Some things need saying...
Today, as a miserable 2016 stutters to a close in icy mist and deaths of our homeless friends on the street, we welcome a new guest Blogger. Beanie Cellars puts the coffee on for our friend Darren Richardson. Originally from London, he is very aware of what street homeless means. So today, we move aside and let Darren have his say...
Homeless 2016 - the sky over their head
Are you sitting uncomfortably?
Then I'll begin.
It's hard to imagine…
In this awful year where the screaming
rectangular squawk box of brainwash tells of
celebrities dropping like flies off a bakers blue ring of death…
And harrowing footage of inflatable boats
with scores of hapless people fleeing war zones and drowning in a sordid salty
soup of shame…
That on home soil we have become accustomed
or de-sensitised to social problems.
And one social problem which in my eyes has
become an epidemic – is homelessness.
At the moment there is a viral video of a
very astute five year old who seems to get it. And she gets it as her young
eyes have to endure seeing people in states of decay and living in their own
filth be treated like vermin in a rat run, just because they don't have a home.
See her here
Now if a five year old can see what is wrong out there (even if mummy/daddy/other has clued her in on the matter) then
there is obviously a problem. Something
is dreadfully wrong, when little bubbas who should be watching Cbeebies or
Peppa Pig or Milkshake on their telly are instead making You Tube videos of
social commentary.
Now what does that say about the sixth
richest country on the planet?
We have people who have become rich by
literally conning their way through life.
Some homeless on the streets are the actual
victims of these unscrupulous individuals. Maybe through the charging of stratospheric
exponential rents that housing benefits or their low paid zero hours contracts
cannot satisfy. Or losing their jobs as healthy businesses are run down, asset stripped, and sold for £1
We have politicians who pontificate about
the so called ‘something for nothing’ cult of benefits across the last six
years. Whose demographic is those browbeaten into submission by spirit crushing
jobs which make the mind weak, wary and angry.
And thus are implanted with a seed in their
minds by these Harlots that those on benefits or homeless are taking the rise
out of the system. And it’s their taxes which fund them.
Its easy to turn on the squawk box and see
these comfortable self satisfied morons who seem to think they have the moral
high ground. They do not care what trail of damage they leave behind.
Then mix it up by making councils create
rules of thumb that those made homeless should be not seen and most
effectively, not heard. Sweep them off
the high street – oh, but sorry, there is nowhere for you to go… Ah, let’s
arrest you…
They have created a hate culture. People are
now insensitive to what really goes on in a homeless person(s) life.
When the Politicians and their mates aren't hiding
money in offshore accounts or owning several properties where the occupants are
packed like sardines in a crushed tin box squashed flat by a Kango Hammer. They
roll into their Mews dwellings in cars paid for by the taxes of those propping
them up.
Are they the enemy? Do they hate you? Or is it just that 'You' mean
nothing. 'You' are just hidden in an eight figure statistic.
They do not have to face the streets. Being
set fire to. Beaten to a pulp or losing their lives prematurely. Or as one
tweeter stated some time ago – he was seeing people in the homeless shelter
dying in front of him.
He now is housed. But he has had no
aftercare. It is like “here are the keys – sort your own life out – we have
done our bit”. So the other night he was in darkness, hungry and waiting for
his phone battery to give out the last breath.
His Disabled Living Allowance has been taken
away – he has tried to make his place look good – and it is, because he has a
lot more furniture than me – he actually has a sofa and chairs. When I went
from temporary accommodation (because of my rap sheet of problems including a
nervous breakdown) to here. I had next to nothing and thankfully the charity here and my mum have helped and brought me to some sort of standard.
Others aren't so “lucky”. As little Brooke
has seen. People in blankets, filthy, unkempt, greasy, full beards and stench.
This is our fellow people and this is how we treat them. Like pigeons – rats
with wings.
No access to a clean bathroom. No access to
a washing machine. No access to street pastors or support workers because
council cuts have taken those services away. It was deliberate. It isn't
trickle down – it’s a tsunami.
Public toilets closed. Police mandated to
prosecute and fine vagrants. How the hell can you get out of that rut if there
is no help for you to get out of it? Homeless banned from shops just in case
they loot. Legal high idiots posing as homeless bullying and cajoling the
public to give spare change. Thus giving homeless an even worse reputation that
they already have been burdened with.
The public truly have no idea that homeless
victims - of home or domestic violence, mental illness, bankruptcy, drug or alcohol
addiction and more - are people who all have stories and just want somebody to show
some empathy.
And, would they act a bit
differently if they saw the research that says
“Every person is one major event from being
Homeless”
EVERY PERSON…
Thats you and me... and everyone.
The only roof the homeless have is the sky
above their head. And like some roofs – they leak – rain, sleet or snow. The
concrete buildings they huddle in on the street giving no protection from the
howling wind.
Not knowing whether they are alive tomorrow
or where the next meal or handout is coming from.
Their only means of digital communication
being ebbed away by local libraries closing at an alarming rate. And under
Universal Credit rules totally unable to get benefit, not have a smartphone to
find work or the monetary capacity to actually put talk time on to use one even
if they actually have one.
There is no sanctuary. There is no safe
space. They are constantly a target and are vulnerable. Shuffled off the beaten
track by a society being brainwashed with fear.
I am not going to condescend to you by
saying “you just try being homeless”. All I ask for is for you to try and
imagine having to live outside of your bubble.
With a society on full throttle hate.
With your apparent invisibility to all but
the most caring.
With next to nothing in your possession.
With the only objective of “where will you
be sleeping tonight?”
With no dishwasher, Netflix, Wi-Fi or a warm
shower.
In this me-now generation, it is hard for
homeless to actually attain these comforts. Where the only lights they wake up
to are a policeman's torch.
Where the only alarm clock is a boot in the face or the bleariness of the
dawn light.
You, dear reader are just one last pay check
from the above. And maybe it is time to wise up and actually help our fellow
people.
Mothers did not give birth to children so
they sleep in some disused building, under a railway arch or park bench if they
are lucky. Brought into the world with love only to leave it with a world that
hates them because people have been ordered to hate them.
My sister is always talking to the homeless.
Hearing their stories and woes. Tries to get charities and volunteer
organisations to see these people. And some are very young. And I just hate the
fact that our future is being left to rot on the street, when with a bit of
support they can have a future. They should not be denied one.
In closing, some towns have 4 figure
homeless. Oh they may not appear in the
“official” statistics, but if you open your eyes and look… they are there. When
will this sad state of affairs end.
Everybody needs to be housed.
Every body needs a life.
You know what to do....
I think this tune sums up homelessness.
And - if you'd like the lyrics...
This tune came out in 1993 – what has
changed since then?
Passionate words and strong views. But, at the end of a catastrophic year for way too many, words that need to be said. Thank you Darren.
You can find Darren on Twitter as @MrDazz1966
And he Blogs in his own right at
http://mrdazz1966.blogspot.co.uk
And he Blogs in his own right at
http://mrdazz1966.blogspot.co.uk
Here at Beanies Masato, we share information, signpost help and sell stuff to help homeless outreach and fund warm Beanie hats, scarves, bags and essentials. You can find our stuff on this link
