Beggars, homeless, street drinkers & drug users in Sheffield!

[Isabelle 10]

I went into the city centre Monday before last, and I noticed a large number of beggars. I did buy a Big Issue from a seller on Pinstone Street. I heard him thanking another buyer, and he was so polite I decided I had to buy one too

[SkylinePhoto 10]

There's a guy outside Sainsbury's on the High Street that has 2 dogs.

 

I bought a tin of dog food and some treats and gave it to him and he asked me if i was taking the pee.

 

Was i out of order?

[Anna B 1,401]

There's a guy outside Sainsbury's on the High Street that has 2 dogs.

 

I bought a tin of dog food and some treats and gave it to him and he asked me if i was taking the pee.

 

Was i out of order?

 

No you weren't, you were being kind.

 

---------- Post added 12-04-2017 at 12:57 ----------

 

Why don't the police move them on?. Probably because they are too busy making reality shows for the tv.

 

That just moves the problem somewhere else though, it doesn't solve it.

[SteelOwl 10]

Afraid it is just the norm now.

 

I always seem to get collared by the tall chap who always rubs off the same story..

 

' I may look like a 9 foot giant but I have fell on hard times, I got stabbed the other week ( showed me the stab wound ) I fell into deep alcoholism and I have not had a drink in 3 weeks. Have you got any change?'

 

I have noticed this chap a few times before and he is quite intimidating due to his size and I cannot help to think that due to his considerable height advantage, a lot of people will give him the cash.

 

Is there enough help out there for these people?

 

[Anna B 1,401]

There probably will be some scam artists out there, but that doesn't mean they all are by any means.

 

What with bedroom tax, benefit crackdowns and sanctions, there are definitely a lot more people who can no longer afford a roof over their heads.

[Andy1976 10]

There probably will be some scam artists out there, but that doesn't mean they all are by any means.

 

What with bedroom tax, benefit crackdowns and sanctions, there are definitely a lot more people who can no longer afford a roof over their heads.

 

That's the problem isn't it. The ones who are scamming are quickly realised by people as doing exactly that, which makes people who would otherwise help less likely to do so.

[Anna B 1,401]

That's the problem isn't it. The ones who are scamming are quickly realised by people as doing exactly that, which makes people who would otherwise help less likely to do so.

 

I agree, which is why I suppose it's better to give to charities which deal with homelessness. But charities are turning out to be some of the biggest scammers of all.

 

Personally, I'd give to the Archer project and the Salvation Army, but sometimes, faced with such obvious need, you just can't help giving directly to a person.

 

And I always count my lucky stars for my own good fortune. And remember it could happen to anyone in the blink of an eye.

[Andy1976 10]

I agree, which is why I suppose it's better to give to charities which deal with homelessness. But charities are turning out to be some of the biggest scammers of all.

 

Personally, I'd give to the Archer project and the Salvation Army, but sometimes, faced with such obvious need, you just can't help giving directly to a person.

 

And I always count my lucky stars for my own good fortune. And remember it could happen to anyone in the blink of an eye.

 

Exactly that. I did the Archer Project sleep out in October a few years back. Eye opening experience I can tell you!

[John_S6 10]

There is a guy who begs outside the Co-op in Crookes. We have offered him food and a shower if he wanted to come to our house, which he declined. I have since heard that he has somewhere to live and can't keep pretending to us that he is homeless. He looks sheepish these days. My daughter has seen him with a dog in a different persona begging in the city centre. It seems that it must be profitable as he is making a living out of it. I can think of better ways of earning money than sitting on a concrete floor reading a novel.

 

Oh yes, him - he lives on Sackville Road yet blatantly begs as if "homeless" just around the corner.

[Reesh2052 10]

On Friday night on Division Street i counted 13 male beggars all within 600 yards, all English speaking not "foreigners" as is usually reported in here. I couldn't believe what cheek they had dotted about. I think it is about time the Council took some sort of action to remove them from the streets if they're begging or ensure that they get overnight accommodation. I do believe that genuine homeless people need support but beggars "can you spare some change!" repeated by 13 people in 600 yards is unacceptable.

[Flexo 10]

On Friday night on Division Street i counted 13 male beggars all within 600 yards, all English speaking not "foreigners"

 

There's a lot of money to be made on Division Street on a Friday night from well-meaning gullible folk.

[Puggie 10]

The problem isn't begging, and it's certainly not drugs. These are simply ramifications of a much deeper social problem we've turned a blind eye to - our psychological welfare.

 

For decades we've been bringing up our children (boys in particular) to show restraint when it comes to their emotions. Our stiff upper lip has done us no favours in this regard. The message from society was that keeping our emotions well hidden was a sign of strength.

 

We've prioritised our physical health over our psychological health. Many of us don't have the tools needed to navigate the emotional hurts that life sometimes throws at us, such as losing a loved one, divorce, or rejection.

 

Under the right circumstances many of these emotional wounds when left bottled up and untreated will manifest themselves. The teenage boy who never came to terms with losing his twin brother all those years ago might be the disheveled 40 year old man on the streets today.

 

The worst possible thing we can do now is to stigmatise and demonise these individuals, but sadly we continue down this failed path.

 

If you want a quick 15 minute crash course on the science of addiction I would strongly recommend watching [

] by the British author Johann Hari.