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

[Pettytom 1]

15 minutes ago, jaffa1 said:

Well said.

The weak minded and the gullible. 

They can't  help it , it's  how they're  made.

I’m not sure I’d phrase it like that, but I think I know what you mean.

 

I also asked “what can be done about it”. What do you think?

[jaffa1 10]

7 minutes ago, Pettytom said:

I’m not sure I’d phrase it like that, but I think I know what you mean.

 

I also asked “what can be done about it”. What do you think?

I wish I had the answer, I know youngsters  in this delema. 

[the_bloke 17]

On 07/02/2020 at 23:31, Pettytom said:

So, why do you think that it happens to some?

 

Do you have a solution for those people?

You can only have a solution for people on the street if they want to accept help. Some people don't because the help comes with a caveat that they have to help themselves. Unlike some of the holier than thou on this thread, I've been homeless yet I was never on the street as I accepted the help at every moment it was offered. I was officially homeless for 8 weeks and I know how the system works (at least I did all those years ago).

 

It's hard to be sympathetic to those that bite the hand that keeps trying to feed them then they claim they aren't getting help.

[Mattcheese 10]

On 07/02/2020 at 23:45, catmiss said:

The statistics you quote are from the annual rough sleepers count undertaken on one night of the year and with very specific criteria. Having helped out on the count some years ago only people lying down ‘preparing for or actually sleeping’ could be counted. If a group of people sitting or laying were talking, even in sleeping bags/under blankets, they couldn’t be counted. The count only covered the city centre thus ignoring a lot of rough sleepers who move slightly out of the centre to avoid attracting unwanted attention. Anyone working with rough sleepers knows the count/statistics are therefore a gross under representation 

Well......I have many friends who work with the homeless who stand by these figures. Some even claim these figures overstate how many homeless people there are in the city. 

 

So, rather than the hearsay and "eye witness" accounts of internet users, who claim to have helped out on a count some years ago, going by the official facts and figures available is preferable I feel. 

[catmiss 12]

7 hours ago, Mattcheese said:

Well......I have many friends who work with the homeless who stand by these figures. Some even claim these figures overstate how many homeless people there are in the city. 

 

So, rather than the hearsay and "eye witness" accounts of internet users, who claim to have helped out on a count some years ago, going by the official facts and figures available is preferable I feel. 

Well we all entitled to our own points of view. Some of us are informed by years of work with rough sleeper as well as the, statutory differently defined, homeless ,others by friends’ anecdotes and statistics. The year I took part in the count resulted in Sheffield registering 3 rough sleepers officially-my eyes and my working experience registered this as a gross misrepresentation  

[Mattcheese 10]

10 hours ago, catmiss said:

Well we all entitled to our own points of view. Some of us are informed by years of work with rough sleeper as well as the, statutory differently defined, homeless ,others by friends’ anecdotes and statistics. The year I took part in the count resulted in Sheffield registering 3 rough sleepers officially-my eyes and my working experience registered this as a gross misrepresentation  

Facts aren't a 'point of view'. 

 

My friends and colleagues are also "informed by years of work with rough sleepers" - these are the facts and statistics they operate by. 

 

I'm not quite sure when the figures returned "3" as the number of people rough sleeping (certainly more than 10 years ago, as the current records only go back back 10 years and this figure isn't part of them). 

 

A bit surreal how you claim people have their view "defined by friends anecdotes and statistics" (the two things are at stark odds!) then offer.....personal anecdotes as to why we should not believe facts and statistics at all.

 

As mentioned before- those I know closely, who are very involved in this line of work, abide by these facts and statistics in their professional operations. Offering an anecdote about something that presumably happened more than 10 years ago really shouldn't change that. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Robin-H 11]

On 07/02/2020 at 23:45, catmiss said:

The statistics you quote are from the annual rough sleepers count undertaken on one night of the year and with very specific criteria. Having helped out on the count some years ago only people lying down ‘preparing for or actually sleeping’ could be counted. If a group of people sitting or laying were talking, even in sleeping bags/under blankets, they couldn’t be counted. The count only covered the city centre thus ignoring a lot of rough sleepers who move slightly out of the centre to avoid attracting unwanted attention. Anyone working with rough sleepers knows the count/statistics are therefore a gross under representation 

The guidance on counting rough sleepers can be found here. Data is verified as best as it can be by Homeless Link, in order that local authorities produce the most accurate snapshot. Coordinators should be liaising with Homeless Link throughout the process to ensure their estimate is as reliable as possible.

 

https://www.homeless.org.uk/our-work/resources/counts-and-estimates-evaluating-extent-of-rough-sleeping

 

 

[catmiss 12]

On 10/02/2020 at 11:52, Mattcheese said:

Facts aren't a 'point of view'. 

 

My friends and colleagues are also "informed by years of work with rough sleepers" - these are the facts and statistics they operate by. 

 

I'm not quite sure when the figures returned "3" as the number of people rough sleeping (certainly more than 10 years ago, as the current records only go back back 10 years and this figure isn't part of them). 

 

A bit surreal how you claim people have their view "defined by friends anecdotes and statistics" (the two things are at stark odds!) then offer.....personal anecdotes as to why we should not believe facts and statistics at all.

 

As mentioned before- those I know closely, who are very involved in this line of work, abide by these facts and statistics in their professional operations. Offering an anecdote about something that presumably happened more than 10 years ago really shouldn't change that. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry, but your confidence in official statistics are misplaced and manipulation of the true picture continues as many of my ‘friends and, former colleagues’  will attest. There are a group of people who rough sleep regularly in my area who don’t engage with statutory services and will never appear in the statistics 

[RussianDoll 10]

Last night i was in waitrose car park When a girl approached my car. She was crying, saying her bag had been stolen, and needed money for a coach. She said she was a student on an open day. All very convincingly, she was was well dressed and well spoken. Unfortunately i helped her out. I then notices as she walked away she checked a mobile phone. I googled the ‘coach times’ she had told me and it was all a lie. After telling some friends they pointed me towards this forum and said that this woman in a notorious Sheffield scammer. I found out she has been doing this scam since 2006.  Just wanted to warn you all.

[Longcol 594]

3 hours ago, RussianDoll said:

Last night i was in waitrose car park When a girl approached my car. She was crying, saying her bag had been stolen, and needed money for a coach. She said she was a student on an open day. All very convincingly, she was was well dressed and well spoken. Unfortunately i helped her out. I then notices as she walked away she checked a mobile phone. I googled the ‘coach times’ she had told me and it was all a lie. After telling some friends they pointed me towards this forum and said that this woman in a notorious Sheffield scammer. I found out she has been doing this scam since 2006.  Just wanted to warn you all.

If she's been doing this for the best part of 14 years I'm somewhat surprised she could pass herself off as a student.

[catmiss 12]

Has anyone seen the elderly chap begging outside B & M in Hillsborough? He comes prepared with blankets, ordinary and space, packed lunch and hot drink. He told me he was homeless but when I told him he should be entitled to temporary accommodation via SCC at his age he told me to ‘f off’

[jonnythefox 26]

8 hours ago, catmiss said:

Has anyone seen the elderly chap begging outside B & M in Hillsborough? He comes prepared with blankets, ordinary and space, packed lunch and hot drink. He told me he was homeless but when I told him he should be entitled to temporary accommodation via SCC at his age he told me to ‘f off’

He isnt homeless he lives on rudyard road.