Homeless to have tents banned

I had a period in my life being homeless and under a tent/ bivouac living rough for a few weeks one Christmas and it was pretty tough
I got a part time job ( washing in the loo at work before starting) and then pushed on from there
I have a lot of empathy for homeless people however no one can help them unless they want to help themselves
I am a great believer in charity begins at home
I do not give any money to the big issue sellers locally standing outside local shop ( with part time jobs advertised in the window)
i have even offered work to a couple of them but they are not interested
govt we’re able to get people off streets in covid so they need to look at this again

Even prisons have released people by giving them tents as there's no where to put them. When I heard this I thought it was made up but after a quick google it has happening and it's really disturbing.

My daughter was made ho.eless earlier this year, she is currently sofa surfing between us, and her grandparents. We went to the council for help, they accepted she was homeless sue to no fault of her own but due to not having any extra needs (health, addictions, dependants) they have no need to house her. Told her to try to find a private rent or to bid for social housing. She can't hold down a job as not in the same place, she can't rent as doesn't work, a room to rent is around 600 a month here, yet the UC LHA is 347. My landlord won't let her stay with us as we are at max capacity. No one can help.
Luckily she has us to support her as much as we can but others will end up sleeping rough through no fault of their own

Also, who are the Tories trying to appeal to with this stuff?

My friend who works in the field says there's been an increase in children rough sleeping.

What's wrong with our country?

Children have had difficult parents for generations and vice versa & the Govt took away SureStart that did intervene in early years.

Housing benefit hasn't kept up with private rent increases, little or no council tax support, no social housing, hostels full and or unsuitable, half of all calls to domestic violence helplines not even answered, people are waiting years for MH support.

We didn't get people living in tents in the numbers they are now 15 years ago, so whilst the reasons for homelessness may well be complex, Councils and Charities have seen funding slashed and that has consequences, Braverman and the Tories have caused this current situation.

I know they were banned in London a while ago, because they were being used for drug deals, prostitution and a couple of people died in them, so although it was harsh, ultimately it was seen as better as if people were visible they could be helped.

My uncle was a rough sleeper for many years. My mum and he both suffered the long term effects on their mental health of being brought up by functioning but violent alcoholic parents during the blitz. My uncle also had an experience aged 11 that likely led to PTSD. He ended up being diagnosed with schizophrenia in his 40s. In those days there was about a 1 in 3 chance of the drugs to control schizophrenia having intolerable side effects and that 1/3 either committed suicide or ended up addicted to drugs or alcohol. My uncle was in that 1/3.

Which choice would you have made in those circumstances?

@YireosDodeAver is spot on.

I would add that the biggest thing that the police/politicians/society could do to help is to properly deal with domestic violence. DV as a root cause of drug and alcohol misuse, and then leading to homelessness was cited by a retired chief constable. What about it Suella?

Well someone certainly makes an initial choice to take a first dose of spice, or whatever it is that has semi-corpses littering half the shop doorways of central Nottingham.

@jgw1 you again with this. Those houses have owners and are not a free for anybody to take. However, if this ridiculous suggestion were the case the empty houses would be filled very quickly with what it now seem open borders. See the number of people that arrived in the last three years?

A homeless person sleeping in a tent is almost certainly going to also have a complex set of interdependent issues which mean that their problems will not be solved by taking their tent away. It's true that there are generally enough spaces in hostels and shelters that no one needs to be in a tent, but it's also true that this solution simply doesn't work for everyone. These are real, complex people. Some of them will have significant mental health issues and trauma which make the communal living aspect of shelters impossible. Some of the people in shelters are a source of danger to others. If you are aducted to alcohol and substance abuse and the shelter has a policy to ban such substances you cannot just magically cure your addiction so the shelter is no shelter for you.

Banning tents is stupid. Funding social care and mental health resources sufficiently that no one gets to that level of rick bottom would be great. Obviously the tories won't do that.

Surely the issue with SB is there's no balance. Where's her initiatives, solutions to this?

Having visited cities in Canada and Us where tent cities are a reality I agree we don't want that but to ban tents and not provide further help is barbaric.

@Tonkerbea you are completely right about the Tories, I keep thinking they can't get any worse and then they do.

@picturethispatsy Excellent questions, this is just a further example of the Tories wanting to sweep their own mess under the carpet.

@MCOut I agree with your thoughts on the rules, perhaps there needs to be some thought as to how the rules can be adapted to help those who need help to properly access it.

I wonder if her attitude would change if she spent a few days on the streets herself. The whole thing really makes me feel so sad and angry, why can't they just stop picking on the most vulnerable?! It just seems like bullying to me.

She has one of the strangest interpretations of Buddhism I've ever seen. Anyone but me remember when even Tories had SOME humanity? As for claims she's not doing this to be deliberately cruel, I can only presume that's from someone who hasn't been watching her track record.

And yet I have sat in a meeting with someone who was in a very vulnerable state and was told there was nowhere for him and he needed to go on the streets. It was hammering down outside. Absolutely hammering.

People end up on the streets too easily. Yes some stay there for complex reasons. That doesn’t make it a fucking lifestyle choice.

Glad to see there will be more support put into alcohol and addiction issues (not sure where LAs are meant to get the money for that from) - as soon as alcohol for example is involved you often cannot access mental health support (which will often be driving the substance abuse).

I collected someone from the streets once. He had been shown by other rough sleepers where to get a sleeping bag. When I have been past since I have seen sleeping bags and clothes left there. I think they must be left by a charity. I guess Suella will soon want to ban camping equipment like sleeping bags as well.

I lived in a b and b 30yrs ago and not the kind you go to on holiday. Three single beds per room. Sharing with people with drink and drug problems (mines was a penchant for amphetamine) and ten people sharing one bathroom. Honestly looking back I wouldn't have wished it upon my worst enemy.

I tried calling on this. The chap told me that, as I was under pension age and had no dependent children, I was considered "able to survive on the street". Exact quote.

This was 15 years ago. Things have definitely not got better since then.

Fair rents & housing maybe?

Like a poster above pointed out...people have to be clean to get a shelter

This.

Suella Braverman is a disgrace.

During covid, they managed to get pretty much everyone off the streets and in with a roof over their head. I don't for a second accept the 'lifestyle choice' Braverman has stated.

If she wants them off the streets, she already knows what needs to be done. And that it can work. She really is a repugnant individual.

I think it's too glib to think a flat is the answer to everything for a homeless person yes it's a start but many have a myriad of issues that need addressing so they keep their tenancy. It's just the usual conservative hate fest on the less fortunate. Haggling about the 20 quid a week extra uc payment during covid and these leeches spend more on expenses on eating out etc.

Essentially attachment issues from early childhood are often the root causes of many of the problems that manifest further down the line and lead to people becoming street homeless. And fixing that is incredibly hard. But if they don’t engage with services you are fighting a losing battle.