Shameful level of homelessness in London

[mrsglowglow]

I know this is not a new crisis and not just a London issue but have returned from a family day out and cannot stop thinking about the many people with nowhere to go. It's bloody freezing and I can't see how anyone can survive sleeping out with no protection. I saw people being moved away from Waterloo station and also from fast food places. I know there are armies of good charities that will be out all night helping but how has it come to this? I've previously written to sadiq khan and my mp. The standard response being they are doing all they can. Maybe they are but I've never witnessed so many men, women, old, young on the streets. The rich/poor divide looks to increase in 2017.

I've just come back from London. I walked the city for 2 full days and saw 2 homeless people. Way way less than I see IN Edinburgh and Newcastle and many other cities round Britain.

There are things in place for homeless people - soup kitchens, hostels etc. Whilst I've no doubt some of not most homeless people will access the food offerings, why would they go and stay in a hostel when they can be on the street getting money? It doesn't pay to stay in a hostel.

They can't claim benefits without an address. They can't have an address because they need a job.

It honestly isn't as easy as saying "it's 2017 why do we have homeless people?"

Homelessness is definitely more of an issue in London.
I doubt it's getting any better :(

This is really tough. I've worked with the Salvation Army who do fantastic work with the homeless in my town. They know all the rough sleepers and whilst we can't always find them homes, street pastors look out for them, shelter, clothing and food is provided for those who will take it (some won't) and possibly the most valuable is help in accessing "the system" to get benefits, medical care and accommodation. Again some don't want it.

However, there are several more people begging in the town than are actually homeless.

Actually I think they can claim (some?) benefits if they use, e.g., a homeless shelter or centre as a care of address, but I don't know how widely known that is.
It's a big problem in Manchester, there are so many people begging on the street and sleeping in doorways.

YANBU. It's aweful. You can use this link to report rough sleepers to get them help.

streetlink.mobi/

I live in London and work a lot in Manchester. I'm always shocked by the number of street sleepers in Manchester. It's everywhere unfortunately.

I think the number of homeless people has risen massively in the last 5 years or so.

YANBU; the rates have definitely risen.

Shelter's reports have named London as one of the worst hot spots. The rise is being driven by council cuts (due to their funding being cut by central government, leaving little choice): blog.shelter.org.uk/2016/02/6798/

It has doubled in the last 5-6 years: www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jan/01/london-rough-sleepers-double-in-five-years

The trouble is that councils can no longer afford to do things that aren't legally obligatory for them (e.g. care). So libraries are cut, housing services, anything that isn't absolutely mandatory.

The responsibility for this lies with this Conservative government.

its massively on the rise. Its pretty awful, some people end up homeless because of their own behviour and choices, but many more are just unlucky. The trouble is, its the ones who have been kicked out of their homes for feckless, even violent behaviour that get everyone tarred with the same brush. Many beggars have never done anything to hurt anybody, or to deserve the situation they find themselves in.

I've just come back from London. I walked the city for 2 full days and saw 2 homeless people. depends where you are napqueen. not so much in the centre, but come and use my railway station in the morning just before the rush hour starts, and you will triple that number of sightings within about 30 yards

When people have their benefits sanctioned so someone can hit a target, this is the potential knock on effect.

I work in the square mile and commute in. I see homeless people both around my zone 6 tube and around my central London station :( I run around the city and west end, and see scores of homeless daily/ weekly. It does seem to be getting worse if I'm honest but it may just be that since noticing more I see more (if that makes sense?)

I have been shocked this year by the amount of tents seen around my town.

In my area the council have to put homeless people up for the night if the temperature is below a certain number

Thanks for that link Alley. I'm going to report the the people we saw. I hope they have somewhere to go tonight. I used to work in the city up til 2004. I know there was homeless 'community' made up of mostly alcoholic males that we all knew and local cafes and restaurants looked out for them. Maybe because I'm not up there every day made it more shocking. My 10 year old found it hard - asked me why can't they stay in the warm like us. There's no easy answer.

I've been in London for the last 25 years. The numbers of rough sleepers were high, then became pretty rare. Recently I'm seeing far more.