind a veil and proud of it, sir.

Brian : Well, what happened?

Ex-Leper : Oh, cured, sir.

Brian : Cured?

Ex-Leper : Yes sir, bloody miracle, sir. Bless you!

Brian : Who cured you?

Ex-Leper : Jesus did, sir. I was hopping along, minding my own business, all of a sudden, up he comes, cures me! One minute I'm a leper with a trade, next minute my livelihood's gone. Not so much as a by-your-leave! "You're cured, mate." Bloody do-gooder.

( Just love that last bit ... no wonder certain people were up in arms ? )

( When Norway banned it , the Swedes packed out their cinemas ... mainly to put one over their neighbours ! )


SORRY COLIN , WE DIGRESS ... BACK TO THE THREAD !

[Colin _1706]

Colin it may well have been?However I have my doubts to be honest. The magazine looked rather dog eared. Another way of making easy money. I'm not unkind, and give the benefit of the doubt. Equally I'm not a fool to fall for every sob story. He didn't have a big issue bag,or the gilet that's provided. One has to be mindful, and careful as well as caring.

A very valid point, if they have no official BI sellers tag they probably aren't official. Thank you for mentioning it.
Likewise I assess each situation and I do not always give money or food. The aggressive beggars avoid me which is sensible.
I was sitting in Just Eat outside the Bullring in Birmingham one day having a coffee and a bun while my partner has having her hair done for a treat. As I'm sitting there online on my phone a young male came in and was a bit pushy/forward in asking other customers for money, I ignored him and I could see him take a look at me and he then decided not to and left. I can react very badly when confronted by other people because of my health. As a general rule I stay away from people, its easier both ways.
But he was one of those who wants money for other reasons I suspect.

[Colin _1706]

I guess it boils down to WHY they are begging in the first place! Is the UK truly a place where someone will starve in the gutter if the public don't give them money?

Maybe I'm just being smug middle class naieve etc, but surely those who beg 'want' to beg - as in, they are rejecting all other 'state help' for one reason or another - possibly, yes, sigh, because what they want money for is for drugs or booze.

I'm pretty sure the nice lady in my town is part of a 'professional' begging family - to them it is just a job, nothing more nor less. (OK, I have no idea if they are professionals, but given that they must be EU members, and therefore free to work, why is she spending eight hours a day outside Waitrose instead of in a 'proper' job....? The only answer surely is that she makes more money begging/selling BI than any other work she is likely to get??)

So, the bottom line is - does ANYONE in the UK actually NEED to beg to keep body and soul together - rather than to make more money than by a 'real' job or to buy drink/drugs? If the answer is 'yes', then who are they, and why?

There are plenty of young people who end up homeless and die in the cold and middle aged people, in fact any age.
I cant sit here and explain the obvious to you, but I was homeless and with no money and no access to a GP. I was still very seriously injured and with major undiagnosed injuries. If it hadn't of been for a biker mate who was 25 years old and as hard is it comes I would not have survived. It was very easy to die in the first 3 or so years after the smash when I almost died twice in one day at the hands of a hit and run car driver who left me alone in a ditch, badly smashed up, unconscious and dying.
I didn't beg, we survived in other ways.

As I said before, no one has the right to sit in judgement. There are no exceptions.

[Chris From The Gulag]

Crystal Palace to shelter homeless at Selhurst Park stadium.

A Premier League club has offered part of its stadium as an emergency shelter for rough sleepers.

Crystal Palace FC will turn part of Selhurst Park in south London into a space where up to 10 homeless people can sleep when temperatures are forecast to drop below freezing.

They will also be given a hot meal, breakfast and washing facilities, said Croydon Council, who helped set it up.

Eight people used the emergency shelter on Thursday night.

They slept on camp beds which were set up in a lounge inside the club's ground.

Crystal Palace chief executive Phil Alexander said the club wanted to "be a force in the community".

"We are delighted to be collaborating with Croydon Council and their partner agencies to ensure that rough sleepers can find an emergency shelter in the event of severe winter weather," he added.

When Selhurst Park is unavailable due to home matches, the council said it would continue to refer rough sleepers to other emergency shelters in Croydon and in central London.

Councillor Alison Butler said Crystal Palace was "setting a standard for other clubs to follow".

"Freezing temperatures are a particular safety risk for rough sleepers and this is a wonderful gesture by Crystal Palace for helping us reduce that risk."

Last year, the council approved plans to increase Selhurst Park's capacity from 25,456 to more than 34,000.

Palace, who are 14th in the table, travel to Anfield to face Liverpool in the Premier League later.

[Chris From The Gulag]

Home Office ordered to pay £90,000 to homeless Polish couple illegally detained for five months over rough sleeping.

Henry Sadlowski, one of two held illegally for 154 days, died shortly after Christmas.

The Home Office has been ordered to pay £90,000 in damages to a homeless Polish couple who were unlawfully detained for more than five months due to rough sleeping.

Iowna Deptka, 33, and Henry Sadlowski, 38, were held for 154 days as part of a policy to deport European Economic Area (EEA) nationals found rough sleeping, known as Operation Gopik.

In December 2017, the High Court said the policy was discriminatory and unlawful under EU law.

At a hearing on Friday, Mr Justice Soole awarded Ms Deptka and Mr Sadlowski £44,500 each.

However, damages for Mr Sadlowski, who died shortly after Christmas, will be paid to his family in Poland.

My thoughts are with those seasonal , agricultural , workers over the border in Lincolnshire.

Nothing but bad news ... and a real human crisis brewing ... lack of work , even the zero hour contract variety / inadequate " Housing " ... partly converted farm buildings / travel ( Many 10 - 20 miles from a sizeable town ... is really is grim !