24% rise in deaths amongst the homeless.

Huge posted:

Winky,

It seems that you missed my previous post on the drug dependency problem - and one of the most important parts of that was the line:

"It MUST be clear that such action is assistive not punitive ..."

it also seems you missed my point above "So: a proposal - incomplete, but perhaps a possible basic framework on which to build ..."

Societies function by an assumed social contract; however, for many of the homeless, that contract has broken down, both ways.  My proposal is a way to re-establish that social contract by making it explicit.  One side of the contract is inclusion in society (hence the very important legal protection from discrimination as well as the material provision), on the other side it is to act in a way that isn't antisocial.

Note also that I'm not saying that other existing support (such as it is and that's very limited) should be withdrawn.

To be fair, I was only replying with respect to one aspect of your post. Apologies. The notion of protected dwellings be made available by law has my full support. In general, I agree with (most of) the principles outlined in your proposition, and would have no problems with my tax dollars being allocated towards this.

Bob the Builder posted:

Whilst Parliament argued over what Jeremy Corbyn did or did not say (and please I’m not interested in that either way) he pointed out that a homeless man died on the street outside parliament. 

After looking the incident up I discovered the depressing fact of a 24% rise in deaths. 80% men with an average age of 44 and that a very large percentage were caused by drugs and alcohol doesn’t make it any less depressing. 

 

We've seen a noticeable rise in rough sleepers in the last 12-24 months- you can rarely go to a convenience store these days without someone outside begging and this is not in the city centre either.

Saw several people sleeping rough on the local church steps the other day.

Going into the city centre today there were several tents around the place, some kept off the ground on pallets.  I guess this must be better for the homeless to be covered, but it makes the situation almost surreal.

Increasingly these days I also pay for goods using my iPhone or contactless and simply don't carry cash - I suspect I'm far from alone, and this will probably mean spontaneous acts of charity become more difficult if you feel so inclined.

Huge posted:

There are people native to those areas who wish to stay but can't afford to buy or rent due to the price inflation cause by outsiders buying homes in the area.  It's not just 'sending' people to those areas.

Precisely, and also why there was direct action by Welsh nationalists in the 70s/80s targeting these holiday homes which not only became more difficult for locals to buy but were also felt to destroy the local culture.

Moreover, poverty exists throughout the UK, in cities, town and rural areas, and there may well be homeless in any of those areas.

Bob the Builder posted:

Whilst Parliament argued over what Jeremy Corbyn did or did not say (and please I’m not interested in that either way) he pointed out that a homeless man died on the street outside parliament. 

After looking the incident up I discovered the depressing fact of a 24% rise in deaths. 80% men with an average age of 44 and that a very large percentage were caused by drugs and alcohol doesn’t make it any less depressing. 

 

Bob, sorry to deviate from the topic but I'm also shocked by the rise in food banks nationwide, something seems very wrong with the world these days - whether you look at the Brexit debacle, US politics, les gilets jaunes in Paris and many other things I suspect I'm not alone in seeing harmony amongst the earth's people.

I also find Universal Credit an incredible affront to those in need - extended times to get money for utter basic expenditure, and a crazy system whereby two wage payments within a month seems to stop the benefit payout until the next month for those on monthly salaries - it was harrowing to see a mother saying how the fact her NHS employer paid her early for Christmas meant she'd be denied Universal Credit when she needed it most.

"Think about all those pen pushers in between who all have salaries and pensions, no surprise it is still an issue and will be forever."

As someone who worked for the DHSS (as was) for 16.5 years dealing directly with the claimants and their problems every day, I feel insulted by that statement. Not only personally, but also on behalf of the colleagues with whom I worked alongside.

steve

Huge posted:

MDS posted:

You should work for DWP, Huge. 

I'm not quite so sure that I take that as a compliment! 

It was intended as a compliment, Huge.