refugees living on the street

[user1490094090]

Are people aware of how many refugees are living rough in the uk? You get housed when you are an asylum seeker, but not when you get refugee status. Tens of thousands, including children, end up on the streets. Anyone else shocked? I find it unacceptable such a rich country.

'Am I really the only person here who finds this deeply distressing and shameful?'

Yes. No one else in the whole UK gives a shit. All those charities who run shelters and soup kitchens, charities that help the homeless, all full of people who don't give a toss.

Which one do you volunteer with, OP? Or donate to?

Its as much a british problem as it is a refugee problem. With housing benefit changes for under 25's its only going to go up.
When homeless charities are telling people to go and sleep under x bridge rather than being able to put people in a shelter, you know our society is fucked.

That said, where i live its families that are sleeping rough, so kids like yours and mine sleeping in car parks on the floor.
Thats a fucking disgrace

If anyone else has a spare bedroom and would like to offer to help, there are organisations matching hosts with homeless people, some specialising in refugees, some in young people, etc.

I volunteer for a charity based in a small market town in the 'burbs and know of 3 long term rough sleepers here, so I can believe that 4000 is a gross under estimation.

Any street homeless is horrific. Whether they are refugee's, veterans, drug addicts, women fleeing abuse or trafficking, or anyone else.

Certainly where I live there are a number of street homeless, many of whom - for one reason or another - have been refused by LA to join the housing register.

Smurfpoo well said!!

I work in homelessness, and volunteer, and fundraise, I do feel that more people would if they understood how bad the situation is. A lot of people, including some on here, just don't know. And yes, to posters describingchildren living rough, we really do have whole refugee families , including babies and toddlers sleeping on the pavements in London.

Some people just don't realise this.

Thank you for those who know about this situation and are helping me confirm it for those who are skeptical

Don't know anyone in London who has a spare bedroom or one they don't lease out because they need the money.

Refugees should surely always be housed though, shouldn't they?

Why? Why do they trump other homeless people?

everyone deserves a home - somewhere warm and safe to sleep

I am sure plenty of homeless people have worked in this country and made a contribution and none of them envisaged they would end up in the streets

No nationality trumps any other. Refugees are not more important than British. British are not more important than refugees.

There are dozens of homeless people in my town and it's gotten far worse in the last year. It's very sad.

I donate, but I don't want to invite any strangers into my home. British or refugees.

I completely understand that Reow. Its a hard thing to do. I find it difficult and uncomfortable sometimes myself.

Its not for everybody

Even my DP and family I love do my head in most of the time

We can all afford a couple of quid a month though in donations. If everyone gave up the cost of a glass of wine a month that would be £5x millions!

I've just looked at the Crisis website and they repeat that just over 4000 people sleep rough each night in England. They are government figures but Crisis obviously accept them as an accurate representation. Are you really saying that the figures published by the government, reported by Crisis and The Guardian are an underestimate by between 121,000 and 246,000? I can find reports saying that 250,000 people are homeless but that doesn't mean they are sleeping on the street.

To be honest I'd be shocked if it truly was as little as 4000. Unless 1/4 of them are in my medium sized town in the SE which is unlikely.

no, Crisis say the government figure is ... The local authority figure is .....etc. You speak to any of the Crisis managers privately and ask them what the CRISIS estimate is, they will say quarter of a million.

Many people who get ill or lose their job are one pay packet away from homelessness unless they have family support -

So yes it could be anyone - but looks like there's a long queue for accommodation

They only way it will change is for government to be concerned about the lost young in the streets - but they don't vote - as they don't have an address - so statistically they don't count

That is, rough sleepers. (including children)

To be honest I'd be shocked if it truly was as little as 4000. Unless 1/4 of them are in my medium sized town in the SE which is unlikely

Yes it definitely has to be more.

I usually see at least 5 or 6 of an evening and that's just one spot

And yes, to posters describingchildren living rough, we really do have whole refugee families , including babies and toddlers sleeping on the pavements in London.

I thought the Councils had a duty to house children? Surely this is still the case? Why can't these families be housed?

There's an issue in my town with dogs or anyone with active drug addictions not being allowed to enter the 2 local hostels.

How do people feel about this? I'm curious to hear other opinions.

How could someone be expected to leave or redone their companion?

How do long addicted homeless people find the strength to detox without support and an environment to help them?

These 2 conditions make me so angry.

*rehome

The reports acknowledge that some people sleeping rough don't get found and so are missed from the figures, also there are issues with how numbers are collected in different places, but there's a big difference between the true figure being 6000, which is a big percentage increase from the official figure, and 125,000 -250,000.

I don't know, Gu, but it doesn't make any sense, does it. I was with a refugee couple last week who were sleeping in a North London park, with two preschoolers. They had a choice of staying together as a family on the street, or giving up their two children to the British "care" system, and not knowing if and when they would see them again.

So technically, yes, I suppose the council would offer to house the children, but out of borough, miles away and separate, in what ever foster home they could be squeezed into.