The Suella Braverman lifestyle test

Suella Braverman is the home secretary. She recently stated that people are homeless as a lifestyle choice. I decided that as she clearly has an insight into homelessness that a poor, thick idiot like me lacks, I needed to try and work out what she knew that I don't. I have festered on this for a few days. Maybe what we all need is a  little test of lifestyle choices to assist us in our understanding of what our home secretary said, let me give some background. 

What have myself, Samantha Cameron and George Michael all got in common? We all volunteered at The Passage, a homeless day centre near Victoria. Sadly, I didn't have the pleasure of working with George, although deputy head chef Noor told me he was wonderful, really useful in the kitchen. George had been raised in the family restaurant business and was a dab hand at peeling spuds. He also did it with a smile on his face. As for Sam Cam, she got on with it and made herself useful. I was offered money by a Daily Mail journalist to dish a bit of dirt on her, as were a few other volunteers. It seemed beyond the wit of such an individual to understand that anyone who vounteers to help homeless people is most unlikely to want a few grubby tenners to dish the dirt on someone trying to make some sort of difference. But I will give a small insight for free. Sam Cam did it because she recognised that homeless people are people. They are going through a very hard time and any vaguely decent person, regardless of their politics, deserves the help and compassion of people who are able to. 

I volunteered for a good number of years. I did a breakfast shift on a Thursday. I'd arrive at 7am, help serve breakfast and leave between 9.30 and 10am for my office. I got to know many of the clients rather well. I was embarrassed when they'd bring me Xmas presents (usually books etc from charity shops) and thank me for my kindness. On cold wet November days, like today. They'd come in looking tired and bedraggled. It would be quiet, as they ate breakfast and warmed up. The Passage provided food, showers and access to cheap clothing. Everything, apart from tea, coffee and left over sarnies provided by the likes of M&S and Pret had to be paid for,  items such as sausages were a nominal 5p. The cash charge was to emphasise that it was not a hand out. For those who genuinely had no money, a free breakfast voucher was given that gave a full cooked breakfast, after an assessment. For some, they could only manage a tea and bowl of porridge, due to the damage caused by alcohol on the stomach. Clients were not admitted if visibly high or drunk, as they could be a risk. Drugs and alcohol were banned from the premises, although clients were not searched. 

Occasionally, we'd have a medical emergency, sometimes we'd hear the most terrible stories of abuse. All clients were offered support, the breakfast was a bait to lure them in so help could be offered. I was delighted to, on occasion, bump into former clients who'd got their lives together, sometimes years after. They would recognise me and come up and offer thanks. Invariably, they looked ten years younger once they were off the street, sometimes they were hard to recognise. 

The clients fell into four main categories. There were ex squaddies, who civilian life simply didn't work for, after a life in the military. They would be organised, clean but many had PTSD, other mental health challenges and often drug and alcohol issues, brought on by the need to block out dark memories. Then there were people who's lives had collapsed. They'd been married, in jobs, but it had all gone wrong and they had descended into a life on the streets. Many of these, with a bit of help, got themselves together. We'd try and get them accomodation, jobs etc. This was where most of our 'successes' were. The third group were migrant workers, who had been working and a contract finished and they'd simply run out of money. Many of these were drinking, but were basically sound individuals, who simply had no cash. Westminster Council had a policy of giving them a ticket home if they wanted one. Often this was the solution. Some just found work and disappeared. And finally. There were people who had something terrible in their life. They had mental health issues, PTSD, drink and drug problems. What was heartbreaking was that some were lovely, but simply unable to cope with anything. We did sometimes succeed in reaching them, getting them into safe accomodation etc. But often they'd reappear months or years later and it would start again. I never met a single soul who told me "It's great, I love this, it's the life for me".

So anyway, I thought I'd set you a little test, based on the stories I was told. Tick your favourite option.

1. When you are asleep at night, what do you most like to be woken up by

a) Being sexually assaulted/raped

b) Being set on fire

c) Being urinated on

d)  Being physically assaulted

e) None of the above

2.  When it is raining, windy and cold, where would you most like to sleep?

a) In a doorway on the high st

b) In a subway

c) In a derelict property

d) In a police cell

e) None of the above

3. When you wake up in the morning and are hungry, with no money, what would you most like to do

a) Beg for the price of a cup of tea in a cafe, until you've raised enough

b) Go to a homeless day centre, register as a client and persuade them to give you a breakfast

c) Steal a sandwich and a drink from the supermarket

d) Persuade a generous street food vendor to take pity on you and give you bite to eat

e) None of the above

4. It's chucking it down with rain. You are hungry and its 8pm at night. You are in your tent, that is a cold but dry, but you have no money, what would you most like to do.

a) Sit in your tent, be hungry and try and stay warm

b) Try and persuade the person in the tent next to you to give you can of their extra strong cider

c) Go out in the rain, get wet and try and find some food

d) Go to Vauxhall Bridge and throw yourself in the Thames, because you've had enough

e) None of the above

5. You are awoken by the sound of a bunch of drunk/high guys in suits urinating on your tent. What would you do?

a) Open the tent and verbally remonstrate with them, and expose yourself to a beating,

b) Sit in your tent in the knowledge that they will go away when they are bored

c) Say a few prayers to St Jude patron St of hopeless cases, that some kind soul may see what they are doing and take pity on you and give you some cash

d) Pull out your knife, stab a few of them, in the knowledge that the police will come, arrest you and at least you might have a warm room, decent food and some help for a while, and the Judge is likely to be vaguely understanding of what you did.

e) None of the above.

If you answered anything other than E to all of these questions, then a life on the streets, in a tent is for you. If you answered E, then hopefully, you'll realise just what a cruel, heartless and ignorant home secretary we have. Every single answer above, is based on a conversation I had with someone at some point in my years at the passage. You'd say "How are you getting on?". They'd say "I had an awful night, you'll never believe what happened" and tell me a story. Answer 4d, clearly the person didn't jump. They were spotted by a kindly soul who bought them some food in a cafe. Answer 5D, I spoke to one client who did just this. I believe they were drunk or high at the time. The guys urinating worked for a top merchant bank. The bloke who was stabbed was not hurt badly thankfully. The magistrate took the view that the assault was justified and the poor sod was released back onto the street with a telling off. A couple of months in the cells, a bit of help getting off drink/drugs and some support was what he needed but sadly, all he got was a breakfast at The Passage. 

This morning Ms Braverman had a go at the head of the Metropolitan Police about not banning the Palestinian protests at the weekend. It is her and her governments job to make the laws that the Met enforce. After 13 years of Tory government, for many on our streets, it is the only choice. Her and her party have comprehensively failed, but all she can do is blame everyone else. The Police, the victims of her policies,  anyone but her own government. 

I had always said I'd never speak about Samantha Cameron and her work at the Passage, but I have to say, she was a decent person who was a Conservative, but had compassion and was decent. I tended to try and avoid her. I was not a fan or her husbands politics, but she was trying to make a difference and I felt she deserved to be left to get on with it. If I saw her I'd smile and say hello and get on with dishing up the sausages. I'd love to hear her take on what Braverman had to say. As for George Michael, I am pretty sure I'd know exactly what he'd say. 

And why did I stop? Well in 2016 I had treatment for Cancer and by the time I felt up to doing it again, I was no longer working in town. Volunteering at The Passage was one of the best things I did with my life. The people I met enriched my life, both volunteers and clients. They all made me a better person. I can think of a few people, who could benefit. It took me six months to really realise and get the trust of the clients. Once they decide you are 'alright' and build trust, you start to really understand the issues they had. One of the criticisms I had was that many organisations would send teams of vounteers for 'activity days'. You will learn nothing doing one shift.

Please note that I am speaking for no one but myself and I no longer volunteer (although I may well in future). 

Londons "invisible" homeless

Did you know that there are people walking the streets of London with special powers? You probably watch Marvel superhero films and are stunned by the special effects, but in London there are hundreds of people walking the streets who don't need CGI to assist them. You are probably thinking "what's he been smoking this morning". Well I kid you not (and I've not been smoking anything thank you). The people I am talking about are Londons homeless. The powers I am talking about are the power to become invisible. I'd not noticed this (well I suppose if someone is invisble you wouldn't) before, but a tweet by Tory blogger and pundit Ian alerted me to this rather intertsing fact.

Iain Dale ‏@IainDale Aug 18

I love Edinburgh but can't fail to notice that in this SNP led nirvana there appear to be more homeless people on the streets than in London

I thought I'd check out the stats. Crisis reports that in Scotland there were approx 500 rough sleepers. In London there were 7,518.  So although we don't have a separate figure for Edingburgh, we can see that either Ian Dale has succumbed to the powers of invisibility of London homeless, which clearly Scottish rough sleepers lack or maybe he's just talking out of his armpit.

This is an issue that is close to my heart. I am writing this blog in my kitchen at 11.25 this morning, two hours ago I was finishing up my morning shift at The Passage, a charity which operates a day centre for Londons homeless. I am a kitchen volunteer. Please note that I am writing this blog in a private capacity and it in no way represents the views or policies of The Passage.

Let me tell you about my morning.

I got up at 5.40am. I had a quick shower, checked my emails had a cup of tea and got the 6.32 train from Mill Hill to St Pancras. At 6.57 I took a Victoria Line train to Victoria and arrived at The Passage at 7.15. First job is to set up for the morning breakfast service. When I arrived Alex, another volunteer was already starting to set up. We have to put out condiments, tea cups, make tea and coffee flasks up. We put out Jam, Marmalade and Marmite for the clients. As we were doing this Bella, Darren and Anne, other volunteers arrived. I had a quick chat with our chef Noor. Noor is from Kenya and there is always a good bit of banter with him. I won't embarrass him with the subect today, but lets say it was a good day for banter! Once we have set up, we wait for the breakfast to be cooked. The service starts at 8am (ish). Hot food is provided. A full English breakfast Sausage, Bacon at 15p per slice/portion, eggs, tomatoes, mushroomsnd porridge at 10p an serving. Tea/Coffee and the first two slices of toast are free. Clients with no monety get a voucher worth 60p. We also provide fruit (this morning I chopped up a pineapple and six melons). There were also ample free sandwiches donated by Pret.

At 8am there is a rush. This morning as it was cold and wet out, it was very busy for the first twenty minutes. I estimate that we served 40-50 breakfasts. I was on toast duties, Bella and Anne on serving and Darren on the till. Alex retreated to the kitchen to help Noor. People coming in to volunteer for the first time are often quite surprised by the clients.  I doubt that you'd notice many of them in the street or pick them out as homeless. The majority are male, quite a few are Eastern European, although sadly a fair few are British and Ex forces. Some will be chatty, some will be withdrawn. Some are animated and some are silent. Quite a few have health issues. Some this is obvious such as diabetics who avoid certain foods. Others will tell you about issues and some you just see chatting with the medical staff. I've been volunteering for three and a half years, today I think I saw only one client who was coming when I started. Many have moved on. Some have passed away. Generally the Eastern Europeans move home. Often they came looking for work or lost jobs. Often they can receive assistance to return home (although I am not knowledgable about this).On a cold wet day such as today, the mood is relatively subdued. Often people will spend the first half hour warming up.  The Passage provides all manner of support services for the homeless. The aim is to try and get people into accomodation and employment. For many this is acheived. Sadly though some of the clients cannot easily be helped into a less chaotic lifestyle. For some this is their choice and for others, there is no choice. They have too many issues to be able to manage a jop and the responsibilities of accomodation. Often this is a result of mental health issues. Often when you talk to hardcore rough sleepers you realise that they are highly intelligent, but our society is just not compassionate enough to give them the help they need to live a regular lifestyle. For many, they don't need handouts, they simply need assistance with the stress, strains and pressures that modern life entails. Over the years I've spoken to several ex service personell and they find it hard transitioning from an environment where they have no decisions to make, rent is deducted from paychecks and hot meals just arrive to one where everything has to be planned. I find it a scandal that the MOD takes no responsibility for helping such people. Strangely enough such people find rough sleeping  easier as it is more compatable with the self sufficiency they have learned. Sadly though, many suffer from the rigours of a life of hard drinking and other issues with substances.

Working at The Passage is hugely rewarding. I like to think that my fellow regular Thursday volunteers have become friends. We work well as a team and they are a very interesting lot. I guess that just to be there ou have to be decent and compassionate. I tweeted to Ian Dale that maybe he'd like to try a shift. Then maybe he'd start to see the real depth of the London homeless crisis. Sadly though, I suspect that what he actually saw was street beggars who presumably congregate in Edinbiurgh for the festival as there are rich pickings. There is a misconception that all rough sleepers beg. This is again wide of the mark. It is certainly a misconception that all beggars sleep rough. I personally do not give to people begging in the street. I suppose I take the moral high ground because I volunteer for a homeless charity, but if you have spare cash, give it to an organisation that can help them. If you give £5 to the passage, that will pay for ten breakfasts. If you give it to a street beggar, it may simply buy ten fags and a cheap can of lager. If you think ten fags and a can of lager is good value then fine, but ten people could have had a breakfast and received help to get into a better situation. There are many fine homeless charities. In Barnet we have Homeless Action Barnet, there is Crisis and Shelter and The Passage to name a few.

The sad thing is that Homeless People aren't really invisible, we just shut our eyes to them. Do you really want to be a member of a soceity that throws its fellow man to the wolves? I don't, thats why I haul my sorry arse out of bed every Thursday in the rain, when I'd rather turn over and get another hours shut eye. I've done many things in my life, but volunteering at The Passage is something which has taught me more than any other about life, our city and myself.

The Barnet Eye Advent Calendar - Thursday 4th December

Today is day four of the Barnet Eye Advent Calendar. This series will run every day until Xmas day. We are reclaiming the concept of giving from the consumerist society. We will give you a little snippet of our love for our neighbourhood and we'll also feature a link to a great local charity, So if you are inspired, you can do your bit and make this festive season a little better for someone who may just appreciate some help

So today we move to Barnet for our gem. Although we think of the London Borough of Barnet as a sleepy suburb of golf courses and semi's, there is a darker history. One of the bloodiest battles of the war of the Roses civil war was fought in Barnet.  The Battle of Barnet was the decisive battle of this war and it took place in our manor. Check out this rather entertaining video.



 And our Charity today is Homeless Action Barnet - http://www.habcentre.org/ - a charity helping homless people in our neck of the woods. This is a charity very close to my heart as I spent last night voulunteering at their overnight shelter in Mill Hill at the John Keble Church. we housed nine people overnight, on one of the coldest nights of the year. Want to know how you cn help? Click here - http://www.habcentre.org/news/how-you-can-help - and help make a difference. There is still a battle in Barnet, it is against homelessness and poverty and you can help. As the nights get colder it gets ever more important.

The Barnet Council Corporate Risk Register Analysis - Day 1 - Homelessness

Last week the Barnet Eye revealed how Barnet Council had released a "corporate risk register" detailing how our local Council was putting at risk the economic future and the quality of life of residents of the Borough. I was shocked when I discussed this with a local politician ( I will spare there blushes and not name them) who informed me that "every borough has a list like this and all councils face the same problems". All London councils face issues, but what struck me about the risk register was a) How many of the issues were of Barnet Councils own making and b) The total lack of a coherent strategy to address them.

If the people who are meant to come up with the answers to these problems are so complacent, then I can only see the situation getting worse. It seems to me that we need some more detailed analysis, so we can demonstrate to our so called leaders that they need to think again. The Barnet Eye does not expect miracles of our politicians. We do however expect them to do their job and work hard to come up with answers. As they clearly don't understand the issues and have no strategy to address them, the Barnet Eye will provide a detailed analysis of each of the 9 major risks, giving a commentary and our suggestions for improvement. We will be doing it the same order as in the report.

Today we start with Homelessness. This was deemed the most critical risk. Partially be design and partially by accident, I start this blog having just returned from a morning shift at The Passage, a Homeless day centre in Victoria, where I volunteer on a weekly basis, serving breakfast for Londons Homeless. I have been doing this every Thursday for just over two years. What does the Council say about Homelessness in their report?

---------------------------------
Homelessness:
 There is a risk that homelessness and the subsequent provision of short term temporary accommodation will continue to rise.

Cause:
The Council has an obligation to house people that are homeless and support families who are intentionally homeless. Unemployment, economic downturn exacerbated by welfare and benefit reform and high market rents are the primary causes of homelessness, increasing gap between temporary accommodation subsidy rates and cost of the accommodation. Increasing the demand for housing and putting pressure on the supply of affordable housing.

Consequence:
Substantial increase in homelessness including intentional homelessness where children are involved and the subsequent provision of affordable housing at a significant and increasing cost to the Council.

Preventative: 

Developing plans around three areas: 

 

1. increasing prevention activities, joint working with job centre plus 

2. increase opportunities of affordable housing supply 

3. Develop options of affordable supply in more affordable locations 

Detective:
Action plan being monitored by Lead Commissioner and reported to Delivery Board monthly.

Welfare and Benefit Programme (including partners) in place to determine impact, performance indicators in place to monitor impact.

Impact - Major 4
Probability - Almost Certain 5
Rating - High  20
---------------------------------

Of all of the sections in this report, this one I found the most shocking. As it is a subject I know a little bit about, what was most shocking was the complete ignorance of the subject shown in this report. My experience tells me that the Council have no real understanding of the causes of homelessness, which means that they cannot even begin to address the issue.

The two major causes of homelessness in London are relationship breakup and substance abuse. Economic factors play a role in the problem, welfare reform has massively increased pressure, and high rents are an issue, but for the council to say nothing about the main causes to me sets off all of the warning signals. Another major cause of homelessness, unmentioned above is mental illness. Surveys have shown that up to 70% of Londons hard core homeless have some sort of psychological issues, which have resulted in them being unable to maintain a stable home life.

As one may expect from an ideologically right wing administration, there is some perjorative language in the report. The Council talks about families becoming "intentionally homeless". What they mean by this is that families are not prepared to bring up children in unsuitable accomodation. No one with children ever sets out to become "intentionally homeless". Sometimes however circumstances make it the only option. With housing benefit caps, some families have been placed in a position where they cannot afford to pay the rent. Whilst these rules are not the fault of the London Borough of Barnet, the senior members of the Party locally and the local MP's should be lobbying government to explain why London has a completely different economy to depressed regions. I am not aware of any lobbying by any of the three Barnet MP's to get a better settlement for London. In fact Mike Freer MP (Finchley & Golders Green) has specifically targetted the homeless in anti squatting legislation.

I happen to believe that every child in the UK has a right to a safe and secure home. I believe that every child should get three nutritious meals a day and an education. Some children (such as mine) are lucky enough to be brought into stable homes, where meals are provided, heating is turned on in winter, and Mummy and Daddy provide a free taxi service. There are plenty of children who, through circumstances take none of that for granted. The Council may bury its head in the sand, but Barnet is a very wealthy Borough and it is scandalous that the Council has no coherent policy to address these issues.

Every study has shown that the earlier problems are detected, the less long term damage they do, when dealing with the problems from the fallout from homelessness and relationship breakdown. Where parents have issues with substance abuse, support is vital to ensuring that the cycle is broken and children don't fall into the same path as parents. Dealing with problems early is always cheaper than picking up the pieces when families deteriorate.

So what should Barnet be doing? My view is that they need to set up an "economic hardship unit" to proactively try and manage the problems of homelessness and economic marginalisation. The first goal would be that every child in Barnet has a roof over its head, three meals a day and an education. I would put support into place to help parents deal with issue of alcohol and substance abuse (in a non judgemental way). Giving training and work opportunities to parents is another part of the picture, I would therefore say that the unit should provide childcare facilities, where parents are attending training courses. It is also vital that children are properly fed.

I would also like to see more help for adults dealing with homelessness. At the passage we see a lot of ex service people living on the street. They have difficulties coping with adjusting to civilian life. It seems that there is little support from the government for people who have served and this is scandalous.

There is also a major issue with migrant workers, who fall on hard times. Again this is often drink related. It is not fashionable to say that the taxpayer should help migrants, but what is the alternative? Often they have come to the UK looking for work and then found themselves out of work and living on the streets. Some will return home, but often do not even have the money to pay for a ticket back.

The problem of homelessness is not exclusive to Barnet. What does worry me is that it is growing at a huge rate locally. Am I alone in thinking that it is scandalous that luxury flats are being built all over the Borough, hugely rewarding property developers, when there is a basic lack of provision of basic housing for those at the bottom of the pile. Sadly there is a philosophy that the rich lining their pockets is fine and dandy, but God help the poor souls at the bottom of the pile, if they have the audacity to think they are entitled to a basic standard of living.

The sad truth is that to solve the Barnet Homelessness crisis we need the following

1. Affordable decent quality social housing
2. Effective drug and alcohol rehabilitation services
3. Effective intervention for families leading chaotic lifestyles
4. Educational and retraining opportunities for the unemployed
5. Effective services for people with psychological disorders.

Until these issues are addressed there is no prospect of the homeless crisis in Barnet abating. The saddest thing of all is that our politicians seem unwilling to even start the difficult conversation necessary to start the ball rolling.

Here is the full report.

  Barnet Council - Corporate Risk Register by Roger Tichborne

The Boris effect - Homelessness doubles in three years for young people in London

This morning the BBC are reporting that homelessness has doubled in three years amongst Londons young people. Boris Johnson has been the Tory mayor for five years. Is he proud of this statistic? As a volunteer for a London homeless charity it is heartbreaking to see this. The sad truth is that this is a direct result of the policies of the Tory Mayor and the ConDem coalition government. Any decent Mayor and any decent govenment should always see less people on the street at the end of their term than the start. It is a mark of failure of both Mayor and Government policy.

We can all learn from the Friern Barnet Library Occupation

Last year I produced a film called "Barnet - The Billion Pound Gamble". When we were working out the narrative, back in July, Charles Honderick (The Director) and myself decided to feature the closure of Friern Barnet library. We went and shot footage of the closed building and interviewed people associated with the campaign to reopen it. Shortly before the filming was finished, the Occupy movement reopened the library. At first it was unclear what this meant. On hearing of the occupation, Charles and myself immediately drove to the library to interview the new occupants. The person we spoke to (who I've not seen to since) didn't really say anything other than that there were a few quatters from Camden Town in the library. My first reaction was horror. I wanted the building as a library, not a squat . I must emphasise that this wasn't because I think squatters should be on the street, but I thought this meant it would be even harder for the campaign to reclaim the library (I volunteer for a  homeless shelter so I know all about the issue). A helpful security guard told me that they had broken in and disabled the alarm.

I thiought Barnet would use this as an excuse to flog off the building or even worse, knock it down. Within a matter of hours, I realised I could not be more wrong. Whatever happens to the library (and it looks very likely that it will remain a library), the story has been one of the most positive and uplifting episodes of my life. The library has been transformed into a vibrant hub of the community, far more loved than even the old regime. I have always been an advocate of direct action. That was why we opened the original pop up library on the lawn outside. I am proud that in some small way, this poured fuel into the tank of the campaign, and the idea started on this blog.

What I have realised is that Occupy have a lot to teach us. They use direct, non violent action and they facilitate community action against bad governance. During the St Pauls occupation, I was doing some IT consultancy for an American Merchant bank. It is fair to say not many of my friends at the organisation were open to the message of the occupy movement. I would often nip up at lunchtime and have a look around. I was intrigued, but I didn't "get it" I had no doubt that the protest would not spell the end of capitalism. I wasn't sure what the camp achieved. What I have learned since, has been a revealation. The camp acted as a focal point for people who cared that society was going down a dead end. It is all very well to worship cash, but there has to be a human element in all this. If we elevate cash above our community, society will fail  and we'll all end up living in bunkers behind security systems. Whatever the Library campaign could have achieved has been magnified a million times by the occupation. Do I now agree with all of the stated aims and goals of Occupy? Nope. I do however respect them and believe that anyone who dismisses them without intellectual debate and consideration is a fool. I have had many interesting conversations with members of Occupy. I have learned a hell of a lot in the process. On some issues, I've modified my viewpoint. As I've never been anything other than left leaning in my politics and a firm believer in the values of a caring society, I have not had a Damascan conversion, I have just thought more deeply about issues I'd previously not considered.

Perhaps the biggest issue is the issue of squatting. If you had asked me eighteen months ago, I would have said the law needed changing to make it easier for home owners to get possession of squatted homes. This would have been an opinion born of ignorance. Of course no one should come home to find someone else has taken over their house. The thing was the law already stopped this. What Mike Freers anti squatting law has done is turn thousands of people onto the street, allowing homes to lie empty whilst people freeze. That cannot be right. If Mike Freer cared, he'd have changed the law so that Landlords who were just sitting on empty property would be compelled to sell the land. How long should a property be allowed to sit empty? I have a confession to make here. When my mother died, her home sat empty for 2 1/2 years (bar a couple of short periods where family members stayed). In this case, it was because her will left her estate to charity and there were legal considerations and complications regarding the sale. Clearly when such a  process occurs, the law needs to take this into account. The problem in this particular case was that no one knew when the issues would be resolved and any tenant would have complicated the sale. The other side of the coin is that people were sleeping rough in Barnet whilst her flat sat empty. This is also wrong. I would like to see  local authorities be able to take such properties on a temporary possession until issues are resolved. They would undertake to return the property to it's original condition on vacation. The minimum term would be one month, with one months notice. I would suggest that the council should be able to serve an order after six months. They would pay a commercial rent to the owner. If the property needs work to make it habitable, this should be charged to the owner. This could be paid on sale of the property.

Obviously if a property is undergoing renovation, the rules could be waived. I believe that this would focus the minds of landlords and owners and help may people find a roof over their head. Of course such a change would need much serious consideration. It may be charities are a better tenant than a local authority. Whilst I am sure many of my Tory friends will point to a million flaws in my scheme, ultimately we have a rich country with homes sitting empty. If you want to post a criticism, don't bother unless you can post a solution to the issue of homelessness. I believe that the rights of the homeless take precidence over the rights of wealthy individuals to do what the hell they like.

Barnet Council and a victory for stupidity

I was appalled to see this story in the Hendon Times today -
http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/9754254.Exposed__secret_slum__to_be_cleaned_up/?ref=twtrec

It tells how up to eight homeless people have been squatting in a derelict garage. The Times reports

"at least eight Polish, Irish and Romanian men had been living in the derelict garages off Rectory Lane at various times over a two year period."

I am appalled by the tone of this article and the action taken by Barnet Council. Regular readers of this blog will know that I volunteer at a homeless day centre on a weekly basis. Over the preiod I've been working there, I've learned a lot about the issue of homelessness and what is and isn't effective.

Let me explain a few of my objections to what is written in this article. The biggest issue I have is the racist tone of the article and the failure to acknowledge the humanity of the people involved. Would it be OK if the men sleeping rough were English? Is their nationality in any way relevant to the issues they are causing or any other problems? Are Irish people who are homeless in any way inferior to any other homeless person? Or Poles or Romanians.

I am also rather alarmed by the suggestion that boarding up the garage will reduce crime and solve the problem. Of course the people living in the garage will move. They still exist though. They have simply been displaced to somewhere else. Whilst the residents of this part of Edgware have seen the back of them, someone else is waking up this morning with a new problem on their doorstep. Any associated crime has also moved.

The report states that the people living in the garage refused assistance from charities and other agencies. From my experience of homeless people, this is quite likely to be correct. The reason is because of the coercive nature under which the help was offered. It is quite clear that the plan was to board up the garages and move the people along. Estimates say that perhaps 70-80% of homeless people have mental health issues and substance abuse issues. In short they are not good at decision making. They are even worse at decision making when placed in situations of stress. The charity I work with has teams of outreach workers scouring the street for homeless people. Often it can take days or even weeks for a level of trust to be built up to the level where they will even come into the centre for a free breakfast. To suggest that when a team of police and council contractors turn up to evict these people, they will happily talk to outreach workers is complete nonsense.

We have to ask "what happens when homeless people get moved?". Well usually they are desperate. However vile their circumstances were before, now they do not even have that level of security. Their first priority will be to find a safe, dry refuge. If you've gone on holiday for the week and they notice your house is empty, maybe that location could be your house? It could be you shed or your garage.

Compared to Victoria, where I volnteer, Barnet has a very small problem with homelessness. The agencies in Barnet have far less of a challenge. We have a very snobbish attitude to street drinkers and homeless people. No one grows up with an ambition to become a homeless alcoholic. People end up in this situation because their lives have gone wrong. Alcoholism is a disease and it is one which usually is created by other issues - abuse, mental illness, financial or relationship break up. The vast majority of Irish, Poles and Romanian men in the UK are here because they wanted to find a better life and to work. The economic situation has resulted in the breakdown of their lives. Anyone who thinks that living in a rat infested garage with a bunch of strangers and drinking yourself silly every day is a good lifestyle is quite deluded.

So you may ask, what am I suggesting? Leaving them in the garage ad infinitum. No of course not. That would benefit no one. What I am suggesting is that as the problem has gone on for two years, the council has failed miserably in all aspects of dealing with it. The council will know how long the process takes to legally address the problem. During this period, social services should have built up a relationship with the dwellers and worked on building up a level of trust. Once this has been established, then you can start working on getting people out of such a chaotic lifestyle. The one thing which can be guaranteed is that wherever the dweller have gone, it is not to take up residence at the Ritz Hotel. They have simply become someone elses problem and the whole cycle will start again. In two years time, we'll have another story about another eviction. Assuming the people haven't died in the meantime.

Is this really what those of us, with nice comfy homes want?

Saturday extra - London News Roundup

First up - some great news. The forthcoming film, A Tale of Two Barnets is really starting to catch the publics imagination. The story about the film is currently the most read story on the Hendon Times website. Here's th screenshot (click on the image to view the story)

From the Times Series website

Check out the film website here - http://ataleoftwobarnets.yolasite.com/. This is what the director, Charles Honderick has to say about the film.

My mother's family are from the London Borough of Barnet and I'd spent a lot of time growing up there, so in a way this film was a labour of love. I wasn't quite sure what direction the film was going to take when it began, but as I interviewed people a story emerged.  I wanted to give the people of Barnet a platform to talk about important local issues and put on record what life is like in this part of London in a year when the eyes of the world are on the great city of  London.

Although it's only a small film, I hope it makes a difference  and helps affect change for the better.

Another interesting story on the Times website is about Harrow Council taking enforcement action against a Shisha Cafe, which erected an illegal structure on Edgware High Street.

http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/topstories/9567676.Edgware_shisha_caf___demolished/

Many Barnet residents are watching with interest to see if Barnet Council will take a similar firm line with Belmont Childrens farm, which is reaching the end of the six month period to comply with the planning requirements. We understand that Mr Reid, former Conservative party deputy chairman is bullish about his prospects for keeping the park open, so we hope he has complied with the planning issues and the park can stay open.

On to the big issue facing London. An issue I have buried my head in the sand about for many years. Since Xmas, I've been volunteering at a day centre for homeless people - http://www.passage.org.uk/ - if you are unaware of the issues facing homeless people, please check out The Pavement - a magazine for homeless people - http://www.thepavement.org.uk/  - I think a society which looks the other way is a society which fails.

A friend of mine and occasional guest blogger forwarded me  an appeal from Crisis, who she volunteers for at a Christmas centre. Here is the contents
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Crisis Campaigns
Rough sleeping soars as cuts hit
	Dear Hilda, In my first week as the new Campaigns Manager at Crisis the Government has released its latest rough sleeping figures and I'm shocked. Stats out today show a 23% rise in rough sleeping this year. And independent research for Crisis predicts that with unemployment climbing, soaring demand for limited affordable housing, and government cuts to benefits and services, things are set to get worse. Sleeping rough is a dangerous and traumatising experience. That's why we're calling for a change in the law to make sure local councils help anyone facing homelessness. And that's why campaigners like you are so important to Crisis - we must not give up the fight to end homelessness. Share this shocking rise in rough sleeping on Twitter and facebook today. Share on Twitter    Share on Facebook Thanks for your continued support.  HelenCampaigns Manager
Thanks to photography by Amiran White

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Perhaps an even bigger issue is youth violence. Dave Hill focusses on this in the Guardian - http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/davehillblog/2012/mar/02/london-serious-yoiuth-violence-solutions - only a fool would pretend that youth violence is something new. I certainly don't think that Boris Johnson is to blame for it, but I do think he has not followed up his words in the 2008 Mayoral election with action to deal with it. The cuts to safer neighbourhood teams is a tragic folly. I don't know about you, but I'd be quite happy to pay an extra 50p a week for Police on the street to make sure my kids are safe. I'd forego a bag of crisps a week, wouldn't you?

But lets not end on a low note. There is a good news story for all Londoners. The Cutty Sark is reopening to the public on April 26th - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17233100 -  Greenwich is a great place for a day out. I also thoroughly recommend the planetarium show at the Royal Observatory - http://www.rmg.co.uk/visit/planetarium-shows/ - booking recommended as it's very popular. We went there recently and thoroughly enjoyed it. If you want to really see this part of London, Here's my recommended itinery for a day out from the London Borough of Barnet. Get the train from Mill Hill Broadway to Blackfriars and take the clipper from Blackfriars pier to Greenwich. Visit the armaments musem, then do the planetarium show. For lunch, nip into the food hall in the market, cheap and tasty and then do the Cutty Sark. Get the DLR back, via Stratford and then get the North London Line to West Hampstead, to see the Olympic Park - very impressive. You will also get some great views of London and St Pancras Station. If you can time this for sunset, I believe this is a view worth it's weight in Gold.

Just before I sign off, I'd like to draw your attention to the latest Poem - Son - by local poet Paul David Hogan. Paul has set up a blog and is publishing his poetry on it. As a Father, I would say that this is probably the finest description of Fatherhood I've ever read. Please check out Paul's website - http://thetroublewithpaul.blogspot.com/2012/03/son.html

Son:

Son.
I don't tell you to keep your chin up
because I'm afraid of how it looks if you don't.
It's important to know how to win and lose
and accept both with grace.

Son.
I'm not open and honest with you about everything
because I'm proud or boastful of all I've done.
But because I want you to learn from my mistakes
and for you to thrive on goodness.

Son.
I don't want you to be the mirror of me.
You are unique, not insular, strong, funny and kind.
You have already become your own person,
In spite of my failings as a man and father.

Son.
Your budding being, inspires me every waking hour,
to remember that no one is perfect, least of all me.
But I'm intelligent enough to know, that as long as we stay close,
I'm succeeding, for now, where many 'better' men have failed.

Son. Forever, my Son.

© Paul David Hogan 2012


Have a nice weekend

Homeless at Christmas in London

As I write this blog, on boxing day, having just tucked into a lovely plate of bubble and squeak, I find myself thinking of my good friend Hildegarde. She's currently finishing her shift at a Crisis Xmas shelter for homeless women. She works over the Xmas period every year. Inspired by her example, I decided to try and do my bit this year.

On Thursday, my alarm went off at 6am. I had a shower, a cup of green tea and a banana, and trotted down to Mill Hill Broadway to catch the 6.34 to St Pancras. I picked up another cup of tea and a copy of Private Eye, to read on the way in. At St Pancras, I transferred to the Victoria line and made my way to Victoria Station. Here I walked around the corner to the The Passage, arriving at ten past seven. The Passage is a day centre for Homeless people. I'd volunteered to do a morning shift, 7.30 to 10 am. A few quick introductions and then we started making preparations. I was told that I was on toast duty. The system is simple. The Passage receives food that has reached it's sell by date from a number of retailers such as Marks & Spencers and Pret a Manger. This is available for free to the people who attend the passage. They can also have two slices of toast and a drink. There is a fried breakfast of eggs, tomatoes, beans, sausage, bacon and mushrooms. These must be paid for. Each item is ten or fifteen pence. If the people genuinely have no cash at all, they can obtian a voucher to pay.

At 8am, the doors open and the people who use the centre start rolling in. I start my toast production line, which runs for the best part of two hours. I guess that for many people, the only homeless people we notice are the Big Issue sellers. We had a couple of them in for breakfast. People collect their breakfast and make their way a seated area where they can get a bit of relief from the cold and relaxation. Many of the people are eastern europeans, with a smattering of English. I try and greet everyone I can with a cheerful "Good morning" and ask them how much toast and whether they want it buttered. Some nod, some just hold up fingers, some have a little chat. A couple explain how they found themselves in this predicament. A couple had similar stories, coming over from Poland and finding the work in the building trade has dried up.

One guy, an Afro-Carribean Londoner told me of how a medical cock up had robbed him of the use of his leg, musing on the irony that despite his chaotic lifestyle, it wasn't this that was the cause of his problems. Towards the end of the shift, a guy came in and spoke to one of the staff, saying he was moving into a flat later. The help and councilling from the centre had helped him start to get back on his feet. He said he was volunteering and he was keen to "put something back". Despite his difficulties, he was upbeat and positive. The regular helpers said it was quieter than usual, although it seemed pretty busy to me. Many regulars were going to shelters such as the one Hildegarde is at.

The vast majority of the people using the centre were male, I discussed this with Emma, the volunteer coordinator. It seems that when relationships fail, men are usually the ones to move out. If there are children involved, the local authority has a legal responsibility to house the woman and children.

At 9.30am, the breakfast closes down. The toaster gets turned off and any remaining breakfast items are given out free. The regulars who know the system will have waited for this moment and take the chance to tuck in. A quick walk around the day centre during the session, showed the great facilities, geared to helping people find their feet. The majority of the people I'd served breakfast to were now sat around trying to catch some sleep in the warm. I was perhaps surprised how quiet they all were. Just sitting staring in many cases.

The last half hour was spent washing down surfaces and tables. Then I was off home. I had one of those moments of great clarity, we all sometimes get. On the train, I pondered that many of the people I'd met were probably younger than me. I'm fourty nine. I got home and googled the life expectancy of the Homeless in the UK and found this - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16272120 - the life expectancy for them is 47 - 30 years younger than the national average of 77. Regular readers of this blog will know I've been diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer (with no symptoms at all), I'll probably outlive them all. I've already lived two years longer than the expectation of those I'd just buttered the toast for. It was a  wake up call. Maybe I should count my blessings, rather than bemoan my ill fortune.

I hope you all had a happy and healthy Christmas

Guest Blog : Spotlight on Homelessness in London by Hildagarde

Rules are made to be broken. Generally guest blogs get no alteration / editorial comment on the Barnet Eye, but I am going to make an exception this time. The reason? Because the issue is too important. This blog is written by a good friend of the Barnet Eye who wishes to remain anonymous. I am also posting a link to a charity link for another good friend of the Barnet Eye, one who is also getting up of his backside to do someting for the homeless. This friend is the Dave Hill from the Guardian, who features the Barnet Eye as a Top London Blog. Maybe you are reading this blog as a result of the Guardian link. Anyway please read this blog and if it inspires you, sponsor Dave in his marathon run, proceeds of which are being donated to Shelter.

Here's Dave's Link

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=DaveHillGuardian

Many people in Mill Hill also support The Passage, a homeless charity in Victoria. This is one of the Parish Charities for the Sacred heart Church in Mill Hill Broadway. It is dedicated to helping the hard core homeless in London.

http://www.passage.org.uk/


And here's Hildagardes guest blog, unaltered and unedited (not her real name). This explains what the problems are like and why councils are failing vulnerable people

Guest blog by Hildagarde,

Problems facing homeless people             

 This Christmas as in previous years I have volunteered at a homeless shelter for women. There are a number of things wrong with this, firstly there are apparently no homeless women in London – so if that is the case how is it that every year we are full. This is in part down to the way that the count for the homeless is done. When they count, if there are less than 10 homeless people in any particular area, that figure does not have to be recorded. Only if the number of homeless exceeds 10 in an area is that number recorded. Also when they do the count they stick to main roads and areas – homeless women are vulnerable and therefore tend to avoid busy areas and stay in the shadows – the areas that the authorities do not or will not go – so it is therefore not surprising that the statistics relating to the homeless are wrong and the there are not enough services being offered for them.

So, regardless of the lack of services and the chronic under recording of homeless numbers, when they finally get to see a housing officer they are treated badly. This year one of the women staying at the hostel where I worked is in a wheelchair as she was diagnosed with having MS last August. She went to the housing people in Essex – they said they would provide her with emergency temporary housing. When she arrived at the designated address, the room was on the first floor, the bathroom and toilet were on the second floor – there was no lift, chair lift or any electronic means of travel between the floors in the building. After trying to live there for a number of days she went back to the housing office and explained that this was not suitable accommodation for someone in a wheelchair and that she couldn’t go back. The council then turned round and said that as she had deliberately made herself homeless they were not required to re-house her. Surely a little bit of joined up thinking wouldn’t have gone amiss here. Anyone could see that this lady was in a wheelchair. Even if there were no ground floor rooms available at the time, could an able bodied person not be moved to facilitate a disabled woman who was homeless? The council appear to do the bare minimum to abide by the law!!

On another occasion a woman and her 77 year old mother, again homeless and staying in the shelter where I was working, were subject to appalling treatment. The housing officer of the charity had arranged an appointment for them to see the housing officer in Bedfordshire. They were given train tickets to Bedford and duly attended at the appointed time only to be told by the housing officer that she didn’t think they were eligible to be housed. The housing advice person from the charity was contacted – she in turn then explained to the housing officer in Bedford that they were entitled. Reluctantly they were given emergency accommodation for one night and told to return the next day when the Bedford housing officer would see if she thought they were eligible. The next day they returned – a few more calls were made and they were finally given a place to stay. These are homeless people, most of whom live hand to mouth, and they were given an unfurnished one bedroom flat which was damp with the wall paper peeling off the wall – but they were just glad to have a roof over their heads. The charity I worked for did arrange a loan for them for some furniture as they had none but can you really say that giving someone a flat with no furniture and expecting a 77 year old woman to sleep on the floor is what this society considers to be fair treatment of the elderly? They were not told how long they would have the flat for so were unable to make any firm plans to get their lives back on track. There is however a happy ending to this story. Thanks to friends they have they have now moved to a nicer part of town, paying less rent than the council wanted them to pay and the daughter has secured a permanent job. But none of this was as a result of help they have received through the local authority– this is through private individuals helping and stepping in where the council failed. To a large extent the charity was the prime mover in giving this lady  back enough self confidence to get a job and in her own words treated her like a normal human being!!

But regardless of this happy ending – how can other people expect to get their life back together if they are not given any indication of how long they would might hold on to the accommodation? What happens when the temporary period expires? There is too much uncertainty around getting people off the street and giving them the time and space to get their lives back together. How can anyone plan for the future if they don’t know how long they will be living in a place?

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The Barnet Eye is always pleased to publish guest blogs. These can be submitted using my email address in the sidebar. They are published unedited/unaltered and without comment (usually).