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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:

anitagreen · 20/10/2018 14:42

Vegan his benefits would not be £50 a week he would be entitled to housing benefit and job seekers allowance which is 73.10 a week. But saying that if he's not entitled to benefits over here if he's foreign then I can understand but he must be able to claim if the housing have told him this otherwise they would say there and then nothing is available

RockinHippy · 20/10/2018 14:48

Anita my DB was told time & time again he didn't qualify for benefits, then only minimal benefits & no help with paying for the roof over his head, council tax etc etc. He was too ill to argue & didn't have a clue that it was wrong. CAB were also pretty unhelpful with benefits. Sadly this is not uncommon & they do lie.

davisday · 20/10/2018 14:49

don't know why some of you have to be wankers about it.

The OP took the bloke in good faith and was trying to help. Calling her ridiculous, and a mug.

Coming from you who has just called lots of us wankers

Really? Even if you're right, no need to be shitty

And shitty

So, perhaps the sheer frustration of the OP's absolute inability to see anything other than what they want is what's leading to people calling her a mug.

It has been pointed out there are holes in his story. It has been pointed out that people do in fact, beg through choice and suggestions have been made as to how the OP can help the homeless without possibly being conned.

But yes, we are all wankers.

selfidentifyinggiraffe · 20/10/2018 14:58

OP it's lovely that you want to support the homeless

I work for a charity that does myself (you say your not in a big city so our small clan probably wouldn't reach as far as where you are, we're a team of under 20 unpaid volunteers)

But may I suggest you consider donating to similar...

As a charity we don't police who we help, for every faker there are genuine people in need and we don't have the time... if they really want to con us out of a sandwich or a sleeping bag or coat... they are in need for other reasons than homelessness

We also completely share the attitude of kindness and respect over judgement for why someone may be where they are

But we would not be able to help many if we financially supported a few. So we keep it quite material and social... a chat or catch up, food and items

I don't work for them but maybe the individual you know might benefit from looking into Emmaus if one is near you

costacoffeecup · 20/10/2018 15:05

Bloody hell. Well done OP for having the compassion to help him.

If he's misunderstood then maybe the print out will help him. And maybe he doesn't want to leave his dogs on the street - what's wrong with that?

PhaedrasChocolate · 20/10/2018 15:09

davisday It's completely different and you know it. Firstly, I said 'some' of you, not lots. Secondly, acting wanky isn't calling you a name, and I didn't pick anyone out.

You know though, if the cap fits.... 🤔

davisday · 20/10/2018 15:13

I know you didn't pick anyone out. Neither do the majority of posters on Mumsnet. People still reply though, that's how it works.

AiryFairyUnicornRainbow · 20/10/2018 15:16

OH shut up ffs, this is not about you two petty squabble.

Get a grip. People don't always have the same opinion. That is how adult life works.

Accept it, or go and sit on the naughty step like the children you are behaving like

Love how some people take a thread, make it all about themselves. Bleuuurgh

AiryFairyUnicornRainbow · 20/10/2018 15:21

OP printing out the info sounds like a wonderful idea.

Helping homeless people is very hard. There are a multitude of different reasons and circumstances that lead up to this....

Mental health conditions seems rife, but I wonder if it is a chicken / egg situation - which came first? Then people will self medicate with illicit drugs as they are mentally struggling

The entire system is a massive mess. Homelessness is a national disgrace and I take my hat off to you

Last year I volunteered at a local homeless shelter, and im doing the same again this year, it was one of the biggest eye opening experiences of my life

Some pple - get them housed, and on their feet and you will never see them again

Some pple will circle the same problems and issues for years and will be repeated service users because the root cause of their issues are not being dealt with

davisday · 20/10/2018 15:24

airy

I have the right to respond to any post I wish.

kikisparks · 20/10/2018 15:29

Well done OP for your compassion. What town is this? Is there a law centre he could get help from?

Kr1stina · 20/10/2018 15:32

OP you sound very kind hearted. Please do as others have suggested and give your time or money to a local charity that helps homeless people.

If he’s a professional beggar then you probably need the money more than him.

And if he has an addiction ( as nearly all rough sleepers do ) then you are just buying his next bottle or fix.

Easylay · 20/10/2018 16:11

We had a homeless lad in our little town. Local Facebook page was going wild with offers of help. Together we got him a flat, deposit ECT, furniture, carpet the lot. A local company gave him a job.
Turns out he scammed the lot of us. It ended very badly

Nightfall1 · 20/10/2018 16:22

The two organisations below might help you.

www.homeless.org.uk/

www.streetlink.org.uk/

Vixxxy · 20/10/2018 16:38

You do not have to be homeless to sell the bug issue. A lot of people think you do, but you don't

Feefeetrixabelle · 20/10/2018 16:42

I think op the best thing for you to do is print the info. Hand it over and walk away. Then I think you’ve done everything you can to help him and you should be proud of yourself for that.

Original poster

Veganfortheanimals · 20/10/2018 17:02

I don't know now,about printing out the info...I thought I was helping.i don't know if that's the right thing to do now...this thread has just confused the hell out of me,especially people saying have I not got a life...ofcourse I have a life ,a busy one actually, I saw a fellow human in need and I tried to help.is that really so bad? Thankyou to the posters who posted me links to read ,and to the people who gave me advice where to contact....one last thing ..to the people who think I'm a mug...it's so much easier to walk past and pretend not to see,than to speek to the person ,ask how they are and be interested in their situation..maybe I've not done right thing giving money,but at least I cared enough to stop and try to help.

OP posts:

davisday · 20/10/2018 17:07

one last thing ..to the people who think I'm a mug...it's so much easier to walk past and pretend not to see,than to speek to the person ,ask how they are and be interested in their situation..maybe I've not done right thing giving money,but at least I cared enough to stop and try to help.

Not berating you for caring. Just trying to point out that all is not always as it seems.

I'm sorry if it seems that way OP but I just hate to see people taken a loan of. All the signs are there with your guy. I see plenty of 'homeless' people in my line of work and very few of them are truly homeless and desperate.

Please do offer some help through the homeless charities etc. Direct help isn't always help.

formerbabe · 20/10/2018 17:08

Do you live in a very small place op?

No one could behave like you have done in a big city...there's homeless people everywhere.

My advice is to forget the whole thing. Stop giving money. Don't print off any info and hand it to him.

Firstbornunicorn · 20/10/2018 17:15

OP, some of the posters on here aren't very nice.

Just wanted to tell you that I think you're doing the right thing.

RockinHippy · 20/10/2018 17:17

6We had a homeless lad in our little town. Local Facebook page was going wild with offers of help. Together we got him a flat, deposit ECT, furniture, carpet the lot. A local company gave him a job.
Turns out he scammed the lot of us. It ended very badly^

Easy, I suspect you might be close to me. We had the exact same thing happen & he fooled a lot of people. He was known to the local homeless charities though & once they were contacted, it all came out. He was one out of hundreds I've seen get help that way over the years, so whilst it happens, far more are genuine. Especially I today's political climate

Feefeetrixabelle · 20/10/2018 17:23

OP people on here will hit you with any stick you give them. Even when that stick comes from a place where you saw a human who is invisible. I don’t think you’ve been daft or a mug or anything like that. I think your a very compassionate person whose done a good thing. But there’s only so much you can do.

tectonicplates · 20/10/2018 17:27

I haven't RTFT, but some animal charities/ animal rescue homes give free vet care/ anti-flea treatment to dogs belonging to homeless people. Sometimes they even hold events or vaccination days. See if you can get hold of a leaflet to give him, rather than giving him money.

mamatomjl · 20/10/2018 17:34

Let me just tell you this (without outing my self) my 'friend' and her boyfriend are heroin addicts, they beg on our local town every day on different roads! Say they are homeless and she is pregnant (she looks pregnant because of the medication she takes and the 4 kids she's had) they get LOTS of money on the street as well as claim JSA housing benefit ESA and PIP!!!!! Oh and they give f- all to the 4 kids in her mothers care.

If he got a room and claimed JSA £50 odd a week he would be entitled to Housing benefit!

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