To feel so sad about what happened to our town?

[AbstractThought]

I wasn't born here, DH was, and I have seen it discussed on MN in the past. I am aware that many towns across the UK are in a similar situation, so this probably isn't anything special, but since most people talk about shop closures I wanted to look at it from a different angle.

In the past decade we have a ton more issues in the town than previously, often relating to homelessness and addiction, and the town centre, what's left of it, has become completely over run by these problems with groups of people fighting and street drinking. A lot of these people are in extreme difficulty, whether mental health related and/or drug issues. Crime shot through the roof, and even about 8 streets away from this it spills outwards to us in what was once a fairly quiet place to live.
We now have a constant stream of siren noise, day and night, helicopters are daily and whilst we personally haven't felt in any actual danger there is a horrible sense of decay and hopelessness. Just nipping to the closest supermarket is depressing, there are a lot of neglected animals and people having meltdowns in the streets.

It is how it changed so quickly though. I can't get my head around where it all started or why. I am aware of the contribution of politics, covid, all of that stuff, but it seems so incredibly extreme. The siren noise is the worst, it is piercing and never seems to end. This also seemed to explode around the same time as the area went downhill. Probably a mix of police and emergency vehicles. It is difficult to work or relax at home and if you are a light sleeper it can have an impact there too.

What I am wondering is if this is commonplace now, in what was once a thriving town? It is the sheer amount of troubled people which seems to have escalated the most, and I can't get my head around how this has evolved, in such a short space of time. It is like they weren't here, then suddenly appeared, it is difficult to describe it. Obviously the council can't do a great deal to help and I have no idea what the answer is. The most upsetting thing is that a lot of these people are so messed up that they can barely talk in a way that is decipherable. This includes children, and there is a growing amount of people who have barely any teeth. This is a fucking severe problem and I have no idea what will help it. We have mucked in with a few local charities but it barely scratches the surface in my opinion.
We are moving due to work relocation soon, so whilst it may not be 'our' problem after we have gone, this isn't the point. I am just so sorry that it has come to this, in likely even more places than just here. WTF happened??

This isn't just your town.

It's every town. It's the country.

Remember to vote in the local and general elections this year.

it’s everywhere and it sucks doesn’t it.
I think there’s a variety of reasons for society’s decline:

• Low wages. Why would you work if you could get a similar amount for doing fuck all. A PP mentioned the lack of easy jobs and I guess she meant jobs you could do without qualification- but care work (not easy!) pays peanuts and why would you do it if you could get a similar amount for not working. I don’t think benefits are too high, but wages are too low…because low payers get away with doing so because of UC - we’re subsidising their profits.
• decriminalisation of weed, theft, nuisance etc
• Lack of support for small businesses in small towns - here it’s all charity shops and dodgy money laundering barbers the rest are priced out due to high rates
• Boredom- what is there to do if you’ve got no money and no hope?

Primarily, though, I think it is because life is so shit for a lot of people they’ve got no aspirations - they’ll never be able to afford the life they want, never travel, never own their own home or a car. What’s the point in trying if even if they do try it’ll still be out of reach.

It is quite sudden. It's over the last decade. It's the double impact of an austerity agenda and Covid. If you look at the stats for every public service from 2010 and compare them to now it's terrifying.

Those motor bikes are a real nuisance

I wonder if they are insured or ever have to pass a test

I know exactly what you mean, I have noticed this myself. My local precinct is on the outskirts of a big city and has always been a bit rough and run down, but the shops were always busy and you could find anything you needed down there so it served its purpose. However, last time I went down there I was absolutely shocked. Pretty much every shop is a betting shop, a vape/phone shop or a charity shop, there's almost nothing else. Loads of empty shops. There was a Heron Foods which is now a massive gambling megastore. There are rows of betting shops and arcades literally all next door to each other. There have always been a few people around in a pretty bad way but now things just seem desperate. There's every social and economic issue there, there always has been so I'm not saying it's something new, but now it just seems to be at another level.

I agree with you but think it is multifaceted also - Are (the proverbial) 'we' accountable too for voting this way? A lot of people are angry and vote against their own interests. Many don't consider anything further than their own front gate. I personally hold the tabloids accountable, but I accept that we all share varied opinions on that.
It isn't only politics, but politics has certainly sold us up the river countrywide.

The teeth thing is a massive problem. It's not all drug use, some is, but even if the people leave their drug use behind, their poor teeth mean it's advertized to everyone as they can't afford to fix them. Plus there are no NHS dentists now, for children as well as adults, so children are not having minor problems fixed and going on to develop gum disease. In our area they are going to introduce a 'dental bus' for the poorest areas, but why they can't make the dentists trained by the NHS do at least some NHS work, I don't know...it is bizarre we are training dentists every year and then 99% of dental surgeries have no NHS appointments, why are we training them to do private practice essentially?

It feels hopeless. I had hopes that there would be some proposed (cross party) policies to tackle this but... nothing ..as far as I am aware

When are we going to rebel?

Alltheyearround - what form will this rebellion take?

God knows @Barbadossunset it just feels like we have somehow allowed this situation to happen. And it pulls us all down, not just the addicts and the homeless. It's got so shit, why are we not protesting loudly? The systematic destruction of public services - it's happened on our watch.

By 'our' I mean everyone from the PM down. Obviously some have more power than others in preventing or exacerbating the connecting issues.
The Cons were voted in though.

In a way I think the conservatives have let these problems build up so much that they’re insurmountable now and anything we can afford to do would be like pissing into the wind ☹️

It is no hidden agenda that the Tories believe in the survival of the fittest.

I think our cities have given way to deprivation and the small towns / neighbourhoods have held up. However, it will be them next if we don't make a stand.

Which town, difficult to compare or even know if your worries about your own town are correct.

Just so. I lived through 18 years of Thatcher - Major. @AbstractThought mentions lack of authority. Or lack of respect for same. But Mrs Thatcher spent her whole career lambasting the people and the institutions that we now want young folk to respect.

Schools and universities, the churches , the judiciary , the BBC , philosophers , social workers , teachers , artists - they were all useless , out of touch and didn't make a profit.
Who then should the young respect ? The rich and only them. And it doesn't matter how they came by their money. They bent the rules , took risks , avoided taxes. Good on em!

Well , once you know everyone further up the food chain is 'at it' why be a mug. ' There is no such thing as society' . A self fulfilling prophecy if ever there was one.

As pp have said, an addict or alcoholic cannot be made to stop and treatment is no good unless they want to stop.
Successive governments haven’t been able to stop large amounts of drugs entering and being distributed around the country and with the increase in synthetic opiates available, I think the problems will get worse.

America has the same problem but it’s not the case in some countries in the Far East such as China, Singapore, Japan and Korea. They have somehow stopped drugs from becoming a major problem.

I'm in a town in Northumberland where the residents are very "this is our town" and quite funny with outsiders (which I am). But DH grew up around here and DS has been here since he was 1 so they're fine.
Oddly this weird "our town" mentality has worked. We have a lot of independent cafes, restaurants and shops which people are fiercely proud of. It's quite a middle class/older area so many of the locals have money to spend. There is a lot of pride in how things look and a huge amount of tradition, to the point where locals will gladly pick up litter or tend to flower beds in the park.

Contrast massively with the city (where in from and where I work). The main street is all but dead. Loads of people begging or druggies lying passed out in empty shop door ways. I was always very much of the opinion that city life was the best. Better nightlife, better range in food places, more culture (theatres, music venues, museums etc) but seeing how it's gone downhill in the last 10 years is mad. I'm fully converted to town life now.

Did you vote leave or remain?

it was pretty clearly said that’s exactly what’s going to happen in case of leave
vote 🤷‍♀️

I live in social housing. 10 years ago where I live would most definitely not be defined as " rough "
Cue now ...my neighbour downstairs is an alcoholic with a ketamine habit . Other side of me is a house . Young male deals class a drugs . Police have turned it over twice since Christmas . Other side ..two flats . Both addicts .

Other side average family home ...two buildings next door , 4 flats , each with a tenant with addictions .
It's fun trying to get up in the morning here I can tell you .
I constantly say to friends and family when did things get so wild in this part of town ?
It must be a reflection of current issues in the city but tbh although I waited a long time for this property ( was homeless for a while ) I do not want to live like this forever and yet , see no way out . Its hectic and scary at times x

I live in a coastal town that suffers from all the problems you mention. Big stores all gone from the town centre and small independents don't have a hope. Plenty of boarded up shops. Lots of addicts and homeless, many imported from other cities and towns to get away from their dealers. Local rogue landlords making a fortune from halfway houses and hostels. It was a lovely town when I was a child, but is now feeling depressing and unsafe despite having an amazing beach. So sad.

I don't think that's true on any count. There was plenty of navel-gazing and doom-mongering after the event but what use is that? I voted to remain.

The conservatives since Margaret Thatcher set the rot in train - and Brexit can't be blamed for that. Shitty government out for itself. That's what has caused this and it is a tragedy. I can't see how it can be fixed either.

I’m not sure mopeds and delivery drivers are the same as crack addicts and deprivation on every corner.

In my area, many of the mopeds and delivery drivers are delivering something other than takeaways! A helmet and a pizza bag makes a great disguise. So mopeds and crack addicts are not as far removed as you might think.

why they can't make the dentists trained by the NHS do at least some NHS work, I don't know...it is bizarre we are training dentists every year and then 99% of dental surgeries have no NHS appointments, why are we training them to do private practice essentially?

I hard a thing on the radio recently about how dentists can’t survive doing NHS work. It’s because of a kind of points system brought in in 2006 that basically doesn’t pay them properly or predictably and because the cost of energy, wages, equipment etc has gone up it’s no longer viable. They have to be at least partly private or have some other form of income.

We have the same here. Add to that one of the major hotels near the centre given over to migrants and businesses at that end of town struggling

It sounds very much like county lines and drugs have come to town.

Places go downhill rapidly when drugs infiltrate on a big scale.

All of the authorities and safety net organisations have been so undermined by Tory budget cuts that they no longer serve people who need them. No NHS dentists, no mental health support, long NHS waiting lists, can't see a GP, less police, no investment in education.

Covid pulled the rug from under so many people's feet. People couldn't go to therapy, church, clubs, clinics - all the things just about keeping people on an even keel gone in the blink of an eye.

People who are struggling have nowhere to go as a result.

More people are struggling because of the cost of living crisis.

Town centres withering due to high rents, prohibitive parking costs, poor public transport, appalling roads. Local councils funding is stripped to the bone to that in my local town the road signs were cleaned by a group of volunteers because people were unable to read them and a team of pensioner volunteers pick up litter in the unswept streets. Litter, because the council have boarded up bins as they can't afford to empty them.

I live near a suicide hot spot. When some poor soul takes their life we know because the sirens start and the helicopter goes up. This used to be monthly at most.....now it is several times a week. The local paper no longer even reports this, the rumour is because it would attract more desperate people to come to the area to do the same.

All the money that should be spent on serving society is being siphoned off to pay shareholder dividends or line the pockets of the friends of those at the top.

How do we rise out of this in the UK?
It's election year. Please stop voting Conservative.
The alternative might not be perfect, but we cannot go on like this.