08 October, 2005

Young and homeless

As I walk round London at night I get the impression that I am seeing more and more youngsters sleeping rough. Why? I can't say but it does beg the question. What is happening to cause this sudden surge of young people with no where to go. Is it the governments fault or is it the fault of the parents. When we are young we expected to be taught what's wrong and right. Are family values not being installed in to kids of today? Is it because we now can't smack our children. If we take a look at certain animals in the wild they do reprimand their young by bites or nips and they do learn. But we humans who have smacked our children for centuries. Now say its wrong to smack. When I was a kid I got smacked when I was really bad and somethings I never did again because of I was punished but somethings that I never got told off for I did and did it for years. So why the are kids becoming homeless? It's the puzzle that seems to have eluded people for years because we don't seem to be able to stop it happening. We have kids today who get involved in drugs because they just don't have anything better to do. When they end up on the street. We don't take much notice unless there is an outcry against it. It's an everyday scene no matter were you live. It seems we don't have the education in schools that shows young people what can happen if you take drugs. We are teaching them that drugs can kill but there's another side to drugs there's the constant battle to survive we don't teach or show kids that side of it. If I were the education secretary I think I would be offering ex addicts and former homeless people the chance to speak in schools around the country coming from them first hand so to speak could help change things a little. we have to find ways of preventing these kids from becoming part of the sleeping city scenery

1 comment:

beanz said...

I've been reading your blog for a while, and find it very moving, but don't know what to say.

However what you say about education and drugs struck a chord. I have teenage boys - 15 and they commented yesterday that the school seems ot be taking a harder line on drugs - not that they have accepted drugs in school, but that in lesson discussions, the line has changed. In the past it woudl be 'these are the facts, drugs will harm you and can kill you'-including bringing in an ex-addict and a parent whose daughter died from an ovedose; now they are laying more down about the legal and financial consequences as well - it maybe just this year's mesage, but the boys certainly perceive a new approach.

Not sure how you get through to them though. They reckon that many of their year have already dabbled anyway - and stats suggest that too.

So far so good mine have kept away from all that.

Thanks for your writing.

Where can I read your poems?