Soldato
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ChroniC said:
Stitch your own football boots!
I don't get it: homelessness
- Thread starter SiD the Turtle
- Start date
Stitch your own football boots!
I must say I agree with the OP, I'm from Hull and they've knocked huge amounts of council houses down on one of the estates because there wasn't demand for them anymore. Yet then there's homeless people in the city centre. And I know of people who've never done a day's work in their life and get everything paid for. Why once you've become homeless does it seem impossible to get back into a house?
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gumbald said:I agree with his state of confusion
lol good answer
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cleanbluesky said:
Of course not, as soon as one immigrant buys a hosue, there is an effect on housing. What I'm saying is it isn't the reason for homelessness. Drug/Alcohol abuse, sexual/mental abuse are all far higher reasons for people being homeless. I don't believe immigration even has had a huge effect on available housing compared to other factors. For example, the average number of house occupants is now only just over 2, whereas 40 years it was over 4. It is far more social changes like these, higher divorce rates etc that has led to an increased need for housing. That and Thatcher selling as many as she could....
I find it strange that there are so many homeless families in the UK considering the report about so many empty council houses, especially here in Glasgow, yet in England alone there are 1.5m on the "social housing" waiting list. Is this just a case of local councils not doing enough for the homeless?
Even more Catch-22 for a lot of homeless people... in order to receive benefits you are required to have an address, but in order to have an address you are required to be receiving benefits, but in order to receive benefits... etc... etc... etc...iCraig said:One of the main causes as to why people are homeless is education. In order to get a house/flat, they need an income. In order to get an income you need some sort of job, and in order to get that job you're going to need at least a basic education. No employer in their right mind would waste time/money hiring somebody for a job they have absolutely no idea how to do.
Charities such as Shelter are an excellent source of advice for the homeless, and can often help by providing resources, such as a mailing address, etc... but their resources are stretched.
The NCH Bytenight scheme is a good idea of raising awareness and funds... http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2157015/execs-homeless-charity?vnu_lt=vnu_art_related_articles
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afraser2k said:
To be fair, they still have some standards.
What if you pay them minimum wage, but you also offer them discounted accommodation as part of their benefits? That way they are free to use their pay for housing or they can just go and spend it on booze if they so wish.dirtydog said:
it probably is chronic.
One of the reasons I've heard for an increase in the number of people without "fixed" adresses (those either in hostels, on the street or at friends) is the sale of a lot of the old council housing stock, meaning that the local authorities don't have as much housing available for those who are "homeless".
One suggestion for the problem of getting a job without a fixed home might be for the government to help arrange for "postal addresses" for homeless people, basically a contact address (like a PO box) that someone who is having to move around every few weeks can use on job applications etc.
The actual problem is pretty complicated with many different reasons/causes from the cost of housing, education, unexpected changes in circumstances (if you lose your job without warning, your partner dies/splits up you can be really screwed etc).
I was listening to the radio the other day and someone made a very good point, at the moment if you are on housing benefit and living in privately rented accomodation the money goes to the landlord and does not actually help the situation in the long run (you still don't have secure accomodation).
The suggestion was that it might make sense for the government to help people get a private house in certain circumstances if they are "homeless", something along the lines of the council helps with the first X months mortgage or puts the equivilent of housing beneft towards the mortgage for a while with the clause that they get first bite if the house is repossed/sold. The end result is the it costs the council no more than at current, but with the result that hopefully it results in people who were/are homeless (but with job prospects if given a chance) no longer being homeless (saving money in the long term).
It's never going to happen though, as it won't look good to the general voting public who probably wouldn't see past the "OMG they are giving them houses".
One of the reasons I've heard for an increase in the number of people without "fixed" adresses (those either in hostels, on the street or at friends) is the sale of a lot of the old council housing stock, meaning that the local authorities don't have as much housing available for those who are "homeless".
One suggestion for the problem of getting a job without a fixed home might be for the government to help arrange for "postal addresses" for homeless people, basically a contact address (like a PO box) that someone who is having to move around every few weeks can use on job applications etc.
The actual problem is pretty complicated with many different reasons/causes from the cost of housing, education, unexpected changes in circumstances (if you lose your job without warning, your partner dies/splits up you can be really screwed etc).
I was listening to the radio the other day and someone made a very good point, at the moment if you are on housing benefit and living in privately rented accomodation the money goes to the landlord and does not actually help the situation in the long run (you still don't have secure accomodation).
The suggestion was that it might make sense for the government to help people get a private house in certain circumstances if they are "homeless", something along the lines of the council helps with the first X months mortgage or puts the equivilent of housing beneft towards the mortgage for a while with the clause that they get first bite if the house is repossed/sold. The end result is the it costs the council no more than at current, but with the result that hopefully it results in people who were/are homeless (but with job prospects if given a chance) no longer being homeless (saving money in the long term).
It's never going to happen though, as it won't look good to the general voting public who probably wouldn't see past the "OMG they are giving them houses".
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Werewolf said:
This is the result of letting council house tenants buy their home for peanuts. A lot got taken out of circulation and if I remember right Thatcher passed a law preventing councils from building new houses. I think that has been modified now so that they can put cash into a housing association build and get some houses that way. As mentioned above it costs local authorities more to house a family in a Band B than it does if they bought the house and rented it back.
The crunch has not been reached yet but it is getting close. Some families will not be able to afford houses in some parts of the country and will have to move to other areas. This will leave some areas with nobody to do the more menial jobs in society, which of course society depends.
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do_ron_ron said:
In fact council houses have not been built up to speed since the mid 80's.
In my opinion the fact of council houses being sold in the past 20 years for very little and the recent over generous benefits system is part of the reason the prices of everything else have been driven up so highly.
The system as it is, with less and less people affording to rent or buy on their own will only increase the burden on councils.
..and back on topic.. homelessness, as others have said is very often associated with health issues, often psychological. Perhaps 30 years ago some would have been hospitalized but with the advent of 'care in the community' this is no longer so, and they are ill equipt to deal with the world as it is.
And for some people, it is more of a one thing led to another situation, where they may have been kicked out of one place and fell out of the system.
