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Out on the streets
THE daily soup kitchen at St Mary's Church is an important part of Simon Leach's day. The 28-year-old, who sleeps rough in a car park in Southampton, has been coming to get free food, provided by the Society of St James, on a daily basis since he came to Southampton three months ago.
While some rough sleepers who had gathered at the church to get some warm food and catch up with their friends said that sleeping rough was a matter of choice for them, Simon was clear that this way of life was something he wanted to escape from.
"Do I want to get off the streets? Hell, yes," he said.
"I want to get into a decent job, live in decent accommodation and live a normal life. Sleeping on the streets, you just don't know what you are going to be doing from day to day - you have to put a lot of effort into trying to stay safe."
Simon first began sleeping rough at the age of 17. He stayed with friends for a while but they fell out and he found himself sleeping rough again.
Articulate and intelligent, Simon didn't fit the stereotyped image many people have of the homeless - and he wasn't the only one.
The people who were gathered for the soup run were a diverse group with a range of reasons for becoming homeless.
For some of them, like Stu, who wasn't sure of his age but thought he was around 46, sleeping rough, and the nomadic life that often accompanies it, was a way of life that he had no desire to escape from.
"This is a way of life for me," he said, "I can't get out of it."
Michael, 41, said sleeping rough was, to some extent, a matter of choice. Michael has been battling with alcohol problems and said that he has found in the past that when he has gone into hostel accommodation - the first step on the ladder away from homelessness - he has gone backwards in terms of his motivation and alcoholism.
"I've been homeless on and off since I left school," he said.
"Time goes so quickly that it becomes a way of life and then it's hard to get back into the system. If you want to get back into the system you have to start at the bottom and work your way up and that can be hard, mentally. And going into hostel accommodation you can lose your motivation and become lazy and start drinking."
Michael's friend Kelly, 37, also said she preferred sleeping rough to hostel accommodation.
She became homeless when she fell out with her family and says that she's happy with her lifestyle at the moment but is planning on getting back onto the system soon.
Another entrenched rough sleeper is 39-year-old Michelle. She has been sleeping rough most nights for the last seven to eight years and has come to depend on the soup kitchen, which she visits daily.
"If it wasn't for the soup kitchen, where would we go?" she said.
Michelle also became homeless after falling out with her family but is hoping to return to them soon.
It was with the aim of helping the whole range of homeless people that the Rotary Club of Southampton joined forces with city-based homelessness charity the Society of St James, to produce "survival packs" for the homeless.
These backpacks, which were distributed at the soup kitchen, contained items which were aimed to help take care of some of the immediate welfare needs of the homeless as well helping to get them off the streets in the long term.
They included a first aid kit, toothbrush and flask as well as items such as a diary and alarm clock to help people make sure they attend appointments such as job interviews.
All the homeless people I spoke to thought the packs were a very good idea and said it was the first aid kit that they thought they would find particularly useful.
Bob Jackson, president of Southampton Rotary Club, came up with the idea of the packs after meeting a young homeless person and talking to him about his situation.
"I came across a young lad of about 15 sitting in a car park at night with his head in his hands and he asked if I had any money," he explains.
"I asked him why he wanted it and he said that he was homeless. I quizzed him about what he wanted the money for and he said that he was on drugs. I didn't give him any money but I wanted to do something so I looked up local homeless charities and contacted the Society of St James.
"I pledged that during my year as president of the club I would link up with them and help."
Bob organised a sleep-out to help raise funds for the Society but wanted to do more. He came up with the idea of the packs as a version of the emergency packs that are sent overseas to help people cope with disasters such as flooding.
"They're not a way of resolving homelessness but they're a first step. They're a way of showing we care and of helping to make life more bearable."
He added that the response of the people who were given the packs had been brilliant and that if the feedback from the Society of St James was positive more packs would be produced.
Holly Barnes-Thomas, of the Society of St James, said the charity was delighted to be receiving help from Southampton Rotary Club.
She said the backpacks could be a lifesaver for rough sleepers and that they would hopefully help people to access the help they need to get off the streets.
Typically, there are seven people sleeping rough on the streets of Southampton on any given night, although there are far more people who are classed as homeless - staying in hostels, squats and other temporary accommodation. In March, there were more than 230 homeless or at risk of homelessness people in Southampton with more than 500 more housed by homelessness agencies.
Holly says that while it can be tempting to give money to people who are begging on the streets, generally it's best to give your money to a local homeless charity or, if you want to help the individual, buy them a sandwich and a drink rather than giving them money.
The Society of St James provides a whole range of services for the homeless, from the most basic form of support in the form of the soup kitchen through hostel accommodation to helping people deal with the problems such as alcoholism which may have led to their becoming homeless and getting them back on the housing and job ladder.
Simon Leach says he is making the most of the facilities available to get himself off the streets and back into "normal" life, but it can be tough.
"Jobs aren't that readily available for rough sleepers," he says.
"You have gaps in your employment and employers don't always want to hear that that's because you've been on the streets."
9:34am Sunday 27th April 2008
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CommentPosted by: Noah Handouts, Uncomfortable reality on 11:02am Sun 27 Apr 08
"If it wasn't for the soup kitchen, where would we go?" This comment perhaps shows the encouraging side of charity for people to remain in a dependant life style. Perhaps without the prospect of somebody else taking responsibility for those who are sleeping rough there might be more incentive for those who rely on soup kitchens to find other more independant ways to live. Do not more handouts result in more dependants and less incentive to lead a more self reliant life? Are so called charity workers really helping to change the situation or helping to sustain it? Things hard earned have value, things freely given are taken for granted.
"If it wasn't for the soup kitchen, where would we go?" This comment perhaps shows the encouraging side of charity for people to remain in a dependant life style. Perhaps without the prospect of somebody else taking responsibility for those who are sleeping rough there might be more incentive for those who rely on soup kitchens to find other more independant ways to live. Do not more handouts result in more dependants and less incentive to lead a more self reliant life? Are so called charity workers really helping to change the situation or helping to sustain it? Things hard earned have value, things freely given are taken for granted.
Posted by: Denzil, Chilworth on 11:06am Sun 27 Apr 08
Noah wrote:-
"Are so called charity workers really helping to change the situation or helping to sustain it?"
Charity is big business and lots of people are employed by charities. You have charities supposed to protect animals and children - and yet both seem to be departments of the Police force these days.
Imagine an England with no homelessness - now imagine all the unemployed charity workers, their shops closing, fewer OBE's being handed out.
Noah wrote:-
"Are so called charity workers really helping to change the situation or helping to sustain it?"
Charity is big business and lots of people are employed by charities. You have charities supposed to protect animals and children - and yet both seem to be departments of the Police force these days.
Imagine an England with no homelessness - now imagine all the unemployed charity workers, their shops closing, fewer OBE's being handed out.
Posted by: Fred on 11:09am Sun 27 Apr 08
"Michael, 41, said sleeping rough was, to some extent, a matter of choice"
There we have it - no more crying you a river.
"Michael, 41, said sleeping rough was, to some extent, a matter of choice"
There we have it - no more crying you a river.
Posted by: hmm on 11:11am Sun 27 Apr 08
[quote][bold]Fred[/bold] wrote:
"Michael, 41, said sleeping rough was, to some extent, a matter of choice" There we have it - no more crying you a river.[/quote] "Michael's friend Kelly, 37, also said she preferred sleeping rough to hostel accommodation."
More proof that the homelessness problem is not all it is cooked up to be by the media associated charities.
Fred wrote:
"Michael, 41, said sleeping rough was, to some extent, a matter of choice" There we have it - no more crying you a river.
"Michael's friend Kelly, 37, also said she preferred sleeping rough to hostel accommodation."
More proof that the homelessness problem is not all it is cooked up to be by the media associated charities.
Posted by: paul b on 4:47pm Sun 27 Apr 08
There is no reason to be homeless these days. They spend all money on booze, they should be rounded up with all the other benefit claimants and forced into work such as street cleaning
There is no reason to be homeless these days. They spend all money on booze, they should be rounded up with all the other benefit claimants and forced into work such as street cleaning
Posted by: paula, southampton on 5:22pm Sun 27 Apr 08
let me get this straight, not all homeless people choose to be homeless.
nor are they all alcoholics and/or on drugs.
there is a huge percentage of kids aged 11-20 living on the streets, through having no choice. many of these youngsters have run away, or been thrown out by thier families,and often they have been seriously abused.
in these instances, the streets are often safer than being at home.
and while the government can often help the 10-15 age group, from 16 and over your on your own.there are not many shelters around, and once they are full, tough luck. also you can only spend so many nights there before being told to leave.
many of these shelters, are often more dangerous than living on the streets, i mean would you like to be holed up all night next to someone who's off thier head and unpredictable on drugs?
theft, assault and rape are more common in hostels than on the streets, where cold and hunger are the worst enemy.
once your homeless, you cant get a job, because of no fixed abode, so no job = no money, which then turns to depression and low self worth.
homeless does not = worthless. i have seen high flying business men tumble and fall, and university lecturers, so why couldn't it be you or me?
let me get this straight, not all homeless people choose to be homeless.
nor are they all alcoholics and/or on drugs.
there is a huge percentage of kids aged 11-20 living on the streets, through having no choice. many of these youngsters have run away, or been thrown out by thier families,and often they have been seriously abused.
in these instances, the streets are often safer than being at home.
and while the government can often help the 10-15 age group, from 16 and over your on your own.there are not many shelters around, and once they are full, tough luck. also you can only spend so many nights there before being told to leave.
many of these shelters, are often more dangerous than living on the streets, i mean would you like to be holed up all night next to someone who's off thier head and unpredictable on drugs?
theft, assault and rape are more common in hostels than on the streets, where cold and hunger are the worst enemy.
once your homeless, you cant get a job, because of no fixed abode, so no job = no money, which then turns to depression and low self worth.
homeless does not = worthless. i have seen high flying business men tumble and fall, and university lecturers, so why couldn't it be you or me?
Posted by: Noah Freerides, Uncomfortable reality on 5:53pm Sun 27 Apr 08
While agreeing that there is, and always will be, a need for charity it is the nature of support that is in question. Society should aim to teach all its citizens that they have to contribute, that nothing comes for free. Things given out to those in need should be earned in some way. If someone needs a free meal then perhaps they should help to prepare it or do some other necessary task like help clean the hostel they stay in or soup kitchen they use. Something for nothing from misguided charity workers is the wrong message to be sending out. If charity workers want to genuinely help and improve the position of people in need then they should encourage them to help themselves not simply supply free food or/and shelter.
While agreeing that there is, and always will be, a need for charity it is the nature of support that is in question. Society should aim to teach all its citizens that they have to contribute, that nothing comes for free. Things given out to those in need should be earned in some way. If someone needs a free meal then perhaps they should help to prepare it or do some other necessary task like help clean the hostel they stay in or soup kitchen they use. Something for nothing from misguided charity workers is the wrong message to be sending out. If charity workers want to genuinely help and improve the position of people in need then they should encourage them to help themselves not simply supply free food or/and shelter.
Posted by: Hillary West on 6:32pm Sun 27 Apr 08
[quote][bold]paul b[/bold] wrote:
There is no reason to be homeless these days. They spend all money on booze, they should be rounded up with all the other benefit claimants and forced into work such as street cleaning[/quote] If I was homeless and the only thing was to get smashed to numb the pain.... I too would be an alcoholic!
paul b wrote:
There is no reason to be homeless these days. They spend all money on booze, they should be rounded up with all the other benefit claimants and forced into work such as street cleaning
If I was homeless and the only thing was to get smashed to numb the pain.... I too would be an alcoholic!
Posted by: Creature Void of Form on 9:55pm Sun 27 Apr 08
I saw the teaser for this story and thought the Echo were about to publish something interesting and challenging....unfor
tunately, they opted for wishy washy quotes from too many people rather than focusing on one or two homeless people and showing what homeslessness is all about.
The Echo have just made readers resent homeless people even more
I saw the teaser for this story and thought the Echo were about to publish something interesting and challenging....unfor
tunately, they opted for wishy washy quotes from too many people rather than focusing on one or two homeless people and showing what homeslessness is all about.
The Echo have just made readers resent homeless people even more
Posted by: Mike Baldwin, s on 5:15pm Mon 28 Apr 08
That's Vernon from corrie - deserves it his acting is crap Liz must have thrown him out.
That's Vernon from corrie - deserves it his acting is crap Liz must have thrown him out.
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