You remember Mark Field? The MP who forcibly and violently ejected a female protester at a gala dinner a few weeks ago? well this morning, I was shocked to learn that he was even more unpleasant than I had realised. Why you may ask? Read on.
The second misconception is that all that people did was come in for some food. There are showers, washing facilities and the opportunity to buy clothes at cheap prices. Personal hygeine is hard for people on the streets. It is also a key part of basic human dignity. It is very hard to get yourself a job, a flat or anything else if you smell and you are dishevelled. For many homeless people, this was as an important service as the breakfast.
But there is far more. The breakfast and the showers are simply a way to engage with the homeless and build trust. The most important part of the mission is to actually help people find their feet. The passage has medical services, offers training and help finding jobs. The charity also has a hostel which helps people get back into the regular life of having accommodation. Each client has different needs and this doesn't work for everyone, but this has been the pathway to reintegration with society for many.
What has all of this got to do with MP Mark Field. He is the local MP for the passage and he has apparently been describing the Passage in most derogatory terms. He has described it “magnet for these undesirables to flood into Victoria”.
Field said: “It is high time that The Passage … started to take a little more responsibility for its ‘clients’ ”. I assume (and I may be wrong) that Mr Field wasn't referring to myself, Sam Cameron and George Michael. He was referring to people in desperate need of help and support. In his comments, he mentions that many of the clients are from Eastern Europe. What he clearly is completely ignorant about, is the fact that they have not decamped from Poland purely to get a cheap fry up on a wet Wednesday morning and the delight of sleeping in a cardboard box in a doorway. The vast majority are migrant workers, attracted by relatively high salaries in the building industry. What happens time and again is that when the contract finishes, they are unable to secure work elsewhere. The building industry in London is in a Brexit fuelled recession. Without work and with high accommodation prices, many find themselves on the streets, penniless and without support. Often engagement with the Passage results in a new job or a ticket back to their country of origin. Often they have come for a specific job and are just unaware of how to find another one. Sometimes they have fallen into problems with drink and drugs, but engagement with the Passage is the first step in dealing with these problems. People who are clearly intoxicated or violent are simply not allowed in and bad behaviour will result in a temporary or permanent ban from the facility.
What really sticks in the craw about Mr Fields comments is that, until he decided to assault an unarmed woman, he was a minister in the Government. When he talks about 'taking responsibility for their clients', Field and his friends in the cabinet have a primary responsibility for creating the London homeless crisis. In a perfect world, the Passage would simply not exist. It is a stain on our city and our country that it does. The day people with the wealth, power and influence start to care about dealing with the causes of homelessness in London, will be the day that the institutions such as the Passage will start to no longer be needed. Sadly for the rest of us, Mr Field simply doesn't care about those at the bottom of the tree. One ex soldier, who had lived rough for over a decade told me that if he'd realised just how little his country had cared for our servicemen when he left the forces, he'd never have been prepared to make the sacrifices that him and his comrades had made in service of the British government. He told me that he received no help preparing for the re-entry into civilian life with PTSD. He told me fascinating stories about his military service. I feel enraged to hear such a person described as an undesirable. He told me that despite living on the street, he had a very ordered life. He kept himself clean and apart from occasionally drinking a bit too much of an evening, on cheap lager from convenience stores, lead a reasonably healthy life. He spent his time drawing, sometimes selling them. He was a talented artist, but told me he couldn't cope with the pressures of paying bills and organising himself, as he'd joined the army at 17 and had no clue how to do such things.
If Mr Field got his wish and the Passage disappeared from his constituency, the people who use it would not disappear. They would simply lose access to the services that may help them turn their life around. The Passage has been open for several decades. Like music venues, I would advise people not to buy a flat near such a place if they don't like their new neighbours. As it is a day centre, there are not huge crowds late at night. Having opened up on numerous occasions, you are greeted by a cold, hungry and very quiet crowd when the doors open. People are invariably grateful and respectful. The constituent Mr Field agreed with in his email talks about drug dealing. Whilst it is impossible to guarantee that this doesn't happen, no client would do this openly as this would immediately lead to exclusion. My assumption would be that those clients with drug issues would conduct such activities well away from the Passage. To gain entry, clients have to pass through entrance security and anyone with known issues are not permitted entry. Like many things, I suspect that the likes of Mr Field have no real interest in the truth.
That is not to say that no client is ever difficult. I have encountered one or two, but they are a tiny minority. In fact other clients are often keen to ensure staff are aware of any problems which may disrupt the centre. A friendly whispered "keep an eye on him" will alert staff. In all the years I was working there, only once was I verbally abused in a threatening manner. The person was asked to leave by a paid member of staff and at least half a dozen of the other clients apologised for the behaviour. The Passage has strict protocols for dealing with such incidents. As the person clearly had mental health issues, I was more concerned that they got help than were excluded.
Am I surprised that a man like Mark Field should display such ignorance? No, am I surprise, sadly I am not. The more I learn about Mr Field, the more unpleasant he seems.
What really sticks in the craw about Mr Fields comments is that, until he decided to assault an unarmed woman, he was a minister in the Government. When he talks about 'taking responsibility for their clients', Field and his friends in the cabinet have a primary responsibility for creating the London homeless crisis. In a perfect world, the Passage would simply not exist. It is a stain on our city and our country that it does. The day people with the wealth, power and influence start to care about dealing with the causes of homelessness in London, will be the day that the institutions such as the Passage will start to no longer be needed. Sadly for the rest of us, Mr Field simply doesn't care about those at the bottom of the tree. One ex soldier, who had lived rough for over a decade told me that if he'd realised just how little his country had cared for our servicemen when he left the forces, he'd never have been prepared to make the sacrifices that him and his comrades had made in service of the British government. He told me that he received no help preparing for the re-entry into civilian life with PTSD. He told me fascinating stories about his military service. I feel enraged to hear such a person described as an undesirable. He told me that despite living on the street, he had a very ordered life. He kept himself clean and apart from occasionally drinking a bit too much of an evening, on cheap lager from convenience stores, lead a reasonably healthy life. He spent his time drawing, sometimes selling them. He was a talented artist, but told me he couldn't cope with the pressures of paying bills and organising himself, as he'd joined the army at 17 and had no clue how to do such things.
If Mr Field got his wish and the Passage disappeared from his constituency, the people who use it would not disappear. They would simply lose access to the services that may help them turn their life around. The Passage has been open for several decades. Like music venues, I would advise people not to buy a flat near such a place if they don't like their new neighbours. As it is a day centre, there are not huge crowds late at night. Having opened up on numerous occasions, you are greeted by a cold, hungry and very quiet crowd when the doors open. People are invariably grateful and respectful. The constituent Mr Field agreed with in his email talks about drug dealing. Whilst it is impossible to guarantee that this doesn't happen, no client would do this openly as this would immediately lead to exclusion. My assumption would be that those clients with drug issues would conduct such activities well away from the Passage. To gain entry, clients have to pass through entrance security and anyone with known issues are not permitted entry. Like many things, I suspect that the likes of Mr Field have no real interest in the truth.
That is not to say that no client is ever difficult. I have encountered one or two, but they are a tiny minority. In fact other clients are often keen to ensure staff are aware of any problems which may disrupt the centre. A friendly whispered "keep an eye on him" will alert staff. In all the years I was working there, only once was I verbally abused in a threatening manner. The person was asked to leave by a paid member of staff and at least half a dozen of the other clients apologised for the behaviour. The Passage has strict protocols for dealing with such incidents. As the person clearly had mental health issues, I was more concerned that they got help than were excluded.
Am I surprised that a man like Mark Field should display such ignorance? No, am I surprise, sadly I am not. The more I learn about Mr Field, the more unpleasant he seems.
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