Why should we donate to help people learn when they need to be housed.

The question of why should we help homeless people to learn to read and write,learn skills that might help them get employment always seems to be popping up more often now. As more and more charities fight for their slice of the donating public. Well firstly I would say that people who are homeless and in that state of limbo of being in society but not being apart of it are usually the least skilled. Most are looking for ways to get to do things they know they can do with help and if we don't hold out that helping hand they don't stand a chance of fully rejoining society.
As I harp on about the way we can help people like teaching the basic life skills more and more people are entering the hidden homeless system. It does seem that we need to expand our learning and skills and now teach them skills that would be useful in gaining employment and keep them in employment.
Donations are the only way of doing this for most charities. My own goal for next year is getting employment full time and as I learn more and more each day. I have a certain drive and passion to work in the homeless sector and I think that because I have been on the other side of the fence will come in handy. So to all you that are saying why should I donate well, now you know.

Welcome to hotel homeless

It is 8.15pm in London. Jackie Wright, 36, and Karl Brown, also in his 30s, are getting ready for bed. They set their duffel bags down across the road from Scotland Yard, stack cardboard boxes on the concrete floor, pull a duvet over them and huddle under for warmth. Further down Victoria Street, others are crawling into sleeping bags. Some hide their heads in cardboard boxes to block out the street light and traffic noise. By 9.30pm, the 500-metre stretch fronting Carlton Cards to Clarks Shoes is lined with a dozen sleeping bags. Forty others, too hungry to sleep, have gathered at nearby Howick Place, where a charity sandwich van is due to arrive to distribute food. Welcome to Hotel Homeless, a scene that plays out all over London come nightfall. This could be a piece written by Charles Dickens but it is actually a piece from the Singapore times an interviewer wrote in December but this is exactly what happens all across Britain every single night of the week. How do we put an end to homelessness? That's a question that has been asked for years and no matter how we try to improve lives? It always seems that only a few actually do change. The question I am being asked are shouldn't homeless people getting a base be more important than IT skills, learning ect, my answer to this question is if say we have 250 rough sleepers and only forty can be housed. Should we leave them to walk the streets doing nothing or should we help them do something like learning to use a computer or learning to read as write. Should we help them take that first step towards being independent then when they do get a place they can be half way ready to re-enter society.

Answer to the suns a dossier is for life not just for Christmas

Well firstly I have been a guest and am now a volunteer at the crisis open Christmas. I know how important it is to take that first step in changing ones life. When crisis first started yes it was just about getting people off the street for the seven day Christmas period but it has become more than that. It has now become about showing homeless people how they can change their lives for the better. The seven days is now the first step. The first point of contact
As for the statement there's is no need for begging this is down to the individual and remember it is an offence to beg but would you rather give to a beggar or be robbed blind because there is no other way of surviving on the streets.
As to saying no one should be homeless in Britain. I whole-heartedly agree but the fact is there are and there will be even more. This year for instance their will be around 250 rough sleepers applying for vacancies by the time the crisis shelter closes its doors and only forty of those will be housed because that is all the hostel places there are. This is the highest number of rough slepers we have seen for quite some years said a housing advisor.the strange thing is most of these are long term rough sleepers.
I was also one of those addicts Mr Gaunt of the sun was on about. Let me tell you something I know to be a fact. Anyone who has a habit whether it is drink or drugs will not be cured just because they are forced to have treatment. We have already seen people who have been sent to prison for two to three years come out clean and return to their former lives. Yes we do have a drug and drink culture in this country and it does seem to be getting worse as we see younger people become entangled. It doesn’t take much to make someone homeless and it could be you or me. It’s that easy. If this government don’t do something positive soon then we will be back at square one where we have over one hundred thousand around the country rough sleeping the way things are going.
Not all homeless people are drug addicts or alcoholics or mentally ill. Some are just homeless and even they cannot get into safe and secure accommodation.
No worker gets paid for the work they do at Christmas. They pay there own fares to get here and the fact that they come at all should tell you something. I have seen with my own eyes how hard charity workers who get paid actually do work. Homelessness is not just a Christmas thing it’s all year round and trying to get the message across that things are not working is the hardest. The trouble is homelessness has been around hundreds of years and it has become common place to see and no cure has yet been found.
Last but not least if it hadn't been for crisis and their Christmas shelter I would still be an addict and homeless.

The forgotten few

I was so tired when I got home on Christmas eve that I couldn't sleep for quite a while. So it was about 3am when I finally drifted off. And when I woke it was 2pm on Christmas day and I had missed my morning shift at the shelter but what I couldn't get from my mind was that on the way home we still had people sleeping rough even though they could have gone to the crisis open Christmas for a good nights sleep, something to eat and maybe just to get warm. So I made up some turkey sandwiches and took them round with some bottles of coke I got from my local shop. I ask them why they hadn't gone to the shelter and the answers I got where that some were not English and thought they would not be welcome. Some were to afraid to go as there were too many people they knew and were afraid of. Some were just so used to sleeping out that the thought of being surrounded by others frightened them. I asked if any of the handouts had been they said no but were quite hopeful that some would come on boxing day. It's funny but as we concentrate on the people who come to the shelters over the Christmas hols and receive all the help that's given. It seems that a few are forgotten and these are the people that need our help the most. I remember myself and the volunteer that took me to my first crisis. I was just like the lost souls i have been meeting. I was one of the lucky ones. So if you see someone sleeping out. Buy them a sandwich or hot drink or just say hello. Just saying hello will show them they are not being forgotten and it does cheer them up and it doesn't cost a thing.

homeless alone?

The newspapers and tv seem to be concentrating on families that are in temporary accomodation even that figure seems to be on the low side but no one ever says the words single homeless people of which the esitmate is higher than the governments. Which is what most homeless charities are saying. If i have said this once i'll say it again. If you are single and homeless you are automatically at a disadvantage because you are single and not seen as piority. Should your choice to be single be held against you? The figures on homelessness i know are wrong and as many people say, this government are trying to hoodwink us. and as they try to convince us that they are right. Homeless people still suffer.
I have been asked what can be done? There are a number of things one is to help homeless people fit back into society. The other is to devise a way of getting an accurate count and not having the count when the homeless are actually having one night in a church rolling shelter. Until then i personally think we will always see a short fall in government figures and if we are alway getting the number wrong then we will always see homelessness..

Homeless at Christmas

When we think of christmas, we think of spending time with our families and friends. Yet when you are homeless there really isn't any place to go or any family to meet or real friends. That's why i think the crisis open Christmas does work. It brings together people from all walks of life. The strangest thing of all is to see the act of compassion that the volunteers show at christmas and to see it working is quite a sight. Even in the wet shelter but nothing can replace those memories of christmas's that have rushed on by. For some homeless people it is the only time of year they are treated as they would wish to be treated everyday of the year but because they may have problems. They are shunned by society in general. As i have said before until we realise that these are just people with problems and not the problem its self. Then we will still see homeless people everyday of the week. Its like the lottery slogan says it could be you. It only takes one thing to change anyone's life for the worse and once there it takes a superhuman effort to get yourself back to what's called normality.

The first day at crisis open Christmas

The first day a the crisis open Christmas was fairly busy for me as I was meeting people from the press and a few MPs one in particular was Mr Charles Kennedy leader of the Lib Dems who glance at my blog and saw that I wanted to be leader of the party. I did ask him if he was going to quit. He said no and I asked him to let me know when he does.
seeing some of the faces from the previous year is always a sad thing but if you look at it from another point of view it does kind of let you know they are still alive and kicking which is a good thing. That means there is still a chance that they can change their lives. I'm an optimist and I believe that if someone is ready to change and is given the chance to do so they will. Well I hope to have photos soon of the arena and the people that come to crisis.

A Christmas wish to all

Well, it's nearly here that time of the year when everybody reflex's on the year that has just flown by. There will be family Christmas parties going on all over the world for some it will be the only time they see each other in a year. What I was thinking about was all those parents that are sitting by their phones this Christmas waiting for their loved ones to call like they have been doing all year round. I hope this Christmas that their prayers will be answered and if you are one of those that have been missing from home take five mins to call just to say hello, how are you. To all those that know me and think I am a pain in the rear. Happy Christmas to you and to all those I don't know. Merry Christmas and happy new year to you as well.

Kidnapped

I have just come from a Christmas party where they kidnapped you from home and take you to an undisclosed party venue. Yes I am a bit worse for wear but I'm happy. This is a first for me to be invited to a party where I know people and there are no drugs. ( except from the crisis party I go to every year where there are just people having such a great time.) but as I talked to people that I once would have thought normal members of society. I became increasing aware that they to had problems. Some the same as what I have. It's funny we all think that people who have jobs and career's as these people that are really making something of themselves but in reality some of these people are struggling to be just themselves. Why I don't have a clue. I suspect it's that old thing of trying to fit in and being appreciated which we all work so hard at. Take me for instance I thought I was the bees knees, when I could write but as I have improved I have learned that there are better. That's what I think is the matter with society in general we don't accept that their maybe someone or something better. Don't mind me I am a bit worse for wear but I was just thinking.

A reply to anonymous

!4 yr olds are one of the most vulnerable people in society because they are still teenagers that think they have grown up. I know from personal experience that just talking doesn't always work. You asked me what I would do I would show him what it could lead to. It's like the TV advert that shows you what could happen if you drink but to show someone in real life what could happen and for them to speak to someone who has been there and got the t shirt so to speak could have the biggest impact. If it was my son or daughter I would show them and ask them is this where you want to be in 18mths because that's how long you have before you fall. If you haven't collapsed by then. Children today need to be shown the true reality of things and if they're smart it can be life changing.

Answer to David's comment

I would agree with you whole heartedly if it wasn't for the fact that homelessness is now on the increase again. In the Westminster area alone the rise is around 80 more people sleeping on the streets and all the bed spaces they have are now full. As you know it is hard for the government to included homelessness on any agenda as they say they are eradicating it slowly but surely. I personally don't think it is a matter solely about just building more social housing in villages as part of keeping communities together is the answer but it could be part of it. I think it's about getting society to accept that we do have a problem and that it will take sometime to solve. The other major problem of becoming homeless is on how to get back into society once you have been socially excluded because being excluded from society is a major part of the homelessness problem. I can't remember how many times I have heard the words we don't want these people on our doorsteps but it's been quite a few. In my opinion is we need to re-educate these people that think it's not their problem because we are all members of society no matter what.

John bird MBE founder of the big issue

Well, John bird is at it again giving his usual Christmas controversial titled speech.
preventable and predictable. Which in it he tries to give an outline of problems and an insight into the solution but I think if you look at from an overall perspective I think it's just a rehash of what he says most years. Because we all know that we need to prevent people from becoming homeless or being drug addicts ect: The fact that he says we need to rethink things the way we over spend money on the immediate need of homeless people. He says we must take a large part of the emergency money and refocus it on prevention in the early stage, but when I asked the question. What happens to the people that need the help there and then? His answer was just say, yes some will suffer but we wouldn't need to fund a cure later on if we focused on prevention.
We have an estimated 380,000 homeless and hidden homeless single people and it is expected that will rise next year. By the year 2020 it is estimated that there will be 1,000,000. I think we must concentrate on homeless people now and look at ways of preventing homelessness in the future. We must also get the various organizations together to spear head joint ventures.
As to homeless people working this is the questions I myself have raised this year on many occasions and the question on how many homeless people actually work for homeless charities which would seem to make sense to me and like the big issue how many homeless vendors actually work for the big issue as writers or such. Now that would be a sense of achievement even I could talk about.
For John bird to say we as a society have a big problem is an understatement. Homelessness has been around for hundreds of years with no end in site. It was thought in the early years that by ending child labour homelessness would be reduced. Even When the homeless charity crisis was formed it was thought that homelessness could be eradicate within ten years but thirty years on it still exists. The problem has grown much bigger today because we have a youth culture that use drugs and drink. We do have a society in parts on the verge of being lawless.
Just because we see the problem. It doesn't mean we don't have to find a cure and prevention is not the only answer.
so my answer to you your headline preventable and predictable is it doesn't matter whether what background you come from there's is always the chance that it could be you on the street and sometimes it is not preventable sometimes it's not even predictable. What some charities are doing today is not predictable but is having an effect on the outcome.

A speech to be leader of the Lib Dems

I was just lying here on my bed for a few minutes thinking I would like to apply for the leadership of the lib dems that's if Mr Kennedy does quit. I mean if you look at it from my point of view. Who knows better than any MP what drive and determination you have to have to change a whole lot of things.
What would I do about homelessness I make it fairer on single homeless people and not have that barrier that says its ok you can cope because they are simply single or categorizing homeless people under the heading of addicts.
I would introduce so many things, like half payment fees for students but they would have to enter in to a contract so it could be paid back at a certain rate according your employment status. That's assuming you get a job after college but it would only be paid back once you entered employment.
Now I know people will shake in their boots at this but where bulling goes on as I see it I would make it a criminal offence because the way I see bullying is that it is pure intimidation and physical abuse and it is an offence that adults go to prison for but it's not called bullying it's called assault and there are two kind also physical and verbal. I haven't yet worked out what kind of punishment but believe me it wouldn't be pleasant. Probably army cadet training rather than prison.
I would also put two pence in the pound on tax because everyone wants the NHS, free school meals, better roads, better pensions and so forth and we can see for ourselves it's just not working the way things should be at this moment in time but I would be honest and say maybe you don't like my ideas but this is it. This is what our country needs. It doesn't need any new deals that really don't offer much. It doesn't need any five point plans that only get to part three and then are scrapped because an election is due. It doesn't need any political speeches that offer promises that lead to nothing. So would I make a good candidate?

A sad bad week but a lesson learned

Having a really bad week is not the best thing in the world but when things sometimes mount up and up. You don't realize just how much until you have a what's it's all been for week. My week started off really great. Then on Thursday morning things just went from bad to worse. Firstly I lost a plastic bag containing money which didn't belong to me and my camera. I spent nearly half a day retracing my steps with no luck. I even accused a couple of people of stealing it. Which I now know to be true but proving it is another thing. I was so mad but mostly angry with myself for not being more careful. Then yesterday I got the shock of my life as I was sitting on my sofa. My front window got broken once again by drunken yobs waiting at the bus stop. They are always throwing bottles and stuff at each other. One day they are going to hurt someone.
So you can imagine how I had been feeling without this happening as well. Still Thursday night when I had to tell my friends that I'd lost their money that was the hardest thing I have had to do. Funny thing is I didn't need to as I don't think she would have known until much later on say after christmas but I thought that being honest was best as the trust that people put in me is something I have never had before and letting them down just wasn't on the cards. It still left me feeling funny and confused. I spent Friday sort of hiding from people because I felt so guilty. I was in my own world thinking if I'd only have not left my bag and gone to make a cup of tea. If only I'd not done this or that but it's just like every mistake you ever make you start to say if only. It took my windows being broken to break me out of the grim mood I was in. To be honest I had begun that train of thought that can sometimes drive addicts back to their addiction.I started to think, why were things happening to me? Maybe all this wasn't meant to be? Now I know how some people feel when things go so badly wrong and how hard it is to get back up and continue to do the right thing. So it's been a sad week for me and a depressing one but I can say this has been one more lesson of life.

Crisis open Christmas

A week on Friday and at 2pm homeless people will be walking through the doors of this years crisis open Christmas to a welcome they don't often get when on the streets.
The issue of homeless will be debated as per usual before and after Christmas with some people saying that we don't actually need the crisis open event which has been held now for 33 years with this coming one being the 34th. I have been a guest and I am now a volunteer at Christmas. My opinion of the event is that if it was not needed why would 1500 hundred homeless people come along to it? This figure does include a number of hidden homeless which means people that live in B and B's and hostels.
My own first Christmas was not one I remember too much about as I was doing a cold turkey instead of eating one. As turkey was not on my menu that year. My second was really remarkable as everyone that helped me the year before remembered my name and I didn't feel like a statistic that was having to be moved from one place to another as I had all year long. The open Christmas is not only about talking to homeless people and getting them clean clothing or getting them to see doctor. It's about that first point of contact. Which in many day centers you do not get because to see anyone you often have to queue and many homeless people do not make that contact because they know from past experience they become just a face and a statistic. Whispers I hear from certain quarters about things at Christmas being predictable and preventable make me so angry because my first point of real human contact was at a crisis open Christmas and I wouldn't be where I am now if that had not happened. To me crisis is not just the seven days of being a human being again. Crisis open Christmas is the gateway to much, much more
Oh and yes we still need volunteers for the night shift. contact crisis.org.uk

What a morning.

I thought I was kind of normal now I'm beginning to think I am not a full shilling. I should explain over the years I have done something's that I have ended up in court for and been given fines and I have even been sent to prison but like most addicts I never paid the fines and over the last twelve months things seem to be catching up with me. So you can imagine my horror when my doorbell rang and four beefy policemen said in unison are you one Jamie McCoy. I had to think because there might have been two of me but it was just like a scene from a Monty python sketch. I thought it funny especially after the last time they came. I asked then if there was anything else outstanding and the answer was no. To send four policemen after a �35 fine seems to me a little excessive I paid it on the spot because it was either that or do not pass go or collect two hundred pounds just go straight to jail for 21 days and with Christmas coming I didn't fancy jail. The point what I am trying to make is that four policemen who could have been doing something else like catching muggers, Shoplifter's, murders or making our streets safer. How the hell can it be justified when you have court appointed warrant officers? It has cost the tax payers 20 times as much just to collect �35 and while they were collecting it three mugging one burglary four asaults occurred somewhere in this country. I think we need to look at the way we used police manpower and the way fines are collected especially small ones. I know that most people like me used to always try to avoid paying the fine but if you look at things logically most will end up in court again. Now surely the fine can be gotten or more time to pay can be granted then. The warrants any court issues seems to work when someone skips court. There has to be a better way. No I am not angry that they came, just shocked as it was only for not having a valid travel ticket. Well I supose I am a little angry as I am now broke and my new regime of buying fresh food has gone to pot and to make things worse I'm begining to think that maybe this month might be jinked

Controversy

Am I controversial? That's the question I am asking myself as I blog away. I don't think I have been that way inclined since I started this blog but if people find me controversial then that's ok because it means I am making people think. If only I could do the same with this government. My only hope is to keep telling them facts and then I might write something that does touch a nerve. Then I can really say what I think and mostly what I know to be fact.

A response to the figures on homelessness

Housing minister Yvette Cooper has welcomed the reduced the number of people becoming homeless by saying this the lowest number of cases since 1985. Once again the national statistic is that 7350 fewer homelessness acceptances. Well, when you have councils all over the country passing homeless people from one council to another. What do you get? A lower figure.
My argument is are any figures on homelessness accurate especially when we see a rise in homelessness and do they take in to account people that are in temporary accommodation or sleeping on friends floors.
Take Brian Lamond from Leeds he has been to three different offices in the last six months but couldn't get no where. So he moved here to London in march of last year and he is still on the streets.
How many homeless people have moved to the out skirts of our cities and by doing so avoided the head counts? Which by the way is being seen more and more.
Have they only counted the homeless that you can see at night in shop doorways or in plain sight? What about those in subways in the back entrance of office blocks and those off the beaten track. What about those that go to the church night shelters. We see them during the day but not at night and as we know head counts are only taken late at night. When the church shuts its doors in march. We will see them all day and night.
Single homeless people. These are the words we should be hearing from the government because it is these people that are at a disadvantage. They are not classed as a family how can they be?
I have to admit there had been a large reduction in single homeless people actually living on the streets but over the last six months it has begun to rise again.
Why do I say single people are at a disadvantage? Well, if you have a child and you are single you are more likely to be housed. If you are a couple with a child you're more likely to be housed. But if your single and on your own, you have come to your first hurdle. Being single is not a priority according to local councils and If you go to any council you have to be awarded points. You get none for being single. You do get a few for being on the streets but only after you prove it. How do you prove it? How do you prove you have not become intentionally homeless lets say you face being evicted and you have a violent landlord who will employ extreme measures. So you leave. You've made yourself intentionally homeless because you live in fear but one council states that we have to stick to the government guide lines.
If you are single and in a hostel you're not a Priority you have a roof over you're head. So you're on another loser there. In one hostel in London there's a man that's been there fifteen years. Homeless people will always be at a disadvantage but single homeless people will always suffer simply because they choose to be single. It doesn't matter what problems single homeless people have we will not be able to address them unless the government decide that there is a fairer way of treating single homeless people and lets face it we have anti discriminatory laws for most things like age. Sex and so on. So why should single homeless people be discriminated against because that's what it feels like. Until we get rid of this second class syndrome and treat homeless people as part of society. We will not move forward no matter how many head counts or government statistics we take. Its such a pity that so much talent is going to waste because homeless people have to worry about how they are going to survive and believe me there are some very intelligent people on the streets and they would tell you how wrong the figures are.

Well folks I am feeling much better I've had enough of lying on my settee wrapped in my blanket, moping about, thinking why does it always happen to me. Tomorrow I face the world once again. I bet I sound like some crusader from years gone by. I have decided to only cook what's in my freezer not my fridge in future.
I was thinking this though, being alone and being ill was such a drag and a pain but it has been the only time this year I have a chance to look back at what I have achieved this year. What have I done that defines this year I have to say my blog. I get comments and emails from all over the world but what I think most is that I tell the truth no matter how hard it maybe. I try to tell people just how hard it is living on the streets. How once you become homeless you become really a non entity, a second class citizen. I have also tried to tell people the causes of homelessness by telling peoples stories. I have also made the point that even ordinary people have problems and that by making one wrong choice it could have been them. I have tried to put the governments side of things and what they intend to do if anything.
We haven't had a severe winter for a decade and we do have day centers and hostels although full continue to do good work, well most of them. We have people like the crisis organization that look to the future and how people can grow. So it's easy to forget that people are really struggling all over the world from discease, war and famine and how lucky we are in this country to have people fighting for our rights like health housing ect.
It's just a shame that the cure is so near yet so far.

A small Sunday rant.

What I don't get is when these people say that there shouldn't be homeless people in a country like ours. Yet they see it everyday when they walk to work or on their way home and most never stop to think how can I help make this better simply because it doesn't concern them and that it's not happening to them. I think we forget that homelessness is the result of problems in our society. Around the world we see the causes of homeless and some of them so bad. When we look at our own problems we don't really see them. If you take what's being called hidden homeless just because people have a roof over their heads it doesn't mean it is the solution, the cure. There are far more under lying problems like alcoholism and drug addiction or mental health or even physical abuse. When the election was running there was no mention of homelessness on any political party agenda. Now the in words today are socially excluded. Which covers anything from being crippled to not educated. It seems to me that this government are prepare to say we will help the socially excluded but which ones do they mean because you can't put them all underneath one umbrella. Homeless people are treated as a non entity in modern society. They are only seen by most parts of society as the problem. Not the out come of problems. We as a human society seem to sweep things under the carpet. I think we should now be facing the problem head on and ending a problem that is hundreds of years old. After all we may think homelessness is a modern day problem but I can assure you it's not.

It's not funny

Why does it always happen to me is the question I keep asking myself. I should explain that I have been on this homemade cooking thing for a few months now and on Tuesday night I decided to make a steak and kidney pie out of what I had left in my fridge. So I made the pie and ate it and it didn't taste too bad but I thought I over cooked it. Anyway I was having trouble with stomach pains and having to go to the toilet and being sick. So I went to the doctors yesterday morning and I have had to spend last night in the hospital for observation as I had given myself food poisoning but that's not the end of it this morning just before I am being discharged I am told by the specialist that he reads my blog and knows who I am. So we chatted for a few minutes and he tells me he is going to write his own blog and I asked him how I am and if things will be all right and he tells me I will live. it's not funny because this year things seem to have happened to just me repeatedly

Who is to blame

Today I read for the first time that homeless people should take some responsibility for there situation. This was on a blog from someone who reads mine. Well I have to say in the early days I blamed my parents, the government and virtually anybody I could think of. My life hasn't been perfect but the mistakes that I made were I have to say my own. Sorting them out and putting them right now that was the hardest thing. The thing is, just like everyone I suppose asking for help is difficult and when you have a thirty year drug habit things can be a little touchy but I did it and I didn't go into drug rehab. I did it still living on the streets I learned to read and write still living on the streets but when I needed the help to go further and get off the streets I got it because there where people that still cared. If I slip up ( God forbid) and take a step backwards are people still going to be there I think so because that's what life is all about trial and error. We all make mistakes some not so big but we are all supposed to learn by them. I learn new things everyday and to tell the truth I wouldn't want it to stop. Although I regret what I call my lost years. I know I am hugely to blame for them. Then again what's the point in blaming anyone. Instead of sitting on the side lines .Why not just get on with things and help where you can? After all you cannot get back what's gone. You can only improve your life for today and thinking about tomorrow isn't really much good as plans always change. So you see along the way I have learned quite a lot but without help I wouldn't have.

Below are the MPs that came to the meeting in the houses of parliament. Notice how they are all Liberal Democrats

Tim Farrant MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale

Also at the meeting was Susan Kramer MP for richmond park London

This is Lembit Opik MP for Montgomeryshire Wales.

This is me crying because I thought I was going to become leader of the Conservatives and my friends have just told me David Cameron has just been elected or soon will be new party leader.

This is graham, Jocelyn, Yvonne of the big voice tour and MP Greg Mulholland MP for Leeds north west and I was there somewhere

What a day

Yesterday I decided to give my computer a break as I am on it seven days a week for at least six hours a day but I have to say Tuesday was what I would call a good day. Myself and other members of the big voice tour met with several liberal democrats MPs in the houses of parliament to put our points of view across and to ask questions and to listen to what they had to say and I hope they really listened to what we had to say. The idea behind the big voice tour was to say well now you have said the homeless can vote and as I did point out that there are 380,000 homeless and hidden homeless so that means there are potentially that many that can vote and half would if they thought they would be listened to but the idea was to get future MPs to listen to us and try to work out solutions to the problems homeless people face after all who better to tell them the ups and downs of being homeless.

Imagine this Christmas

I think John Lennon had it right when he wrote the words imagine all those people. It's easy if you try. So what I want you to do is close your eyes and imagine it's Christmas eve at 11 58 in the evening and Christmas day is just moments away and there is a stillness in the air. No cars are driving by as usual. No one chattering. No couples kissing in shop doorways on their way home. Just silence. Then you hear the clocks strike midnight. Its Christmas day and yet your still alone, cold, feeling sad and maybe your hungry too, but you know you have to save what you have because the shops that are open are expensive and you know you'll have to wait for the cheaper ones to open. So all there is, is you and your memories of how it was and how you wish it could be. Imagine how lonely that must feel.
It doesn't matter whether you're ill, a drug addict or an alcoholic or just homeless. No one should be alone at Christmas it's a time for family and friends. It's not a time to be on your own thinking of the could have beens and the maybe's. It's the same all over the world for the homeless and the lost at Christmas but just imagine what could be achieved with a little bit of hope and compassion? Not just here in the UK but all over the world. What a sight it would be if everyone just went out and handed a blanket or a sandwich and hot drink. What a few days this Christmas would be and say if you spoke to someone say at that hostel or place you don't really know to much about. You know about it because of its reputation. I think you'd be surprised how normal people are.
I think it would be an outstanding Christmas if it happened because it doesn't have to be gifts at Christmas. It just has to be a bit of humanity. Anyway that's my wish list for Christmas as stupid as it may sound.

Epitaph

I was thinking about my best friend who just one day lay down and died right in front of me and me being stoned just thought he was just taking a nap like he always did. I wrote this poem when I first learned how to read and write

Whose is that face behind the can
The face you hardly ever see
It could be you
It could be me
Swaying this way that
Speech a little slurred
Hands that shake with can
Eyes a little blurred
His day will start with a can or two
Then he'll beg for another few
Then feeling rough a little tired
Place him self up on the ground
Without a murmur without a sound
In your way he doesn't care
Doesn't matter if you're there
He says his world is full of fools
He Doesn't know it's just the booze
When he awakes and no booze is there
Has silent anger so much rage, beware
He'll beg and beg and beg some more
His normality will return for sure
This empty world is all he knows
But life for him just slowly goes
No real desire to change his ways
His way of life so full of yesterdays
On headstone some one wrote made it plain and clear
This man he was my friend
His way of life
It just brought him here

Volunteers required

As Christmas comes ever closer and the homeless start to look forward to the only time of year they don't have to worry about finding a card board box or blankets or which shop doorways they are sleeping in. Crisis the homeless charity are now gearing up for them but to pull off another successful Christmas help is needed and this is where you the public come into your own.
Around 1500 will spend seven days at the crisis open Christmas and most will need some kind of help from being welcomed to being shown where the doctor, dentist or opticians are. Too just having a normal conversation. Christmas is about giving and compassion.
So if you are spending another Christmas on your own or you are you doing nothing special this Christmas or even if you have only a couple of days to spare. Become a volunteer for crisis you'd be surprised at what you'd get out of it. Not only would you get the satisfaction of doing something worth while. But you would meet so many amazing people, guests and volunteers. I have been a volunteer myself and wouldn't miss a Christmas. To find out more go to crisis.org.uk . You can apply on line. Hope to see you there.

Someone always takes advantage

As I stood outside a north London church nightshelter with someone I took there. So they could get a nights sleep and something to eat. While we where waiting for it to open there was a sort of drunken scuffle and a lot of heated words but the main topic of argument was that there were people in the queue that had places to live and that they were taking the places that someone homeless genuinely needed. I was not surprised in the least. When people have somewhere to live they seem to edge back towards the streets every so often. I used to spend one night every so often just to remind me that one slip and I could be back for good. I always called it the loneliness of me. Going from the streets to a hostel to a flat can be the most loneliest time in the world for someone that's not had a place of their own. Company is sometimes all they require and it's not their intention to deprive someone of a nights sleep. Most of them have something to eat and a chat then go home but you do always get the ones that just don't give a dam. They stay the night taking someone's place that's needed. I have to admit I did it on two occasions when I was in my first hostel. I had to leave it because there was me trying to stay drug free and there where drugs being taken and sold there. I desperately wanted to stay clean. On a couple of occasions I stayed in one of these winter night shelters. I eventually went back on to the streets from the hostel. Just to get away from the drugs it was the best decision I ever made besides to stop using drug altogether. Although some people thought I was crazy. I am still clean to prove it.
There will always be someone to take advantage of any situation whether it be at work or someone homeless. It's just the way things are and we have to expect these things. There is no real way of stopping it unless we start using lie detector tests. We have to take certain things into account and besides most of the homeless people are known and they know it too.

The world doesn't stop

I get a lot of late night reading done now things have started to run smoothly. It was the one thing I hated most when I was learning to read and write but as I cast my eyes over the web or try to ask google for answers to some problems. It seems I always come up with answers I didn't want. Sometimes they're quite shocking revelations. Sometimes I started talking and laughing in disbelief. The one thing I do know is that as I search for answers they always seem to lead me back in time and to centuries ago. When there where work houses and children as young as nine and ten working 15hrs a day and homelessness was not so shocking as it is today. I have been trying to imagine what it was like for a homeless person in those days but I always come to the conclusion that although we are homeless life is not as hard as it was then. I'm not saying being homeless is easy its not and I should know but I keep asking the question. Would I have survived in those days? I always come up with the answer no. Life is hard no matter who you are but not so many of the people who are what we would call middle class would exist today if things hadn't changed dramatically. We still have homelessness around the world and it does seem as if its here to stay like the oldest profession in the world, prostitution. No matter what we try to do it just doesn't want to go away. When crisis first started it was thought it would take ten or twenty years and the problem would be solved but it still rears its ugly head. So when I hear or see some article like the ones I see from people that don't know a damn about being homeless it makes me so angry. I was thinking of wearing my t shirt that says I have been homeless and I have t shirt to prove it but the world will not stop because there are people that just get by. By just about surviving or that people have become immune to certain things. History tells me things do get better. It's just a question of when?

Poetry blog

At long last I have had the time to put my poetry on a blog one that's all me. Jamies world of poetry and I will write one a day for the blog or until words fail me.

My answer

In most counties whether it be Britain. America. Australia Africa, there will always be people out to get what they can when people show compassion. The vast majority are just like you and me they want a home, they want work and if they suffer from some affliction like addiction they want help and need it. Just because we see it everyday doesn't mean we have to become immune to it. I get the feeling that there is something beyond your unwillingness to have compassion for someone else. I get the feeling that your not telling me everything.
In this country the emphasis has now turned to people who have unsettled ways of life and temp accommodation and need help getting work or permanent accommodation so they can intergrate themselves back into main stream society. We don't want to see people living on the street. We don't want the conmen either but the choice to give money to someone on the street is down to the individual no one forces them to. There's no law that says you can't say no, but it's what we call compassion when you do and maybe that little you give might just be their turning point. I spent over thirty years living on the street and an addict. So in a sense I was your worst nightmare. I was that person, that bum as you call them. How do you change someone's habits of a life time? By helping them. It takes time to sort out a nations problems but we will eventually get there maybe not in our life time but it will happen one day.
We all live with regrets. I know I do and there's people I owe an awful lot to but if I go to another place say just five miles away there's a story going round that I died from an overdose. What I am saying is you shouldn't believe all you hear. Hearsay was one of the major causes of war and divorce. I can't say what your country is like because I've never been there but I do know this, that everyone has a dream in America it's called the American dream in Britain it's just a dream. But for most people it's the same dream everyone wants some place to call home, a job and for some a family. Everyone wants to smile when they meet each other. That's what I call normal. To get there is the problem and the more people that keep on saying what about me? When we can see for ourselves that there is a problem. The longer the problem will take. My advice is simple don't give money to people on the street. Give it to something that will make a difference.

This was a comment

drbloggingon has left a new comment on your post "Not a member of the street anymore": I WANT TO EXPRESS THAT THIS IS NOT AN OPINION IT'S A TRUE ACCOUNT OF MY EXPERIENCES.FOR 8 YEARS I HAVE BEEN ON A QUEST TO FIND A NICE PLACE TO LIVE AND NOW I AM FACED WITH THE CHOICE OF COLD WEATHER AND BUMS OR WARM WEATHER AND BUMS, UNFORTUNATELY THERE WERE NO ALTERNATIVES THAT DID NOT INCLUDE BUMS, DRUNKS, DRUG ADDICTS, CRACK HEADS,VAGRANTS, HOMELESS, PANHANDLERS OR WHATEVER THEY ARE CALLING THEMSELVES.WHY DOES ALL THE SYMPATHY AND UNDERSTANDING GO TO THE DRUNK, DRUGGED OUT AND CON ARTIST HOMELESS COMMUNITY, WHY NO SYMPATHY FOR ME?ABOUT ME, I AM A NATIVE CALIFORNIAN, I AM A WOMAN, I AM A MINORITY. I GIVE TO CHARITIES.I HAVE VOLUNTEERED IN HOMELESS SHELTERS, I USE TO SPEAK, ONE ON ONE TO THE HOMELESS ABOUT THEIR SITUATION. I WAS RAISED TO TREAT PEOPLE EQUALLY.I'M TRADITIONALY A DEMOCRATE BUT I AM NOW ONLY WILLING TO SUPPORT CANDIDATES THAT ARE AGAINST THE PROGRAMS THAT ENABLE THIS BEHAVIOR. WHY DO WE CONTINUE TO APOLOGIZE FOR GENTRIFICATION, RENOVATION AND THE REVITALIZATION OF NEIGBORHOODS? WE PAID FOR IT YET THE HOMELESS ORGANIZATIONS MAKE US FEEL GUILTY. WE PAY THOUSANDS TO LIVE IN MAJOR CITIES AND THEY PAY NOTHING AND WANT THE SAME PRIVILIGES. TO MAKE IT WORST THEY ASK US FOR MONEY IN FEARFUL FACE TO FACE ENCOUNTERS AND MAKE US PAY THROUGH TAXES AND MANY OTHER WAYS. DRUNKENESS, DRUG ABUSE AND VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ARE NOT DISEASES THEY ARE CHOICES. I COULD HAVE BEEN A DRUNK, I COULD HAVE USED DRUGS AND I COULD HAVE STAYED WITH AN ABUSIVE SPOUSE. I HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO ALL OF THESE SITUATIONS. THE CHOICES ARE EVIDENT AND MOST OF US DID NOT MAKE THOSE WRONG CHOICES AND IF WE DID, WE RECOGNIZED SOON ENOUGH TO CORRECT THE MISTAKE BEFORE SLIPPING INTO A HELLISH EXISTANCE. THESE PEOPLE MAKE THE WRONG CHOICES FOR DECADES AND THEY WANT YOU TO PAY, THEY HOLD US RESPONSIBLE AND ATTACK ANYONE THAT HAS THEIR LIFE TOGETHER.WHAT I'VE HEARDI HEAR THE HOMELESS ADVOCATES VOICING THEIR VISION OF THE FUTURE? TO HAVE FULL ACCESS TO ALL STREETS, PARKS, BEACHES, LIBRARIES ETC. TO DEFECATE, UNINATE, SLEEP, CAMP, HAVE SEX AND BE DRUNK IN THE STREETS FOR AN UNLIMITED PERIOD OF TIME? TO KEEP DEVELOPERS OUT SO NO NEW BUILDINGS ARE BUILT AND THEY CAN COMFORTABLY SLEEP IN FRONT OLD BOARDED UP DELAPEDATED DUMPS? IF SO, WHERE CAN THE NORMAL PEOPLE GO? THE ANSWER IS NOWHERE. WHEREVER EVER WE GO, THEY FOLLOW. THEY CAN'T LIVE WITH EACH OTHER, SO THEY MUST LIVE WITH US OR THEY WILL NOT SURVIVE. I HEAR HOMELESS ORGANIZATIONS HAVE STARTED TREATING HOMELESS SITUATIONS AS A LIFE CHOICE. WITH NO QUESTIONS ASKED, WE'RE SUPPOSE TO HELP THEM TO MAINTAIN HOMELESSNESS AND JUST PROVIDE HOUSING WHEN THEY'RE TIRED OF WALKING THE STREETS AND FOOD WHEN THEIR HUNGRY. THEY HAVE DECIDED TO MAKE THEMSELVES A PERMANENT GROUP AND PEOPLE WITH HOMES ARE THEIR ENEMY.I THOUGHT THESE ORGANIZATIONS WERE SUPPOSE TO HELP PEOPLE TO FIND JOBS AND HOUSING.I HEAR PEOPLE SUPPORTING THE CONTINUATION OF GIVING MONEY, BEDS,HEALTH CARE AND THE STOPPAGE OF TICKETS FOR OFFENCES.I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE ANYONE STILL BELIEVES IN THIS FAILED APPROACH.WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE THAT SUPPORT CAMPING AND PUBLIC DEFECATION? MAYBE THEY HAVE A HIGH TOLORANCE FOR FILTH. I HEAR IT'S POLITALLY INCORRECT TO WE SPEAK OUT AGAINST THEM. IF YOU DO YOU ARE DEEMED HEARTLESS, ANTI-HOMELESS AND RACIST SO OUR WORDS, LETTERS, BILLBOARDS ETC.ARE RIDICULED, BANNED AND TAKEN DOWN. WE HAVE NO FREEDOM OF SPEECH WITH THIS GROUP.THAT DOES NOT SOUND LIKE HOPELESS, HELPLESS OR POWERLESS. THEY OBVIOUSLY HAVE A LOT OF SUPPORT OR ELSE ALL OF THE MISSIONS, DETOX CENTERS AND HOMELESS HANGOUT HOTELS, SOUP LINES WOULD NOT KEEP TRYING TO RUIN OUR COMMUNITIES WITH THEIR PRESENCE. I HEAR ABOUT THE ATTACKS ON DEVELOPERS, UNBELEIVABLE. IF DEVELOPERS TAKE A VALUABLE PROPERTY AND BUILD NEW CONDOS ON IT AND CHARGE TO GOING RATE IT'S THEIR RIGHT IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO MAKE A PROFIT, IT'S CALLED BUSINESS. THE HOMELESS THINK EVERY BUILDING SHOULD BE A CHARITY ORGANIZATION WITH FREE RENT. IF YOU CAN'T PAY THE GOING RATE GO ELSEWARE. IF I CAN NOT AFFORD 5000.00 AMONTH RENT ,GUESS WHAT, I CAN LIVE IN THAT APARTMENT. I DON'T EXPECT TO MAKE ANYONE FEEL SO GUILTY THAT THEY GIVE ME THE APARTMENT FOR FREE.I HEAR 40 YEAR OLD DRUNKS SAYING THAT THEY ARE VIETNAM VETS. THIS IS A SCAM. VETS ARE 60+ AND ARE GETTING THE BULK OF SUPPORT FROM THE GOVERNMENT NOT HANDOUTS IN THE STREET.I HEAR THE ARGUMENT THAT IF WE DON'T GIVE THE HOMELESS FREE SHELTER AND FOOD THEY WILL RIOT AND ROB. I THOUGHT THIS COUNTRY HAD A POSITION OF NOT CAVING IN TO TREATS OF ATTACK AND TERROR.THE POLICE WILL HAVE TO GET INVOLVED TO STOP THEIR DRUNKEN ATTACKS. I OFTEN HEAR COMMENTS FROM PANHANDLERS STATING THAT THIS IS BETTER THAN KILLING AND ROBBING. THANKS FOR NOT KILLING ME.I HEAR THE COMPARISONS TO JESUS AND I AM APPAULED. HOW DARE CITIZENS NAME THESE BUMS JESUS. AS FOR BEING HOMELESS, NOT MANY PEOPLE LIVED IN THE SUBURBS WITH TWO CAMEL GARAGES.PEOPLE WERE OFTEN NOMADIC IN THOSE DAYS HIS PARENTS MAY HAVE BEEN BETWWEN HOMES AT THE TIME OF HIS BIRTH BUT JESUS OWNED A HOME IN THE CITY OF CAPERNAUM SEE MARK 2:1 IN THE BIBLE, THE GREEK TRANSLATION FOR HOME IS (OIKOS) HE WAS ALSO A SKILLED CARPENER AND TRADESMAN. BUMS SHOULD STOP USING JESUS TO JUSTIFY THEMSELVES.JESUS HAD A MESSAGE OF LOVE AND HOPE. HE DID NOT BEG IN THE STREETS AND WAS NOT KNOWN TO BE A DRUG ADDICT OR ALCOHOLIC.LONG HAIR DOES NOT MAKE YOU JESUS. I HEAR THAT ANYONE CAN BE HOMELESS AND OF COURSE THAT'S TRUE. HOMELESSNESS FROM NATURAL DISASTER OR UNEXPECTED LIFE CHANGES IS POSSIBLE BUT VAGRANTS ARE HOMELESS BECAUSE THEY ARE DRUNK, DRUGGED OR CON MEN. THE PEOPLE THAT REALLY DESERVE HELP ARE NOT ABLE TO GET IT BECAUSE OF THESE PERSISTANT BUMS.I HEAR THAT MOST OF THE HOMELESS PEOPLE ARE IN AVERAGE AGE 9 YEARS OLD. YET ANOTHER SCAM TO HIDE DRUNKS AND DRUG ABUSERS BEHIND CHILDREN. IF THIS WERE TRUE, I WOULD HAVE BEEN ASKED FOR MONEY BY MOSTLY YOUNG PEOPLE INSTEAD IT'S BEEN 40+ YEAR OLD MEN AND SOME WOMEN ALL DRUNK AND DRUGGED. WHERE ARE ALL OF THE 9 YEAR OLD HOMELESS PEOPLE? I HEAR THAT A LOT OF SENIORS ARE BEING MADE HOMELESS AS RENTS GO UP IN. I FEEL VERY SAD ABOUT THIS ISSUE AND HOPE THAT SENIOR HOUSING WILL BE INCREASED FOR NORMAL SENIORS NOT DRUNKS. IN THIS ECOMOMY IT'S NOT POSSIBLE TO REALLY RETIRE. IF YOU WORK ON A JOB THAT ALLOWS YOU TO RETIRE ON A PENSION AND YOU ADD SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS TO THAT IT MAY NOT KEEP UP WITH THE RENT INCREASES OR IN THE EVENT OF THE BUILDING BEING SOLD, RENOVATED OR TURNED INTO CONDOS.PERHAPS YOU NEED TO KEEP WORKING. IF YOU LIVE IN AN APARTMENT THEY WILL RAISE THE RENT IT SHOULD NOT COME AS A SURPRISE. MY FATHER LIVED IN AN APARTMENT IN SANTA MONICA FOR 30+ YEARS WHEN HE DIED IN THE 90s HIS RENT WAS 175.00 THIS IS NOT NORMAL. I HEAR THE HOMELESS ADVOCATES STATING ALL OF THE RIGHTS THAT THEY ARE ENTITLED TO. FREE FOOD.THE REST OF US HAVE TO PAY.FREE HOUSING.NOT JUST ANY HOUSING BUT IN THE AREAS THAT THEY HANG OUT IN WHICH JUST HAPPENS TO BE IN THE MOST EXPENSIVE EXCLUSIVE AREAS IN THE WORLD.THEY ALSO FEEL THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO LIVE IN A SAFE ENVOIRONMENT. I KNOW HARD WORKING PEOPLE THAT DON'T LIVE IN SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS. FREE HEALTHCARE MANY HARD WORKING PEOPLE CAN NOT AFFORD HEALTH CARE SO HOW CAN THEY EXPECT TO RECEIVE ALL OF THESE SERVICES FOR FREE? SPECIAL LAWS AND COURTS DESIGNED TO ALLOW THEIR OFFENSES TO GO UNPUNISHED. THEY EVEN WANT THEIR TICKETS FOR FREE, WE HAVE TO PAY OUR LEGAL FINES AND THEY DON'T.IT'S THIS ADDITUDE THAT CAUSES THE PROBLEM.I HEAR THE HOMELESS ARE TREATED WORST THAN ANIMALS. WELL THEY BEHAVE WORST THAN ANIMALS. WE DON'T ALLOW ANIMALS TO BEHAVE THIS WAY AND TICKETS ARE ISSUED TO PEOPLE THAT DON'T CLEAN UP AFTER THEIR PETS.OUR PETS ARE ALLOWED TO LIVE WITH US FOR FREE BECAUSE IN MOST CASES THEY CAN NOT WORK AND EARN THEIR KEEP. THE REASON WE KEEP THEM FED AND WARM IS BECAUSE PETS PROVIDE LOVE SUPPORT AND BRING GOOD FEELINGS TO THE THEIR FAMILY. DRUNKS BRING GUILT, DEPRESSION, DESPAIR, FILTH, VIOLENCE, PROSTITUTION, DRUGS AND CRIMES OF ALL KINDS. IF THEY ARE REALLY BETTER THAN ANIMALS, AS HUMANS THEY SHOULD NOT WANT TO DO PRIVATE THINGS IN PUBLIC.I HEAR THAT MENTAL ILLNESS IS PART OF THE PROBLEM, THIS IS A HUGE SCAM. IT'S NOT AN ACCIDENT THAT CALIFORNIA HAS BEEN RUINED BY THESE PEOPLE THEY ARE THERE FOR THE WEATHER AND HIGHER WELFARE PAYOUTS. THEY LIVE NEAR POPULATED, POPULAR AREAS WHERE TOURIST CAN KEEP FEEDING THEIR HABITS. IF THEY WERE REALLY MENTALLY ILL THEY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO NEGOIATE A LIFE ON THE STREET.OBVIOUSLY THEY MAKE ENOUGH MONEY TO KEEP LIVING DECADE AFTER DECADE OFF OF THE STREETS LIKE PARASITES. SOME ARE SLIGHTLY MENTALLY ILL BUT NOT ENOUGH TO BE FED AND HOUSED FOR FREE, FOREVER. BELIEVE ME EVERY BUM LIVING IN A COLD CLIMATE WANTS TO BE IN A WARM CLIMATE SO THE BEHAVIOR CAN CONTINUE IN A MORE COMFORTABLE ENVIRONMENT. THIS EFFORT TO MOVE TO A BETTER PLACE COMES BEFORE ANY EFFORT TO CLEAN UP HIS OR HER LIFE. MENTAL ILLNESS OR CRAZY LIKE A FOX? I HEAR ADVOCATES SAYING THAT THE HOMELESS PEOPLE THAT TALK AND SCREAM TO THEMSELVES ARE HARMLESS. WHAT RIGHT DO THESE PEOPLE HAVE TO DO A MENTAL ASSESSMENT OF THEM, I REJECT THE NOTION THAT THEY ARE HARMLESS. I WAS LOOKING AT THE REGISTERED SEX OFFENDERS IN THE DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO AREA AND SOME OF THE SAME FACES SHOWED UP AS LOCAL HOMELESS THEY ALSO LIVE IN HOMELESS HOTELS LOOK IT UP ON MEGANSLAW.CA.GOV AND COMPARE THE SEX OFFENDER FACES TO THE DRUNKS, DRUGGIES AND BUMS WALKING AROUND AND CHECK OUT THE HOTEL AND HALFWAY HOUSE ADDRESSES. IF THESE PEOPLE ARE SO HARMLESS WHY DO THEY NEED SECURITY AND HAVE TO MAKE PROMISES TO THE POLICE THAT THEY WILL CONTROL THE DRUNKS LOITERING AROUND THEIR BUILDINGS.FOR TO LONG WE HAVE BEEN FORCED TO SACRAFICE THE SAFETY OF OUR CHILDERN JUST SO BUMS CAN LIVE IN NEIGHBORHOOD CHURCHES, HOSPITALS, MISSIONS AND HALFWAY HOUSES TIME AND TIME AGAIN CHILDERN HAVE BEEN HARRASSED, MOLESTED AND MURDERED WHEN THESE BUILDINGS HAVE BEEN IN THEIR LOCATION. THESE PROGRAMS DO NOT WORK. THESE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ON THE STREETS FOR DECADES. IN AND OUT OF SO CALLED PROGRAMS BUMS AND BUM HELPING AGENCIES HAVE BECOME MOBILE GHETTOS. WHERE EVER THEY GO BECOMES AND INSTANT SLUM.I HEAR THE REPORTS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST BUMS. AFTER READING MY PERSONAL ENCOUNTERES YOU CAN SEE THAT THEY BRING THE VIOLENCE ON THEMSELVES. PERSONAL ENCOUNTERS THAT I AND MY FRIENDS HAVE EXPERIENCED IN NY, MOST OF CALIFORNIA, HAWAII, EUROPE AND A FEW PLACES IN BETWEEN. RESTAURANTS: CAFES WITH SIDEWALK TABLES: RUNIED BECAUSE THE SIDEWALKS ARE TO CLOSE TO THE BUMS.WE PAY TO GO TO RESTAURANTS DOWNTOWN AND WE BUY CONDOS TO LIVE IN THE AREA WE WANT TO DANCE IN THE CLUBS AND ENJOY NIGHTLIFE. WE EACH PAY FOR THE PRIVILAGE WHY SHOULD ANYONE NOT HAVE TO PAY ? THEY PUNISH US FOR WORKING AND PAYING TO LIVE FOR OUR KEEP BY LOOKING HORRIBLE ASKING US FOR MONEY WHILE WERE TRYING TO CHOKE DOWN OUR DINNER. I DON'T WANT TO GIVE A LICE INFESTED BUM ANYTHING WHILE I'M EATING. SIDEWALKS:BLOCKING THE SIDEWALK TO FORCE A HANDOUT.WHEN I'M WALKING IN PUBLIC: EVERYTIME I STOP TO DO ANYTHING SOME BUM IS SPYING ON ME, WATCHING ME, STALKING MY EVERY MOVE AND SIZING ME UP AS A PERSON THAT WOULD GIVE A HANDOUT. I AM KIND AND I HAVE A KIND FACE THIS IS WHY I LOOK LIKE A GOOD VICTIM FOR THE SCAM. I KNOW I HAVE TO KEEP WALKING FAST TO BE LEFT ALONE, THE MOMENT I STOP I'M INTERACTING WITH A BUM. PARKS:I F I TRY TO SIT ON THE GRASS IN THE PARK TO EACH LUNCH, WITHIN 5 MINUTES SOME TATTERED BUM IS HOVERING OVER MY FOOD BEGGING.POST OFFICES: PANHANDLING IN FRONT OF THE P.O.BECAUSE OF THE HIGH TRAFFIC.CONVENIECE STORES: BETTER THAN POST OFFICES BECAUSE THEY HAVE HIGH TRAFFIC AND ALCOHOL.I ONCE STOOD BEHIND A WHEELCHAIR BOUND BUM IN FRONT OF 7-11 CONVENIENCE STORE HE WAS TELLING ANOTHER BUM, THAT HE MADE 8 DOLLARS AN HOUR. HE ADDED THAT IF HE BROUGHT HIS CHILDREN, HE COULD MAKE MORE. WAS HE REALLY WHEELCHAIR BOUND?SAN FRANCISO REPORTS THAT UPWARDS OF 40 THOUSAND A YEAR CAN BE MADE PANHADELING ALL DAY. THIS EXPLAINS THE ABILITY TO BUY ALCOHOL, DRUGS, CIGARETTES (VERY EXPENSIVE) AND FOOD FOR DECADESGROCERY STORES: A HIGH TRAFFIC AREA AND PEOPLE OFTEN HAVE CHANGE.I WAS TRYING TO ENTER A STORE IN EAST HOLLYWOOD, WHEN A CHUNK OF STUCCO FROM A PILLAR HIT ME AND MY MOM IN THE HEAD AND FACE. AFTER LOOKING UP TO SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON , IT WAS A CRAZED BUM WITH A HEAVY CHAIN , HE WAS VIOLENTLY SWINGING IT ABOVE HIS HEAD AND BREAKING APART THE PILLARS SUPPORTING THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING.ONCE ON A GROCERY STORE PARKING LOT, I GAVE A BUM A QUARTER. HE TOOK THE QUARTER AND THEW IT TO THE GROUND SAYING WHAT THE F**K CAN I BUY WITH THIS. HIS VERBAL ATTACK CAUSED MY FRIEND TO BECOME VERY ANGRY WITH HIM, IT ALMOST ERUPTED IN VIOLENCE.ON THAT SAME LOT A FEW WEEKS LATER A BUM ASKED ME FOR MONEY AND I IGNORED HIM, HE CALLED ME A RACIAL SLUR. THE LAST TIME I WAS ON THAT LOT A FEW MONTHS LATER, I IGNORED A BUM AND I WAS CALLED A BITCH. ATM MACHINES AND BANKS: HIGH TRAFFIC AND YOU CAN'T SAY YOU DON'T HAVE MONEY.PUBLIC SPACES: NEW YORK HAS SOME BEAUTFUL ATRIUM, WATERFALL, FOUNTAIN AND PLANT FILLED BUILDINGS. THESE HAVE BE COLONIZED BUY BUMS. AGAIN SINCE THEY SLEEP ON AND SOIL ALL OF THE BENCHES, I DON'T WANT TO SIT DOWN, THEY ALSO INTIMIDATE YOU IF YOU TRY TO SIT ANYWHERE NEAR THEM. THE PURPOSE OF THESE BUILDINGS WAS SO PEOPLE COULD REST, RELAX AND EAT BETWEEN SHOPPING TRIPS.GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS: HIGH TRAFFIC AREAS GREAT FOR BEGGING.I HAD TO VISIT DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES WITH MY BOYFRIEND HE NEEDED A BIRTH CERTIFICATE THAT DAY FOR A NEW JOB. THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE WAS OBTAINED IN 15 MINUTES BUT ON OUR WAY BACK WE SAW 2 BUMS UNDER A CARDBOARD BOX HAVING SEX ECK. WHEN WE NEARED OUR VEHICLE A BUM GRABBED MY ANKLE BEGGING FOR MONEY. I HAD TO DRAG HIM DOWN THE STREET. ONCE WE REACHED THE VEHICLE MY BOYFRIEND DISCOVERED HIS WORK VAN WAS BROKEN INTO AND ALL OF HIS WORK TOOLS STOLEN. NEEDLESS TO SAY HE COULD NOT GET THE JOB.MUSEUMS: HIGH TRAFFIC AREAS GREAT FOR BEGGING. THANKFULLY, I HAVE NOT SEEN THEM SLEEPING UNDER A VAN GOGH.AMUSEMENT PARKS: THEY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE HIGH TRAFFIC AND PEOPLE ARE USUALLY IN A GOOD MOOD. LIBRARIES:IN VENTURA, CA THE LIBRARY BECAME A BUM HANGOUT AND VERY DANGEROUS. THE LIBRARY ALLOWED AT LEAST 30-40 BUMS AT A TIME TO SIT AND SOMETIMES UNINATE IN THE SEATS. THE STENCH WAS UNBEARBLE. AFTER MY RESEACH I FOUND THAT EVERY MAJOR CITY HAS HAD SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH THE LIBRARIES BEING USED TO DEFECATE, UNINATE AND THE LIBRARY BATHROOMS ARE USED FOR DRUG ABUSE AND IN RARE INSTANCES THEY USE THE BATHROOM TO CLEAN UP. WHEN THEY ARE ASKED TO LEAVE, THEY SUE. ONE MAN WAS AWARDED 230,000 IN NEW JERSEY AND THEN THE SAME MAN WON 150,000 FOR BEING KICKED OFF OF THE SUBWAY FOR THE SAME REASON. ANOTHER MAN WON 80,000 FOR BEING ASKED TO LEAVE THE LIBRARY. I'M SURE THERE ARE MORE LAWSUITS I'VE MISSED AND MORE ON THE WAY.MY RIGHTS AGAIN WERE VIOLATED. UNLESS I LEARNED TO HOLD MY BREATH FOR 2 HOURS I CAN NOT VISIT THE LIBRARY. THE LIBRARIANS ARE POWERLESS.CARS: ON CERTAIN STREETS, I CAN BE TRAPPED BY SQUEEGY WIEDING BUMS INSISTING ON GRABBING MY WINDSHILED WIPERS AND SPRAYING MY WINDOW. WITH A BUM IN FRONT OF MY CAR AND A WET WINDSHIELD, IT'S A BIT HARD TO DRIVE.LAUNDRY MATS: ONCE YOU FIND OUT THE TABLE YOU'RE FOLDING YOUR CLOTHES ON WAS A BUM BEDROOM AND THAT THEY POSSIBLEY PUT THEIR LICE INFESTED CLOTHES IN THE WASHERS AND DRYERS, THERE IS NO WAY YOUR CLOTHES CAN BE CLEAN.PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION:TRAIN AND BUS STATIONS: IN MY OPINION THEY SOIL ALL OF THE SEATS. IF YOU SEE ONE SITTING OR LYING IN ONE SEAT, THERE'S A CHANCE THAT ANOTHER ONE HAS SAT ON THE SEAT YOU'RE PLANNING TO SIT ON. BRACE YOURSELF ONCE ON THE SUBWAY IN NEW YORK A MAN WAS DIGGING IN HIS BUTT, REMOVING PIECES OF FECES AND SMELLING HIS FINGERS. I HAVE NOT VOMITED SINCE I WAS 7 YEARS OLD AND IT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO VOMIT, I HAD TO HOLD THE VOMIT IN FOR ABOUT AN HOUR. THAT'S NOT HE END OF THE STORY, THE BUM STARTED HEADING TOWARD A PASSENGER ON THE TRAIN ATTEMPTING TO TOUCH HIM. THE PASSENGER STOOD UP PULLED OUT A GUN AND PROMISED TO KILL HIM IF HE TOUCHED HIM OR DUG IN HIS BUTT AGAIN. THE BUM REPLIED IN A MOST INDIGENT MANNER THAT IT WAS HIS RIGHT .AGAIN THE PASSENGER COULD HAVE KILLED HIM AND INJURED OTHER PEOPLE, THESE PEOPLE ARE PROVOKING VIOLENCE FROM EVERYONE. MY FRIEND HAS TWICE SPOTTED THE SAME BUM, IN THE SAME CONDITION ALMOST 10 YEARS LATER. THIS MEANS THAT HE HAS BEEN RIDING NEW YORK SUBWAYS SMEARING FECES ON STAIRWAY RAILINGS, SUBWAY RAILINGS AND SEATS FOR AT LEAST 10 YEARS. PERHAPS HE WAS IN THE SEAT YOUR ABOUT TO SIT ON. THIS SAME BEHAVIOR HAS BEEN REPORTED IN EVERY MAJOR CITY AND BEYOND.BENCHES: THERE ARE ALWAYS LARGE POPULATIONS OF PEOPLE WAITING FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORTAION.GREAT PLACES FOR BUMS TO LOITER.BUS, TRAIN AND SUBWAY BENCHES ARE NOW BUM BEDS WE CAN'T SIT WHILE WAITING FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORTAION EITHER BECAUSE THEY'RE SLEEPING OR SITTING ON THE BENCH OR BECAUSE IT'S SOILED FROM WHEN THEY SAT OR SLEPT ON IT.PUBLIC RESROOMS: RESTROOMS ARE ALREADY SUSPECT BUT MUCH WORST WHEN PEOPLE ARE DOING DRUGS AND WASHING UP IN THE SINKS.STORES: ANY STORE AT ANY TIME CAN HAVE A DRUNKEN BUM PARKED ON THE STEPS. SOME PEOPLE JUST STEP OVER THEM, I PREFER TO SHOP AT STORES THAT AGGRESSIVELY REMOVE THEM.I KNOW MERCHANTS ARE LOSING BUSINESS AND DON'T WANT THEM THERE. I BELIEVE THEY ARE SCARED. WHY ELSE WOULD THEY TOLERATE IT? PUBLIC FOUNTAINS:MANY REPORTED CASES OF FOUNTAINS BEING USED TO DEFECATE, UNINATE AND BATH IN. THE OFFICIALS HAD TO FENCE AND LOCK THE FOUNTAIN AREA TO KEEP THE BUMS OUT.HOTEL LOBBIES: I'VE SEEN BUMS TRYING TO PRETEND THEY'RE GUEST BUT IT DOES NOT TAKE LONG FOR THE DESK PERSON TO SMELL THAT THEY'RE NOT CUSTOMERS.COFFEE SHOPS:STARBUCKS: THEY LOVE IT. AFTER BEGGING US FOR 10 MINUTES THEY HAVE PLENTY TO BUY THEMSELVES A CAF�LATTE THEN GO IN THE BATHROOM AND STAY FOR AN HOUR. THIS HAPPENED TO ME IN NEW YORK. THE LINE WAS OUT OF THE DOOR WHEN WE ARRIVED AND THE MANAGER SAID THAT THE BUM HAD BEEN IN THERE AN HOUR AND SHE WAS PLANNING TO CALL THE POLICE.CHURCHES MISSIONS AND FREE EVENTS:LOITERING AROUND FEEDING HOLES LIKE MISSIONS, CHURCHES AND EVENTS OFFERING FREE FOOD. THE WORD ON THE STREET FASTER THAN A CELL PHONE WHEN IT COMES TO KNOWING WERE THEY'RE GIVING AWAY ANYTHING. A CHURCH IN FLORIDA HAS A DILEMA. THE CHURCH AND SOME PRIVATE MEMBERS GIVE FOOD TO HELP THE HOMELESS IN THE NEARBY PARK, OF COURSE THAT MAKES THE BUMS THINK IF THEY GO IN THE CHURCH THERE WILL BE MORE FREEBYS. THE CHURCH HAS A PRESCHOOL AND WANTS TO KEEP IT SAFE , HOW CAN THEY LET THESE FOUL SMELLING PEOPLE OF DUBIOUS BACKGROUNDS IN THE CHURCH NEAR NORMAL PARISHONERS AND THEIR CHILDERN.. IF THE CHURCH IS OPEN TO EVERYONE, SOON THE EVRYONE WILL BE ONLY THE BUMS AND SINCE THEY ONLY TAKE, THE CHURCH WOULD NOT GET THE DONATIONS IT NEEDS TO KEEP OPERATING. THE CHURCH HAS HAD TO POST NO TRESPASSING SIGNS.IN SAN DIEGO THEY HAVE ALREADY BEGUN RUINING THE NEWLY REJUVENATED LITTLE ITALY BY PLACING A BUM HANGOUT CALLED THE SD RESCUE MISSION NEAR SCHOOLS AND RESIDENTAL NEIGHBORHOODS. THERE HAVE BEEN COMPLAINTS ABOUT BUMS HANGING AROUND THE SCHOOL. AS USUAL THE POWERS THAT BE IGNORE OUR CONCERNS SO PEOPLE THAT DON'T CONTRIBUTE ANYTHING CAN BE ACCOMADATED AND SATISFIED. AS USUAL THE MISSION COULD CARE LESS ABOUT THE QUALITY OF PEOPLE THEIR DRAGGING INTO THE AREA AND OF COURSE DENY THERE IS A PROBLEM. ONCE AGAIN ANOTHER AREA IS IN DANGER OF RUIN. IT'S NOT A VERY CHRISTIAN ATTITUDE TO MAKE A COMMUNITY UNSAFE TO HELP PEOPLE THAT HAVE NEVER BEEN HELPED AND NEVER WILL BE. THERE HAVE BEEN COUNTLESS ORGANIZATIONS THAT HELP THE HOMELESS OR ENABLE THEM TO REMAIN HOMELESS.BRIDGES OVERPASSES:MANY BRIDGES AND ROADS: HAVE BEEN SET ON FIRE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE AND OTHER STATES BECAUSE BUMS ARE TRYING TO LIVE UNDER THEM AND BURN FIRES ALL NIGHT.PRIVATE HOMES, CONDOS AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS.THE POLICE ARE CONSTANTLY BEING CALLED TO SWEEP BUMS THE FROM IN FRONT OF RESIDENCES. IN SUTTON PLACE, IN NEW YORK A BUM SITS ON THE STEPS OF ONE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE BUILDINGS AROUND, HE SAYS HE DOES NOT WANT HOUSING HE JUST WANTS FREE HANDOUTS AND A PLACE TO SIT ALL DAY. THIS IS NOT THE WAY PEOPLE LIVE IN A CIVILIZED COMMUNITY.THE WOODS: PERMANENT CAMPERS? INFEST THE WOODS MAKING FAMILY OUTTINGS DANGEROUS. A FRIEND OF MINE RETURNED FROM A CAMPING TRIP AND TOLD ME HE WAS 100% SURE HE WOULD HAVE BE MURDERED IF HE DID NOT HAVE HIS DOG. A HOMELESS MAN APPROACHED HIM IN HIS TENT ASKING FOR MONEY. HE SAID HE DID NOT HAVE ANYTHING. THE MAN STARTED ASKING IF HE WAS ALONE, MY FRIEND LIED AND SAID THAT HE WAS WITH OTHERS, THE MAN LOOKED AROUND AND STARED OPENING AND CLOSING A SMALL POCKET KNIFE. AFTER A FEW TENSE MINUTES HE WENT AWAY.MY FRIEND DROVE BACK HOME IMMEADIATLY AND HAS NEVER CAMPED AGAIN AFTER DECADES OF ENJOYING CAMPING.VACATION SPOTS: HIGH TRAFFIC AREAS, PEOPLE ARE USUALLY RELAXED AND IN A GOOD MOOD AND YOUR GUARD IS DOWN. OUR LOVELY BEACHES AROUND THE WORLD ARE NOW BUM HAVENS.BEGGING, AND BOTHERING PEOPLE AS THEY TRY TO ENJOY THEMSELVES. I WAS LAYING IN THE SUN READING A BOOK, ALL OF A SUDDEN A SHADOW WAS CAST, AS A TALL YOUNG MAN STARTED ASKING ME ABOUT GOD, I SAID NO THANKS INSTEAD OF LEAVING HE WAS JOINED BY HIS GIRLFRIEND WHO HELPED IN THE CAMPAIGN TO CONVERT ME. THEY WERE BOTH DRUNK AND DIRTY. I STARTED GATHERING MY THINGS WHEN A GUY SHOWED UP TO DEFEND ME HE GOT INTO A VERY VIOLENT ARGUMENT WITH THE COUPLE. I QUIETLY SLIPPED AWAY. MORE VIOLENCE WAS INSPIRED.WHILE VISITING THE FRENCH RIVIERA WE SAW THE SAME BUMMY WOMAN PRETENDING TO BE A BEACH GOER, TRUE IT WAS DONE WITH MORE CLASS BUT THE PROBLEM IS STILL PRESENT.I'VE SEEN THEM IN LAS VEGAS BEING MOVED AWAY BY THE POLICE. THIS GAVE LAS VEGAS THE MEANIST CITY AWARD, WHY BECAUSE THEY WANT TOURIST TO BE SAFE WHILE VACATIONING. THEY THINK EVERYBODY IS A HIGH ROLLER AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR GOOD MOOD ON VACATION TO BEG.IN HAWAII PARKS FILLED WITH SLEEPING BUMS AND THE CARIBBEAN ISLANDS BUMS ,BUMS, BUMS AND THEY WILL STAB YOU IF YOU GO DOWN THE WRONG ALLEY. I VISITED OHIO WHERE THEY ARE OPENLY LIVING IN THE TRAIN STATIONS.ATLANTA WAS ON THE RISE, IT'S SO SAD THAT WITH THE RELOCATION OF DECENT PEOPLE LOOKING FOR A BETTER LIFE CAME THE RISE OF THE HOMELESS OPPORTUNIST FOLLOWING THEM TO YET ANOTHER WARM, CLEAN CTY. NOW IT HAS A NOTICABLE HOMELESS PROBLEM AND THE HOMELESS ARE MORE AND MORE HOSTILE IN ATLANTA.PHILADELPHIA: DEFECATION AND UNINATION IN THE PUBLIC FOUNTAINS THE FOUNTAINS HAD TO BE FENCED OFF.CHICAGO: LOST CAUSELOS ANGELES: ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK, TRYING TO CLEAN UP SKID ROW AFTER MORE THAN 50 YEARS HOLLYWOOD: EVERY KIND OF HUMAN PROBLEM IMAGINABLESAN FRANCISO: WOW WHAT A DISASTER MAKES HOLLYWOOD LOOK OK.WASHINGTON: GRUNGE IS NOT JUST A STYLE IT'S A LIFE CHOICE.OREGON VERY MUCH LIKE WASHINGTON STATEWASHINGTON D.C. ANOTHER HUGE PROBLEMFLORIDA: ATTRACTS BUMS BECAUSE OF THE GOOD WEATHER AND LARGE POPULATION.BY THE WAY ADAM WALSH WAS ABDUCTED FROM FLORIDA BY HOMELESS BUMS, ONE OF THE WORST CRIMES ON RECORD.DENVER: HOMELESS VIOLENCE AGAINST CITIZENS DANDEROUS ESPECIALLY FOR WOMEN.THE ONLY PLACE I'VE BEEN THAT DOES NOT TOLORATE THIS BEHAVIOR IS MONACO NEAR ITALY AND THE SOUTH OF FRANCE IT'S ONLY REALLY CLEAN CITY I'VE SEEN. SHOULD I HAVE TO LEAVE MY OWN COUNTRY TO GET SOME PEACE? MAYBE. NOT ONLY DON'T THEY CONTRIBUTE THEY:1. ENDANGER OUR LIVES BY COMMITING AND BREEDING CRIME SPREADING DISEASE AND DRAWING VERMIN BY LITTERING.2. LOWER PROPERTY VALUES3. BUSINESSES LOOSE MILLIONS WHEN CUSTOMERS AVOID LOITERERS4. CLOG UP THE COURT SYSTEM BY SUING WHEN WE COMPLAIN.5. CLOG UP THE COURT SYSTEM WITH THEIR REPEATED OFFENCES, THEY HAVE STARTED HOMELESS COURTS TO EASE THE BURDON ON THE COURT SYSTEM.6. DISTRACT THE POLICE. LAW ENFORCEMENT SHOULD BE DEALING WITH OTHER MATTERS.8. CLOG UP THE SHELTERS BLOCKING PEOPLE THAT REALLY NEED HELP.9. CLOG UP HOSPITALS WITH THEIR VARIOUS DRUNK AND DRUG PROBLEMS10. CLOG UP THE SOCIAL SERVICES, ASKING FOR MONEY, FOOD STAMPS AND LOW INCOME SECTION 8 HOUSING THAT SHOULD BE AVIALABLE FOR DECENT POOR PEOPLE.11. BOTHERING PEOPLE, BEGGING. RUINING OUR QUALITY OF LIFE12. CLOG UP AND ABUSE THE SHELTERS, MISSIONS AND OTHER SO CALLED HELPFUL INSTITUTIONS.13. SQUATING AT EVERY PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BUILDING AND SERVICE ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND AROUND THE WORLD.FOR TO LONG BUMS HAVE MADE THEMSELVES AND US MISERABLE THEY HAVE RUINED OUR QUALITY OF LIFE IN SO MANY NEIGHBORHOODS ESPECIALLY BEACH AREAS, I'VE LOST COUNT.SOME PEOPLE DON'T SEE THEM BUT SOMEPEOPLE HAVE BECOME SO FRUSTRATED WITH THIS PROBLEM, WE ARE BECOMING CRIMINALS TO LASH OUT AGAINST THEM. NORMAL WOMEN THAT HAVE BEEN HARRASSED ARE ON INTERNET FORUMS, PROPOSING EVERYTHING INCLUDING RUNNING THEIR CARS OVER SQUEEGY MEN TO JUST TO GET RID OF THEM. THESE PEOPLE WOULD NEVER HAVE VIOLENT THOUGHTS OR IDEAS IF IT WAS NOT FOR DRUNKS AND BUMS. THE CONSTANT VIOLATION OF OUR CIVIL RIGHTS BRINGS OUT THE WORST IN ALL OF US. WE ARE SINKING TO THEIR LEVEL.A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT? THEY WANT THE TICKETING STOPPED.THE POLICE ARE BEING ASKED TO STOP DOING THEIR JOBS, PROTECTING TAX PAYERS FROM VIOLENT BUMS. HOMELESS DRUNKS AND DRUG ADDICTS HAVE BANNED TOGETHER IN A LAWSUIT DEMANDING THE RIGHT TO DEFECATE, UNINATE AND SLEEP IN THE STREETS. I HAVE EVEN SEEN PUBLIC SEX AMOUNG DRUNKS. OH BROTHER. SHOULD WE DEBATE WITH DRUNKS AND DRUG ADDICTS? CLEAR THINKING PEOPLE ARE NEEDED TO SOLVE THIS ISSUETHE DRUGGED OUT BUMS ARE BEING OFFERED CLEAN NEEDLES. THE ADVOCATES WANT TO DRIVE VANS INTO FAMILY NEIGHBORHOODS AND DRAW DRUG ADDITS FROM ALL OVER. ONCE AGAIN WE ARE SACRIFIED SO BUMS CAN BE SAVED.THE LOGICAL ANSWER:PHASE 1:INFORCE TO THE MAX THE EXISTING LAWS AND OUTLAW HANDOUTS, BEGGING, BOTHERING PEOPLE, MISSIONS, DETOX, BUM HOTELS AND ALL OTHER BUM RELATED INSTITUTIONS BUILDINGS. REMOVAL OF ALL PUBLIC SERVICES, FOR DRUNKS DRUG ADDICTS WILL FORCE THEM CHANGE. IT'S THEM OR US.TOUGH LOVE IT HAS WORKED IN CITIES THAT HAVE THE STRENGTH TO DO IT. NO ONE DIES WHEN THESE SERVICES ARE CUT OFF, AND A FEW YEARS AFTER WORKING, PEOPLE ADMIT IT WAS BETTER TO BE FORCED TO WORK THEY GAIN SELF RESPECT AND SAVE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO THEIR COMMUNITIES. CUT THEM OFF! PHASE 2. THEY CAN NOT AFFORD TO LIVE IN THE EXPENSIVE CITIES THEY HAVE DECIDED TO SQUAT IN. THEY ARE NOT ABLE TO BE EMPLOYED DUE TO APPEARANCE, BODY ODOR AND BEHAVIOR. THEY HAVE NO FAMILY TIES AND NO REASON TO BE IN THE PLACES ARE. IN THE REAL WORLD WHEN A CITY BECOMES TO EXPENSIVE THE PEOPLE MOVE TO LESS EXPENSIVE LOCATIONS. RELOCATE THEM TO FARMS MAKE THEM WORK FOR FOOD, SHELTER AND EDUCATION. NO MONEY !! EDUCATION WILL OFFER A WAY OFF THE FARM. I BELIEVE THIS IS A REASONABLE SOLUTION.ANY NORMAL THINKING PERSON HOMELESS OR OTHERWISE SHOULD SEE THIS LETTER AS A FAIR ACCOUNT OF THE TRUTH. I LIVED IT AND AM STILL SUFFERING WITH THESE PEOPLE. THERE IS NO AMOUNT OF MONEY I CAN PAY TO ESCAPE THEM. WHERE EVER I GO THEY WILL BE THERE. THEY STAND IN FRONT OF BUILDINGS THAT HAVE 6 MILLION DOLLAR CONDOS IN THEM.I AM INTERESTED IN JOINING, VOULNTEERING OR CONTRIBUTING TO ANY ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE AGAINST THIS GROUP. I AM INTERESTED IN RUNNING A FULL PAGE AD IN ANY MAJOR NEWSPAPER.ACCEPT THAT WE ALSO HAVE RIGHT TO DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY AND SEE THAT YOUR RIGHTS HAVE BEEN TRAMPLED OVER AND OVER AGAIN. HOW YOU CAN HELP: TOURIST STOP GIVING MONEY WE HAVE TO LIVE HERE.LOCALS NEVER EVER GIVE MONEY TO ANY HOMELESS PERSON ORHOMELESS ORGANIZATION CHURCH FUNDED OR OTHERWISEOPPOSE ANY PUBLIC AND PRIVATE FOOD HANDOUTSOPPOSE ANY DETOX CENTERS THEY DON'T WORKOPPOSE HALFWAY HOUSES THEY DON'T WORK OPPOSE MISSIONS THEY BREED CRIME AND BECOME AN INSTANT GHETTOOPPOSE SHELTERS THEY BREED CRIME AND BECOME AN INSTANT GHETTO.THESE INSTITUTIONS DON'T HELP AND BRING PROPERTY VALUES DOWN.NO ONE WANTS THESE INSTITUTIONS YET WE KEEP HAVING THEM FORCED ON US. WHY? MAKE SURE YOUR NOT GIVING TO CHARITIES THAT ENABLE HOMELESSNESS.SAVE YOUR SYMPATHY AND CHARITY FOR PEOPLE WITH REAL ISSUES LIKE CANCER, CHRONIC DISEASE DISABILITIES, AND DISASTER VICTIMS. HELP SENIORS THAT ARE NOT DRUNK AND ON DRUGS.DO NOT HELP DRUNKWOMEN HIDING BEHIND ABUSED CHILDERN.DO NOT HELP ABLE BODIED DRUNK DRUGGED OUT MEN, WOMEN OR TEENS.MISSIONS SHOULD NOT FEEDING AND BEDDING DRUNKS IN PUBLIC OR PRIVATE FEEDING AND BEDDING BUMS ONLY GIVES THEM THE ENERGY TO DRINK AND START TROUBLE DAY AFTER DAY. DO USE CAUTION IN DEALING WITH ANY STRANGERS REGARDLESS OF THEIR APPEARANCE. AVOID CONFRONTATION AND MAINTAIN YOUR DISTANCE FROM STRANGERS. DO NOT PERMIT ANYONE TO CAMP OR LOITER ON YOUR PROPERTY. IF UNAUTHORIZED CAMPING OR LOITERING IS OCCURRING ON YOUR PROPERTY, CONTACT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND ASK TO SIGN AN AUTHORIZATION FOR TRESPASSERS TO BE ARRESTED. DO NOT ALLOW ANYONE TO STORE SHOPPING CARTS, BEDDING, OR PERSONAL BELONGINGS ON YOUR PROPERTY.RESTRICT ACCESS TO OVERHANGS, ALCOVES OR OTHER AREAS PROTECTED FROM INCLEMENT WEATHER. LOCK OR REMOVE HANDLES FROM WATER SPIGOTS TO DISCOURAGE UNAUTHORIZED USE. LOCK YOUR GARBAGE RECEPTACLES. LOCK OR TURN OFF EXTERIOR POWER OUTLETS. LOCK GATES AFTER HOURS INSTALL EXTERIOR LIGHTING AND UTILIZE MOTION ACTIVATED FIXTURES AFTER HOURS. TRIM BACK LANDSCAPING AND FOLIAGE TO ELIMINATE HIDING PLACES. CLEAN UP GARBAGE AND WASTE. REPORT GRAFFITI AND OTHER VANDALISM TO THE POLICE, AND CLEAN UPPROMPTLY AFTER THE OFFICER HAS CONCLUDED THEIR INVESTIGATION.DO NOT ALLOW FOOD AND BEVERAGE DELIVERIES TO SIT OUT UNATTENDED. WELCOME TO OUR CITY PLEASE DON'T FEED THE ANIMALS KEEP YOUR SPARE CHANGE IN YOUR POCKET. GIVING HURTS

To late to do what I wanted

I was supposed to go and get paint for my scenery for the pantomime I have been producing but I met this woman who had seen me on TV last Sunday and we got chatting and by the time we had finished it was 4 30pm and to late to do anything so I will have to do it tomorrow. The interesting things we talked about were homelessness and other related topics but we were both in agreement when we started to talk about women being single and homeless. It does seem that there are a lack of places available for women who are homeless. When I said it was probably due to the fact that there are more men homeless than women she disagreed. What she said was that there was a time when homelessness was dominated by men as women where seem as home makers and so forth but that has changed over the last ten years and now we are seeing more women living on the streets due to marriage break ups lose of jobs. Drugs basically the same problems faced by all homeless people. To be truthful I have seen quite a few women on the street but I have also met a few that are in hostels. I spoke to one young lady that said she was lucky because she suffered from a breakdown and was able to get a place. When I spoke to someone else though it was a different story. When I am being told about such stories it sometimes feels to me as if women are unintentionally being discriminated against. I'm not saying they are but they do seem to be getting the rough end of the stick so to speak.

Off the streets at last

John who last night got into a hostel for the first time in years said "thank god I am now off streets." As I watched him disappear into his new temporary place of residence I thought there are few more like him on the street that need shelter urgently at this time of year. In Westminster there is a sixty two year old man who refuses to go into a hostel because he thinks that if he's caught drinking then he will be thrown out because that is what has happened in the past and there another in Camden town that's been in a few hostels over the years and he says that he thinks because of his heavy drug use that people have given up on him and that no one will offer him a place because of his previous hostel and drug history and being evicted from every hostel he's been in. These are only two cases of homeless people that I have met and that need help in acquiring accommodation. You might think this strange but some homeless people are afraid to enter the hostel system. These are what I call victims of the old style hostel system. Where there was no tolerance of drinkers or addicts. There are not many hostels even today, that take in real problem homeless and I think this is another problem that has to be addressed.

At it again

Whilst I had this moment of clarity after sitting and listening to these politicians spout on and on about new laws and policies . I had a thought as to why they are really needed. It was a clear thought a moment ago but now I am not so sure. But If I am right then I am a genius. Well here goes, because society as a whole needs to have some sort of guide lines in law and such and we being mere mortals sometimes forget that it is only us that can determine our own existence or what kind of a society we have. Be it caring or the couldn't careless. Honest or dishonest. The outcome to everything depends on us but because certain members of society don't toe the line or they want to make more money than the next person. To make things fair and equal laws and policies are made. Some of them are really quite smart and some are down right daft and that's what I think politics is but as to why politicians have to use political verse that the ordinary person can not understand is some what bemusing. Politics is so simple when you think about it. Common sense is one of the things I don't seem to see a lot of in politics today. It does seem to be we'll do this today and suffer the consequences tomorrow politics.
I think it was Benjamin Franklin that said once humanity takes responsibility for humanity then we wont need laws of structure because we will have achieved utopia. Don't quote me on that as I am not sure but it sounds good doesn't it?

A reply to the homeless guy

Hi just a few words to say thank you for reading my blog. The one thing that seems to be world wide is homelessness and it does have many causes but as I try to find out why there are so many around the world. It does puzzle me somewhat, when two of the richest countries in the world seem to have a huge problem. I just don't get it. When we spend massive sums of money on fighting wars and finding out what's in space ect. It's mind boggling to think that in a world were there are people starving and homeless we spend so much on finding out what's out there or getting a better killing machine. Then when we get the time it seems we talk about humanity. It's funny when I say it, it sounds so stupid but when someone with a bit of intellect says it, it does sound different. But that's the way I see it and my view on life and how precious it has changed dramatically. What bothers me most is that word humanity and how we seem to use the word only when the situation seems to arise. Shouldn't we as human being try to put our own houses in order before we go gallivanting across the universe. Should we at least try to cure an ailing world before we kill it. After people have been trying to find the magic cure for homelessness and hunger for centuries. Don't you think it about time we did? Isn't that what
humanity means? We have lots of people in this world with compassion but I do believe now is the time to say enough is enough lets put our houses in order.
I guess I just want that ideal world.

Not a member of the street anymore

Going out and about on the streets at night is not one of my favorite past times but, if it gives people an insight as to the way some people have to live, then it's worth it.
Sometimes when I sit and talk to homeless people I am always reminded how lucky I am and that this was once me. The funny thing is that I am now asking homeless people what they think of the government's ideas on homelessness and about new technology. Usually the looks and answers I get to the last question about technology is a sort of alien from outerspace I'm going to kill you look and who the frig wants to know about frigging technology? I'm freezing and just about surviving answer.
This weekend for me has been one of those weekends. I was told in no uncertain terms that I was no longer a street person because I no longer have to worry about surviving the streets or being cold or where my next hot meal is coming from. I'm one of the norm. Whatever that means? So this week I thought I'd go in a kind of circle and find out what homeless people think of people in flats and we already know some of the answers. What people in hostels think of homeless people and people in flats as they seem to be the people that are now stuck in the middle so to speak and they have their own insight into what they want and how things should be. Then I want to interview someone who is in a new flat and what they now think of homeless people. I think that we shall get some suprising answers.

My old haunt

This was where I used to sleep when it was an empty shop on the kingsway. The man who was sleeping here has disappeared. It left me wondering was this man as lucky as me?

Not one but four

somewhere warm

 

A rough nights sleep

 

Cold weather confusion

Last night I went on to the streets in Camden town and the West End of London to talk to and photo people sleeping rough and was shocked by how many people didn't have sleeping bags and blankets. Being an ex-homeless person I found this sight disturbing. Normally homeless people are very resourceful in finding blankets and sleeping bags and things to keep them warm but to see so many without was quite a shock. Now I come into the crisis office this morning and I am told that their is a news clipping from the BBC news about homeless being given travel warrants to go home. The met police said they do issue travel warrants and give out about twenty a month. Since November 7th 21 travel warrants have been given. Steve Barnes of the Simon community claim the issue of the warrants was timed with the headcount of rough sleepers and many of the people that were given these warrants claim they were told they had to leave because there was a head count. The fact that there has been a steady increase in the number rough sleeper should cause the government concern but as usual the government are just saying we are and will keep reducing the number when we can plainly see something is not quiet right. Housing charity shelter dispute the governments claim that the number of homeless has fallen by a fifth. They say that government claims that homelessness has fallen should be taken with a health warning. I myself have been told that the government has reduced the number of people sleeping rough but as I go about the streets at night I see numbers actually increasing and now the weather has been forecast as one of the worst for nearly a decade then think it's time to start thinking about alternatives. An insider for the ODPM said we are looking into the situation of emergency beds because of the bad weather. We intend to provide bed spaces where needed. My answer to that is from another source in the hostel section that said I don't know how the government are going to find all the beds that are needed because most of our hostels around the country are full. So now I am even more confused. Who is right and who is wrong? The big question who will take the intuitive of getting these rough sleepers into some kind shelters.
Surely we can't keep saying hostels.

Christmas just keeps coming and going

Merry Christmas the young girl says
Alone is how she spends her days.
Yet still she smiles.
When her feet are sore and bruised with walking miles.
For her Christmas it just comes and goes
But she remembers all its highs and lows
Any spare change the old man says
Sitting there in a drunken haze.
And as the sound of coins drop in his cup
He wishes all a Christmas cheer
As he sips another can of his ice-cold beer.
For him Christmas it just comes and goes
But he remembers all the highs and lows.
Happy Christmas is all the young man says
But in his eyes you see unhappy days
Christmas, long gone in his memory.
Yet still he can remember how it used to be.
For him its just a wish that this Christmas just comes and goes
Because with sadness he remembers its the highs and lows
Where is my child? Where is my son?
Can someone say just what we�ve done?
Please come home a mother�s says
A father tears
A high price they pay.
Yet Christmas is the time when hope is high.
And there�s never the question of why us why.
But Christmas is time every one prays
For simple happier days.

Rough places

Having friends in the right places is ok but having friends that can actually do something is a big plus. Yesterday I discussed hostels and night shelters with someone I knew. How some of them still had two or three to a room and were run down and how some night shelters were just barely fit enough to live in. We talked about how things can be improved but the problem is that people need to know what these places are like and where they are. So now I have become a blogger on a mission. I am asking everyone that reads my blog to tell me about these places and to contact me at poetmccoy@hotmail.com and I will pass the information on. Looking at my blog figures since it started I now have a good idea of how many people read it and it's quite a few. So if you are someone who is in a hostel or night shelter and having to live in a place not quite right let me know or if you have a story let me know? I promise if you want to keep yourself anonymous then that's fine. To be able to get the ball rolling so to speak and get something done then I need to know. I know I'm not going to be popular with some places but it's not a popularity contest. It's about getting homeless people somewhere decent or improving things.

Waiting for a reply

Everyone knows how passionate I am about helping homeless people having been in that situation myself but the hardest trick is getting people to listen to what I have to say it seems that they now know I am not going away and will keep on writing about what's going on with the homeless or the socially excluded. When I started writing this blog it was just to cover the election but as I thought about things and how I could use the blog as a tool to get peoples stories on homelessness and to show that we still have a homeless problem in this country. I didn't know how it was going to go but it seems what I have to say is read by the whole world. 70% of my total views are from this country and it seems some of them are in high places. So the question I am going to ask is for them.
Has the government got any plan for getting people into shelter now we have the coldest spell for at least ten years approaching?
Click on comment or send me email. Now all that's left for me to do is wait to see if anyone replies

As promised my friends new baby.
He's the small one by the way

I am so glad there is no one around my house this morning to see me dancing around with the vacuum cleaner cleaning my flat. Mrs Doubtfire eat your heart out. Been up for a few hours now and getting into the swing of the day listening to good old fashioned music like the four tops and Isley brothers and thinking but this dancing with the vac has got to stop. Last night tried my hand at making a simple dish of spaghetti what ever it was. (couldn't spell the word) I think it turned out alright as I had never made it before. Eating it sometime today. Anyway if you don't see another blog you know what's happened blogger poisoned himself

Things I dislike about my life

It's funny how one question can spark a whole train of thought. When I am being interviewed about me and my life. The question people usually ask is what do I like about my life now? Not what don't I like. So when someone asked me what I don't like? It got me thinking and just like everyone I don't like getting old and having grey in my hair. Which is normal so I've been told. I dislike the loneliness of me. Which is to say I don't like my own company. I spend far too many nights talking to myself and the trouble with that is every time I ask a question. I get an answer. Getting used to being on your own is quite hard I'm lucky because I do have friends I go and see. Like last night but for someone like myself I can see some reasons for people going back on to the street. To the life they know well. I suppose it's like having roots but being homeless in a way. If there is such a thing. Another thing I hate about my life right at this minute is being able to look back at it and seeing it as a waste of life although it does have it's upside for instance I wouldn't know what I know now if it hadn't been for the life I have led. So these are just a few things I dislike about me right now. Tomorrow who knows?