Homeless to have tents banned

[dubsie]

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/nov/04/suella-braverman-says-rough-sleeping-is-lifestyle-choice

No one wants to see people sleeping in tents in cities but what are homeless people meant to do. Given the choice I think I'd choose a tent over a shop door way or a park bench...and I don't think many people choose being homeless ....not a lifestyle choice for most people.

I think this is more the fact that people like this minister can't stand the sight of homeless people, it reminds them that their decisions have consequences

Children have had difficult parents for generations and vice versa & the Govt took away SureStart that did intervene in early years.

Housing benefit hasn't kept up with private rent increases, little or no council tax support, no social housing, hostels full and or unsuitable, half of all calls to domestic violence helplines not even answered, people are waiting years for MH support.

We didn't get people living in tents in the numbers they are now 15 years ago, so whilst the reasons for homelessness may well be complex, Councils and Charities have seen funding slashed and that has consequences, Braverman and the Tories have caused this current situation.

My friend who works in the field says there's been an increase in children rough sleeping.

What's wrong with our country?

Also, who are the Tories trying to appeal to with this stuff?

My daughter was made ho.eless earlier this year, she is currently sofa surfing between us, and her grandparents. We went to the council for help, they accepted she was homeless sue to no fault of her own but due to not having any extra needs (health, addictions, dependants) they have no need to house her. Told her to try to find a private rent or to bid for social housing. She can't hold down a job as not in the same place, she can't rent as doesn't work, a room to rent is around 600 a month here, yet the UC LHA is 347. My landlord won't let her stay with us as we are at max capacity. No one can help.
Luckily she has us to support her as much as we can but others will end up sleeping rough through no fault of their own

Even prisons have released people by giving them tents as there's no where to put them. When I heard this I thought it was made up but after a quick google it has happening and it's really disturbing.

I had a period in my life being homeless and under a tent/ bivouac living rough for a few weeks one Christmas and it was pretty tough
I got a part time job ( washing in the loo at work before starting) and then pushed on from there
I have a lot of empathy for homeless people however no one can help them unless they want to help themselves
I am a great believer in charity begins at home
I do not give any money to the big issue sellers locally standing outside local shop ( with part time jobs advertised in the window)
i have even offered work to a couple of them but they are not interested
govt we’re able to get people off streets in covid so they need to look at this again

Maybe all those offering support could have a tent in their garden . The homeless person has a safe space and the homeowner could deliver a cooked meal each evening . A win win .

Spoken like a true blue tory.

This.

Long term, compassionate solutions need to be in place to manage homelessness in the UK. The charity Centrepoint does amazing work with young people with the aim of weaning people off addiction, getting them into work or education and getting them into safe stable accommodation. They have a very impressive success rate.
Braverman's solution however is to punish the homeless in order to enable middle England to pretend the problem doesn't exist.

Her actions show both her failure to even try to understand the problem, and her utter moral bankruptcy in her solution

Jeez, I've heard it all now. What a small minded comment. Hope neither you, or anyone you care about never falls on hard times.

Reminds me of a film I watched a long time ago called Cathy Come Home. We are all only a few steps away from hardship.

Taking away tents isn't an answer. Fix the support services, get the govt to invest in social housing (and not just the more palatable options such as shared ownership), and start adopting compassion.

These headline grabbing Twitter posts are so divisive and so damaging. Hoping SB gets a lot of tents for Christmas- preferably piled outside her front door.

After thirteen years of the Tories in charge so many people in Britain are sleeping in tents that it has become a problem in our cities.

We really need a new government.

If they're outlawed then there needs to at least be an option of a warm bed for homeless people. With homeless people there usually is and they don't take it (often as homeless shelters might have their own issues).

There's no need for tents though. Town centres should not look like bloody Glastonbury.

I used to work in homelessness and many homeless day services offer a 'care of address' to allow individuals to apply for benefits and have an address for housing purposes etc.

She’s truly disgusting. And in some ways, very stupid. The Tories have been trying to punish people out of being sick, disabled and poor for 13 years now and it still hasn’t worked. When do you think the message will sink in?

Of course as some of the replies on here show, in other ways she isn’t stupid at all because no matter how appalling the policy is, someone will support it if it gives them a sense of superiority over someone else worse off than themselves. They’d never end up living in a tent because they’re so much better than those people. The same mentality that had crowds at public hangings, just retooled for the 21st century.

Yes

the old people could die during covid and now the homeless feckless can die to

e en the Victorian would be shuddering with disbelief at the callous attitude

Sorry I was trying to reply to someone further up thread who asked about how homeless people can get an address for benefit purposes etc but the reply button hasn't worked.

These people do exist. Several people were kind enough to support my uncle I've already posted about. He spent a year in a farmyard and a winter in someone's garage that was offered after they found him sleeping in a shop doorway.

It needs repeating as some posters do not seem to realise that there are so many empty homes.

What we have and should be talking about is why there is a housing distribution crisis and what could be done to start to address it, not demonising the homeless, refugees or any other group.

She is right though that we don't want our cities to go the way of San Fran and Los Angeles and that's the way they are going. Democrat run cities in America are shocking.

However, large quantities of homeless people shows a collapse in society and that's what needs addressing. What the Tories don't like about the tents is it highlights problems they've caused.

She’s truly disgusting. And in some ways, very stupid. The Tories have been trying to punish people out of being sick, disabled and poor for 13 years now and it still hasn’t worked. When do you think the message will sink in?

its not a message to sink in, tories use poor, sick and dying as propaganda to deflect from giving their chums hand outs and tax breaks - look over there at those poor people taking your money, whilst we really give 200x that to the rich

So quoting from the Article itself

“What I want to stop, and what the law-abiding majority wants us to stop, is those who cause nuisance and distress to other people by pitching tents in public spaces, aggressively begging, stealing, taking drugs, littering, and blighting our communities.”

"Unless we step in now to stop this, British cities will go the way of places in the US like San Francisco and Los Angeles, where weak policies have led to an explosion of crime, drug-taking, and squalor"

I am behind her 100%.

But this is an internet forum so that means the article will be used to peddle more hatred for the Tories and ignoring the real issues.

Incidentally I wonder how many of those up in arms on here would be happy with a row of tents pitched up on the pavement outside their house. Would you be happy to live next to that or get on the phone to the authories and complain?

@Soapyspuds no one wants to see these things. What people want is actual realistic policies to minimise homelessness, not soundbites to advertise party leadership ambitions.

In my area a homeless man died last November of the cold. He slept in a doorway. A tent may have kept him alive. Lifestyle choice my arse

Lifestyle choice my arse

Read the article 🙄

"we cannot allow our streets to be taken over by rows of tents occupied by people, many of them from abroad, living on the streets as a lifestyle choice."