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

[RiffRaff 10]

3 hours ago, Halibut said:

You're full of heart. Try imagining how it might feel, be glad for what you've got and let go of the hate.

So he's pretending to be homeless. He's begging for your money and sympathy, but only when the shop's open, and then according to a witness, he wanders off home again.

Explain to me how that isn't a con.

 

[Ms Macbeth 71]

11 hours ago, RiffRaff said:

So he's pretending to be homeless. He's begging for your money and sympathy, but only when the shop's open, and then according to a witness, he wanders off home again.

Explain to me how that isn't a con.

 

He doesn't have a sign saying he's homeless, he may have somewhere to sleep, but no money.  Not all beggars are technically homeless, there are so many reasons why he may be sitting outside, in the cold, every day.  

[pattricia 574]

50 minutes ago, Ms Macbeth said:

He doesn't have a sign saying he's homeless, he may have somewhere to sleep, but no money.  Not all beggars are technically homeless, there are so many reasons why he may be sitting outside, in the cold, every day.  

It’s a very awkward situation isn’t it Mrs.M ?

[jonnythefox 26]

3 hours ago, Ms Macbeth said:

He doesn't have a sign saying he's homeless, he may have somewhere to sleep, but no money.  Not all beggars are technically homeless, there are so many reasons why he may be sitting outside, in the cold, every day.  

Like i said previously begging for drug money, he smokes,he has a mobile phone, lives in a housing assosiation house. How do i know this ? because i live very near him on the same road and i see what goes on.

[Mister M 1,606]

If this question has already been answered on this thread, please excuse me.

 

I was watching Newsnight recently, and one of the articles was about how Liverpool City Council were using the spare capacity of the hotels in the area to house the homeless during the period of lockdown. 

I was heartened to see that amidst all the uncertainty for many that Coronavirus has wreaked, at least some of the least fortunate are getting an opportunity for some comfort.

I was just wanting to know if this is a nationwide scheme to ensure that the homeless are protected. If not does anyone know if Sheffield City Council has made some provision for the homeless?

[Steelworker 10]

All local authorities were told a few weeks ago to do whatever they can to get the homeless inside, empty hotels were suggested. The government only put a few million £ into this scheme specifically, but referred to an extra £1.6bn in funding for councils to respond to coronavirus pressures. 

 

There's still plenty of homeless (or beggars) about in Sheffield not sure why this is. Empty hotels and apartments should be plentiful, money perhaps an issue but if other places have enough why not us, perhaps some of the homeless are refusing the help.

[Anna B 1,401]

4 hours ago, Steelworker said:

All local authorities were told a few weeks ago to do whatever they can to get the homeless inside, empty hotels were suggested. The government only put a few million £ into this scheme specifically, but referred to an extra £1.6bn in funding for councils to respond to coronavirus pressures. 

 

There's still plenty of homeless (or beggars) about in Sheffield not sure why this is. Empty hotels and apartments should be plentiful, money perhaps an issue but if other places have enough why not us, perhaps some of the homeless are refusing the help.

Have you tried asking them? They are quite easy to chat to, especially if you go armed with a sandwich and hot cup of tea or coffee.

[catmiss 12]

On 16/04/2020 at 13:38, Steelworker said:

All local authorities were told a few weeks ago to do whatever they can to get the homeless inside, empty hotels were suggested. The government only put a few million £ into this scheme specifically, but referred to an extra £1.6bn in funding for councils to respond to coronavirus pressures. 

 

There's still plenty of homeless (or beggars) about in Sheffield not sure why this is. Empty hotels and apartments should be plentiful, money perhaps an issue but if other places have enough why not us, perhaps some of the homeless are refusing the help.

In my experience longer term homeless  people often refuse accommodation offered as the accompanying conditions don’t accommodate their lifestyles  e.g. curfews, visitors, substance misuse. I’ve worked with a lot of individuals who have been supported to access numerous accommodation options but are unable to adhere to the requisite behaviours and are consequently barred. Unsurprisingly many of these people feel unable to engage with housing or other services and as street support with housing and underlying issues is severely under resourced there will always be a homelessness issue. The latest advice is not to provide money/food/drink to individuals in the hope they will be forced to access agencies such as the Archer Project. Such projects do excellent work but, for protection of service users and staff, have acceptable behaviour policies which some people cannot adhere to and end up being barred. The complex needs and experiences of some homeless people will never be solved by just putting a roof over their heads

Edited April 18, 2020 by catmiss
Typos

[onewheeldave 22]

6 hours ago, catmiss said:

In my experience longer term homeless  people often refuse accommodation offered as the accompanying conditions don’t accommodate their lifestyles  e.g. curfews, visitors, substance misuse. I’ve worked with a lot of individuals who have been supported to access numerous accommodation options but are unable to adhere to the requisite behaviours and are consequently barred. Unsurprisingly many of these people feel unable to engage with housing or other services and as street support with housing and underlying issues is severely under resourced there will always be a homelessness issue. The latest advice is not to provide money/food/drink to individuals in the hope they will be forced to access agencies such as the Archer Project. Such projects do excellent work but, for protection of service users and staff, have acceptable behaviour policies which some people cannot adhere to and end up being barred. The complex needs and experiences of some homeless people will never be solved by just putting a roof over their heads

Another reason some homeless people 'don't engage' is that they have in the past being robbed or sexually abused by other residents while in homeless hostels.

6 hours ago, catmiss said:

The complex needs and experiences of some homeless people will never be solved by just putting a roof over their heads

What can work in those cases is giving them accomadation without conditions- that has had great success in projects in other countries.

Also in other projects, simply giving homeless people money, with no conditions, has resulted in some of them ceasing to be homeless.

[Justin Smith 10]

A couple of points either way.....

 

There's a beggar in Hillsborough who always looks helpless and poor, I saw him on his mobile phone the other day......

 

People asking you for a bus fare aren't always scamming. I can remember when I was about 14 and I'd lost my money. I had nothing for the bus fare home and it was about 7 miles to walk.... Some kind bloke gave me the fare *, I've never forgotten that act of kindness.

 

* or he might have given it straight to the driver, which is what you should do to avoid scammers

[andyofborg 11]

On 21/04/2020 at 09:16, Justin Smith said:

A couple of points either way.....

 

There's a beggar in Hillsborough who always looks helpless and poor, I saw him on his mobile phone the other day......

 

just because he's poor and homeless doesn't mean he cant have a phone

[Justin Smith 10]

1 hour ago, andyofborg said:

just because he's poor and homeless doesn't mean he cant have a phone

It was a smart phone. Sorry, but someone who has the money and organisation to get a smart phone, and knowledge of how to use one, is not someone who needs to be begging.

 

Actually, whilst I'm on, we were in Gloucester just over a month ago. A beggar was asking us for money etc saying he hadn't eaten etc. As mentioned before I remembered when someone had helped me when I'd lost my bus fare years ago, so I offered to buy him a sandwich from Subway. He then changed his story to "no, I need the money for my leccy bill".

No, he was a scammer, and people like him should be ashamed of themselves because they put people off from helping those who really do need it. Like I did when I lost my bus fare all those years ago.....

Edited April 23, 2020 by Justin Smith