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Original poster

Homeless man near me

99 replies

Veganfortheanimals · 20/10/2018 12:57

He has dogs,I've been giving him money £20 today ,And dog food ,dog biscuits ,flee treatments etc...what else can I do ? He says the council have offered him a room at £50 a week.but if he takes it he can't sell the big issue ,which gets him out and about..and benefit wise he's only entitled to approximately £50 a week ,as the room is £50 ,he wouldn't be able to eat...his English is not good ,so I wondered if he had misunderstood...or is this why so many people are homeless ?..

OP posts:
FauxFox · 20/10/2018 13:29

If you read the case studies on the big issue website it’s clear that you can still sell if you are housed - the very first story is a guy who now rents a flat with his girlfriend and still sells the BI so I think there must be some misunderstanding www.bigissue.com/vendors/earl-john-charlton-40-newcastle-central-station/

davisday · 20/10/2018 13:30

find it hard to belive anyone would chose to sit on a cold floor all day just hoping someone will buy a magazine off them,if they absolutely didn't have to.

Spend a bitof time researching. It will blow your mind.

Original poster
Veganfortheanimals · 20/10/2018 13:30

He told me ,if he accepted the room,he wouldn't be able to eat ,as the room Costs the same as the benefits he would recive

OP posts:
davisday · 20/10/2018 13:32

If he's an unregistered/illegal immigrant would he get housing benefit?

No. But he wouldn’t be a big issue vendor either.........

Original poster
Veganfortheanimals · 20/10/2018 13:32

Just because some people have played the system,dosnt mean we should harden our hearts to everyone else in a similar situation

OP posts:
davisday · 20/10/2018 13:32

GHe told me ,if he accepted the room,he wouldn't be able to eat ,as the room Costs the same as the benefits he would receive*

Have you ever heard of the word ‘lie’

FissionChips · 20/10/2018 13:33

HE WOULD GET HOUSING BENEFIT TO PAY THE RENT!

He’d be able to keep his JSA or ESA for himself.

davisday · 20/10/2018 13:33

Just because some people have played the system,dosnt mean we should harden our hearts to everyone else in a similar situation

He s not playing the system, he is playing you. It’s what they do. He has done a grand job of it as well.

Original poster
Veganfortheanimals · 20/10/2018 13:38

He has asked me for absolutely nothing.ive given willingly .because whatever situation he is in,he clearly has less than me.so I want to help.

OP posts:
Hidingtonothing · 20/10/2018 13:41

You still seem to be missing what people are telling you OP. He can still sell the BI while housed and he will have benefits money over and above the housing benefit which will cover his rent. He is either lying or has completely misunderstood what he’s been offered.

GreenTulips · 20/10/2018 13:45

Maybe they have said he'd have to get rid of the dogs? Can't see many landlords accepting pets especially dogs in a room without a garden

Feefeetrixabelle · 20/10/2018 13:46

www.bigissue.org.uk/our-vendors/how-become-vendor

He is lying to you. The council will be offering him a room in temporary accommodation. He would be entitled to benefits and housing benefit to pay this.

So he could be in a room with his rent paid, claiming benefits and selling the big issue. In fact he probably already is.

Is he refusing the room because he won’t be able to take his dogs? That’s the likely situation out of this. Not that he can’t afford it but that he doesn’t want to lose his dogs.

DailyMailFail101 · 20/10/2018 13:47

I think your being really kind OP, if his English isn’t very good he needs a translator, he would be entitled to housing benefits and still be able to sell the Big Issue. Money isn’t what he needs, he needs help and support to help himself find a better life. Can you direct him to a Citizens advice centre? He needs to be off the street for the winter, shelters won’t take dogs in.

davisday · 20/10/2018 13:48

He has asked me for absolutely nothing.ive given willingly

Ahhhh

Hook, line and sinker.

Fairenuff · 20/10/2018 13:49

He told me ,if he accepted the room,he wouldn't be able to eat ,as the room Costs the same as the benefits he would recive

He could still sell the big issue.

He's lying to you OP.

Feefeetrixabelle · 20/10/2018 13:50

www.dfordog.co.uk/blog/hope-project-dogs-trust.html

Try these guys for support with the dogs.

Bestseller · 20/10/2018 13:51

I'm afraid I agree he's unlikely to be homeless.

In our town we have a number of people begging on the streets, but only two are actually sleeping rough.

The others are all professional beggars. We have an excellent volunteer network here which is aware of all the rough sleepers who come and go and takes care of them/signposts them for help. Anyone sleeping rough is known to them.

One of the rough sleepers is a sad story, a young man with MH issues who has a home with his parents but often chooses not to stay there.

The other rough sleeper was given work and accommodation by a business man in the town and within days was on CCTV removing valuables from the premises. He has been offered hostel accommodation but prefers the street - there's no financial barrier though.

There is one man (with dog) begging outside Waitrose who has lived in his council house, in the next street to me, for 20+ years. He prefers to sit on a cold floor because it's far more lucrative than the kind of work he'd be qualified for (plus it doesn't affect his benefits, maybe it should but doesn't).

Original poster
Veganfortheanimals · 20/10/2018 13:53

Freefreetrixiebelle,yes that is what I thought as well,but he said the dogs were allowed in the room...he's consistently told me he can't take the room because he can't sell big issue from the room and claim benefits...he says if he takes the room he won't have enough money to eat ...some people have posted me links,I've not read them,but I'm going to.....
I just want to say. I'm not a do Gooder,or a gullible person ,usually I'm on the ball and well with it...I had not expected a lot of these replies on this thread,I'm a bit shocked .

OP posts:
AiryFairyUnicornRainbow · 20/10/2018 13:53

OP,

There is a MASSIVE difference between enabling him, and helping him

What people are telling you above, is accurate, he is entitled to benefits to cover the costs of housing etc. Housing benefit / JSA or ESA

You do not have to be a rough sleeper to be able to register to sell the big issue - check the link

www.bigissue.org.uk/our-vendors/how-become-vendor

Good luck with ringing the council, expect to spend an hour on hold, then get through to a snotty person who refuses to tell you anything due to data protection. Been there about a dozen times in the last week

Let me reiterate, if he takes that room, he CAN still sell the big issue.

I have to say that just handing over cash, to someone who is , apparently, refusing all the help the system can give him, is just enabling him and putting his dog at risk.....and furthermore belittling people who are actually REALLY homeless i.e would jump at the chance of that room

If you want to help the homeless, this guy is not the way forwards, you are enabling him and he is mugging you off.

davisday · 20/10/2018 13:55

Like I said OP, just do a bit of research about beggars.

Blatherskite · 20/10/2018 13:58

There's a 'homeless' guy in my village that suckered pretty much everyone.

People were giving him money and food, contacting the council on his behalf, finding him rooms and furniture and talking about his plight on the local facebook group. We were told he was having to jump through all sorts of hoops to be housed. Had to be on the streets and otherwise they wouldn't help, couldn't sell the BI, couldn't be with his girlfriend otherwise her benefits would stop etc...

Turns out he was scamming everyone. He'd been given accommodation, he just didn't want it. He'd been given help, he just turned it down. He just wanted the money.

He's moved now and is scamming people outside some shops I go to regularly. He has the same cardboard sign telling people of the injustices he's facing and how he just needs their help. I'm afraid I walk past and ignore now. He won't be helped until he wants to be and is just wasting everyone's time and efforts in the meantime. He knows where help is when he's ready.

Feefeetrixabelle · 20/10/2018 14:00

OP why would someone keep their dogs outside when they could be in a nice warm room? That’s crazy. I’m telling you absolutely straight if the council are offering him a room then they are accepting a duty to provide him with housing and therefore he is eligible for benefits.

He’s lying to you.

Have you seen him out late at night? Or early hours?

rosablue · 20/10/2018 14:00

When I was at Uni there used to be beggars that would come and beg through the student cafe. People felt sorry for them in their ragged clothes, not speaking good English and their sob stories so they did well, despite students not typically being well off.

One day I was there later than usual, so happened to see the beggars leave as they were leaving just in front of me... They walked a few steps away from the cafe (along the road, not in a campus) and then pulled nice bags out of their beat up ones, pulled off their old worn coats, bundled them into the bags, had nice clothes on underneath (better than mine then!) and hailed a taxi to take them onto their next stop.

Needless to say, I never felt particularly generous after that... Looked into it a bit more and seemed to be a common occurrence.

Original poster
Veganfortheanimals · 20/10/2018 14:01

He packed up and left as the shops shut

OP posts:
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