The Homeless Problem

[Bjornebye]

Its getting worse and worse every single day. Some fella yesterday teatime sat outside KFC on Great Charlotte Street. He was cross legged and slumped over leaning forward. 3 dickheads walked into the kfc and one of them spat his chewing gum towards him. I had to go over and check the fellas pulse, woke him up and asked if he was ok and he just said he was off his face. 

 

I struggle to have much sympathy for the ones who are homeless as a result of being bad druggies but fuck me if I had to sleep rough overnight I'd want to be off my barnet. 

 

 

[cloggypop]

Always shocks me how bad Liverpool is for this these days. Couldn't believe what Bold Street was like first time I saw all the rough sleepers there. Bit different from when you had Plinkety Plink on the cardboard guitar and that was about it. 

[Nelly-Szoboszlai]

I love in South Liverpool and the stretch of Aigburth Road by Lark Lane, the block with the Tesco and Home & Bargain (refuse to call it Home Bargains) has seen a massive increase in the amount of beggars, who appear to be homeless too. 

 

It's horrible to see. 

 

It doesn't half spoil the appearance of the leafy South Liverpool suburb*

 

* I'm joking, obviously. But the aggressive beggar whose been banned from town (he was in the Echo) can fucking swivel. 

[Captain Turdseye]

I was genuinely shocked last time I was up there and went into town. I was only walking from Lime Street down to Liverpool One but I’d emptied my pockets before I even got to the Lobster Pot. Proper horrible and not how I remembered Liverpool at all. 

[lifetime fan]

I can remember reading an article in 98/99 explaining how you could end rough sleeping for less money than the government we’re planning to spend on the Millennium Dome. 

 

Says everything about the priorities of successive governments when it comes to homelessness and rough sleeping. 

[Section_31]

Think I raised it on another thread but town isn't a pleasant place to go these days.

 

It's hard to dig down into the details of why it's happened, so-called austerity probably 90% of the reason, cuts to mental health services, addiction organisations and social housing.

 

I imagine there's also political realities at play in Liberpool too. For instance, if you pitch a dome tent outside a bank at Liverpool One you're probably not just doing it because you've got nowhere to go, you're doing it for an Income stream and possibly also to grab the council by the balls if you're after somewhere to live.

 

But if one faction of the Labour council says 'this is putting off shoppers/tourists etc let's put them in a hostel' the other faction will be on the blower to the echo ten minutes later talking about how no self respecting socialist should stand for this type of social cleansing.

 

I don't like the way a lot of them operate in all honesty.

 

I had to go for a hospital appointment and when I came out there was one by the coffee shop, one by the spa shop and one outside the car park right next to the pay machine. It was some tactical shit.

 

I couldn't be arsed as i was already stressed having been to the hospital so went without a drink despite needing one and went in the back way up the car park. 

 

Same in other parts of town too. Sat literally under cash machines on every street. There's having empathy for people but then there's being able to go about your every day business without being harangued.

 

[lifetime fan]

The vast, vast majority of homeless people/people who rough sleep won’t harangue anyone. 

 

A polite “I don’t have any change sorry mate, take care of yourself” will be met with a thank you. 

 

Even if you don’t want to give any money just giving a few minutes of your time and talking to the person can be the highlight of their day and a massive positive. 

[Bjornebye]

9 minutes ago, lifetime fan said:

The vast, vast majority of homeless people/people who rough sleep won’t harangue anyone. 

 

A polite “I don’t have any change sorry mate, take care of yourself” will be met with a thank you. 

 

Even if you don’t want to give any money just giving a few minutes of your time and talking to the person can be the highlight of their day and a massive positive. 

If I was homeless and you fucking sat next to me I'd hand myself in 

[Section_31]

7 minutes ago, lifetime fan said:

The vast, vast majority of homeless people/people who rough sleep won’t harangue anyone. 

 

A polite “I don’t have any change sorry mate, take care of yourself” will be met with a thank you. 

 

Even if you don’t want to give any money just giving a few minutes of your time and talking to the person can be the highlight of their day and a massive positive. 

I don't disagree mate.

 

But, Liverpool can't cure homelessness, mental health and addiction, but it can watch its main tourists routes no longer appeal to visitors and for that money it does bring in to go nowhere at all.

 

That bloke for instance in the cloud suit who stands in Church Street growling into an unplugged microphone, who benefits from that in the long term?

[Nelly-Szoboszlai]

30 minutes ago, lifetime fan said:

I can remember reading an article in 98/99 explaining how you could end rough sleeping for less money than the government we’re planning to spend on the Millennium Dome. 

 

Says everything about the priorities of successive governments when it comes to homelessness and rough sleeping. 

It does. But, money isn't the only issue. 

 

I know people who work in drug rehab charities. Some of the homeless on the streets would be able to get into hostels (obviously not a permanent solution to the problem) but their poison has such a grip on them that they can't stop taking it and the majority of hostels won't let people use on their premises. It's sad (and shows the addictive effect of the drugs which some of them take) that some would prefer, if that's the right word, to be on the streets so they can use regularly, rather than be in a hostel where their ability to use is limited. Also, some feel safer on the streets than in hostels etc. The people I know who work in drug rehab have also encountered a few people who have been homeless for that long that it's become their norm. They were given housing but really struggled to adjust to that change of lifestyle and ended up making themselves voluntarily homeless so they could go back on the streets. 

 

But, yes, more needs to be done. It's now a serious issue. 

[lifetime fan]

12 minutes ago, Nelly-Torres said:

It does. But, money isn't the only issue. 

 

I know people who work in drug rehab charities. Some of the homeless on the streets would be able to get into hostels (obviously not a permanent solution to the problem) but their poison has such a grip on them that they can't stop taking it and the majority of hostels won't let people use on their premises. It's sad (and shows the addictive effect of the drugs which some of them take) that some would prefer, if that's the right word, to be on the streets so they can use regularly, rather than be in a hostel where their ability to use is limited. Also, some feel safer on the streets than in hostels etc. The people I know who work in drug rehab have also encountered a few people who have been homeless for that long that it's become their norm. They were given housing but really struggled to adjust to that change of lifestyle and ended up making themselves voluntarily homeless so they could go back on the streets. 

 

But, yes, more needs to be done. It's now a serious issue. 

 

It has long been a serious issue mate, it’s just that it now has started to impact people going about their daily lives it’s being highlighted more. 

 

Thats no criticism of anyone posting in this thread either by the way. 

 

I used to work for a young homeless charity, I recognise all the difficulties you mentioned. 

 

The proportion of those sleeping rough/homeless who have a mental health condition/learning disability/substance misuse problem is off the scale when compared to the general population. 

 

They are some of the most vulnerable people in society and successive governments (and very large sections of society) are happy to ignore them and their plight rather than actually spend tax payers money on dealing with the situation. 

[Bjornebye]

13 minutes ago, Section_31 said:

I don't disagree mate.

 

But, Liverpool can't cure homelessness, mental health and addiction, but it can watch its main tourists routes no longer appeal to visitors and for that money it does bring in to go nowhere at all.

 

That bloke for instance in the cloud suit who stands in Church Street growling into an unplugged microphone, who benefits from that in the long term?

He is boss him 

[Gnasher]

Good interesting thread this. I started one a couple of years ago on herw about food banks because although i grew up in relative poverty i never heard of one but there were always people homeless and on the streets but never ever like this. Its a fucking epidemic, now, its shocking, this is as bad as i have seen britain in my life time and its not only merseyside its everywhere.

 

Now the cause?  I say a massive mix of govt benefit cuts plus a more than ready supply of class a drugs, plus the lack of funding to help our most vunerable when and if they have issues.

 

On a practicle note i have a very good friend who works in shelter who tells me that privatisation of the probation service has resulted in thousands of offenders being declared homeless. Thanlfully the probation service is being taken back into state control. Privatisation is the enemy it must be defeated.

[Gnasher]

Anyway with boots anouncing they may shut 200 stores the homeless will have fuck all shop fronts to sleep under.

[cloggypop]

The way drugs are treated (or more precisely not) only exacerbates the problem. 

 

We do have a few junkies round the station here but it's nothing like the UK. 

[Gnasher]

38 minutes ago, cloggypop said:

The way drugs are treated (or more precisely not) only exacerbates the problem. 

 

We do have a few junkies round the station here but it's nothing like the UK. 

Yeah you prob right.

The white powder seems to be the problem here. Then they take the brown stiuff to come down.

[lifetime fan]

If any party/government were serious about addressing homelessness and rough sleeping then they’d need to take an holistic approach. 

 

A list of what I believe they’d need/should do includes; 

 

* Ending austerity

* Legally giving mental health parity with physical health

* A properly funded NHS

* Properly funded mental health services

* Properly funded addiction services

* A government backed not for profit house building initiative 

* Land bank tax

* Regulating landlords and the private rental market properly

* Making it compulsory for all local authorities to build 2 homes of the same nature/number of bedrooms as any property they sell under right to buy

* Decriminalising all drugs

* Legalising prostitution

* Massively improved conditions in prisons with properly funded education services

* Properly funded probation service

* Properly funded and better trained police

* Financial incentives for churches, charities and SME to open up facilities as night shelters

 

[A Red]

Anyone homeless due to mental health or addiction should, in my opinion, be forcibly placed into care. Rent benefits should go direct to the landlord and part of the benefit payment should be made directly to the utility companies.

 

 

[Pureblood]

Just scrap Right to Buy.  It's a cunt's trick.  

 

Lifetime Fan for Prime Minister.

[lifetime fan]

3 minutes ago, A Red said:

Anyone homeless due to mental health or addiction should, in my opinion, be forcibly placed into care. Rent benefits should go direct to the landlord and part of the benefit payment should be made directly to the utility companies.

 

 

 

Can’t agree with that mate no matter how well intentioned it is. 

[Pureblood]

A Red for prime chump.

[Pureblood]

Utility companies, yep they're the ones who need more help here.  

[A Red]

1 minute ago, lifetime fan said:

 

Can’t agree with that mate no matter how well intentioned it is. 

Fair enough, its very simplistic I know.

 

 

[Dougie Do'ins]

Took this a couple of weeks ago on North John Street. Council put an eviction notice on the tent.

[A Red]

2 minutes ago, TK421 said:

Utility companies, yep they're the ones who need more help here.  

Thing is, a lot of people find themselves in the shit due to not being capable of keeping on top of things like electric/water bills and end up with expensive electric meters or being cut off or getting loan sharks involved

 

Like I said, simplistic, I know