UJ

Ooooooohhh - have I hit a raw nerve??? I don't recall you criticising him when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer, in fact if memory serves, you seem to be delighted when he attacked the disabled and poor.

I guess the point is that a significant number of them, NOT ALL, should be out working like the rest of society to do their share and earn a wage.

If you pay "silly money benefits" all you do is create a nation of scroungers. Let's unpick this though.

Here's the thing. A significant portion of the so called "Homeless" demographic are not homeless at all. To be more accurate, they have CHOSEN to be homeless.
That's because we have large numbers of people who are addicted to alcohol or drugs or who have mental issues.

There are countless organisations and properly supported companies who DO HAVE ACCOMMODATION for these people. Most of the people living on the street however purposefully choose NOT to use them. Why? Because they would prefer any benefits they receive to go into their own pocket for drink and/or drugs rather than it go towards accommodation rent. For many of these people the benefits "pay day" comes, and is completely spent, blown the same day/night on a big binge or fix. Then they start up begging again.

These people have chosen to live this way of life. Some engage with the support centres and are helped from there to rehab but few come right through that chain and end up clean imo.

So the rest have chosen a path through life that is different from the mainstream one. They can't work or hold down a job for any length of time because of their drink and drug issues and thus are effectively trapped in a cycle.

Handing them out lots of benefits wouldn't solve the problem. It would exacerbate it as the money would go to more drink and drugs and they would still live on the street.

This is why it is folly to give street beggars any actual money. Begging IS their day to day job and they do it for one reason only which is to buy more drink and drugs. Giving money fuels that problem. Buy them some hot food or a drink but never give them money. You are not helping them when you give money, even a few coins. In many cases you are putting them at risk because there are usually others watching and if they see you hand that £5 note to a beggar they will mug him/her afterward for that cash.

As for the benefits levels £361 . . . . . I have a standing order from my personal bank account to our joint account of just £350 per month. My wife does the same. This covers all our regular costs (council tax etc) plus a decent allowance for food. We paid that amount for years.

I cook really good meals for the homeless and vulnerable every week catering for about 20 to 30 people at a time. The meals I cook are good quality with meat and veg and the costs average at about £2 to £3 per head. That's just 1 good meal but shows that you could cook yourself a decent healthy meal every day for a week for an outlay of about £20.

The city I live in is one of the best cities in the country for providing accommodation to the homeless. It's a big city. In fact the number of REAL HOMELESS people here is something like 30 to 50. All the other people seen on the streets are either :

1. Choosing to live on the streets

2. Have been given accomodation but spend their day time begging for drink/drug money

3. Have travelled into the city from elsewhere in order to beg in busy city centres before then going back to their accommodation.

People should be wary of being duped about all of this "homeless" stuff. The socialist agenda will always be disingenuous about it.

We are not overrun with homeless people. We are overrun with people with severe issues which include drink, drugs and mental issues. What we need is money being made available for support centres to help those people overcome their problems and get back into mainstream society. Plus we need to crack down on the wider drug trades.

Throwing tons of benefits at these people achieves absolutely nothing and serves only to exacerbate the problem. These people only engage with the various support centres when they need something. That might be food, medical help, advice on getting accommodation, help with domestic issues. getting a bank account and so on. If they don't engage, they can't be helped. If they have no needs they don't engage.

It's what they call in the business "The Long Game".

A long steady build up of trust between the "guests" as they are called, and the support centres so that they can be directed along the right path to recovery.

Of course none of this will impress our old fossil UJ languishing as he does in his comfy armchair posting endless anti Tory vitriol.

The response touch a nerve UJ? Don't let the truth get in the way of a good socialist tale.

a discussion I was having with 'Muddy'.

There will be no free speech or dissent under UJ's LoonyLabour,

Here's the thing. A significant portion of the so called "Homeless" demographic are not homeless at all. To be more accurate, they have CHOSEN to be homeless.
That's because we have large numbers of people who are addicted to alcohol or drugs or who have mental issues.