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

[Walksalot]

oh please .... when will all you people stop equating homelessness which is a scurge on society with seeing people sleeping rough on the streets of Sheffield , the two are completely different , the people on our streets are there because they will not engage with any of the myriad of services available to them , some are homeless yes but others are not , begging is the reason thay are there , and not begging to survive but feed a habit , the real homeless , the ones who want and need assistance are being forgotten in this rush to blame the system that is being abused by the few

[jaffa1]

6 hours ago, Walksalot said:

oh please .... when will all you people stop equating homelessness which is a scurge on society with seeing people sleeping rough on the streets of Sheffield , the two are completely different , the people on our streets are there because they will not engage with any of the myriad of services available to them , some are homeless yes but others are not , begging is the reason thay are there , and not begging to survive but feed a habit , the real homeless , the ones who want and need assistance are being forgotten in this rush to blame the system that is being abused by the few

Well said and correct.

[Guest makapaka]

On 23/12/2019 at 21:14, Box11 said:

That's why they need to be strong through the rough and try their best to get back on track once they do they should never look back.....

Oh yeah - doddle.

7 hours ago, Walksalot said:

oh please .... when will all you people stop equating homelessness which is a scurge on society with seeing people sleeping rough on the streets of Sheffield , the two are completely different , the people on our streets are there because they will not engage with any of the myriad of services available to them , some are homeless yes but others are not , begging is the reason thay are there , and not begging to survive but feed a habit , the real homeless , the ones who want and need assistance are being forgotten in this rush to blame the system that is being abused by the few

Do you think those people want to live a life begging on the streets to feed addiction?

[lottiecass]

2 hours ago, makapaka said:

Oh yeah - doddle.

Do you think those people want to live a life begging on the streets to feed addiction?

Probably not maka but that's their choice. They know where they can go for help but can't turn up drunk or gouching. If people stopped giving beggars money that  is spent on drink and/or drugs the begging in town would stop.

[Guest makapaka]

6 minutes ago, lottiecass said:

Probably not maka but that's their choice. They know where they can go for help but can't turn up drunk or gouching. If people stopped giving beggars money that  is spent on drink and/or drugs the begging in town would stop.

I used to advocate giving them money but someone on here  involved in homelessness  put a very well thought out argument on the misgivings of handing out money and I get it in a way. 

 

What I don’t like is the assumption that the step to sorting themselves out is something they could just do easily - cos that’s not the case.
 

 

 

 

[Longcol]

2 hours ago, lottiecass said:

Probably not maka but that's their choice. They know where they can go for help but can't turn up drunk or gouching. If people stopped giving beggars money that  is spent on drink and/or drugs the begging in town would stop.

And we'd see an increase in shoplifting, burglary, mugging etc. There are no easy answers - especially as services to support vulnerable people have been slashed thanks to the "austerity" regime.

 

In 20 odd years of working for homeless charities I never met anyone who "chose" to live on the streets - unless they'd been assaulted, robbed, raped etc in homeless hostels or suffered similar abuse in other housing / family settings - and couldn't see any better choices for themselves.

[redruby]

I find the argument that giving to beggars prevents crime a bit worrying. It feels too much like a threat of ‘give to beggars or else you might get mugged’.

 

[prince al]

I certainly wouldn’t encourage the homeless to drink and smoke, as I am sure this would disrupt the working and middle class recreational  consumption of cocaine.

[catmiss]

Heard a radio programme today featuring a man awarded in the New Years honours for his work with homelessness in Manchester. He’s pleased most people don’t give money to street beggars anymore but is now calling for the public to stop providing food and drink.  His argument is that giving these deters the homeless and vulnerably housed  from accessing statutory and charitable services who can provide social, medical and housing services-several charitable organisations supported his stance.  He is supporting the removal/relocation to a less visible location of a  nightly volunteer run ‘soup kitchen’ who also provide information re support services. His theory is to ‘starve’ people into accessing services and recommends this as a national strategy and asks that the public engage with individuals and provide info re services My question is are there enough accessible services and what about those  whose life experiences mean they won’t engage with or conform to service protocols of no substance  misuse  In the programme an almost incoherent woman interrupted the interview and the man stated ‘she’s a passer through with a butane gas canister’ so we couldn’t help her.

[overtheborder]

On 29/12/2019 at 00:07, catmiss said:

Heard a radio programme today featuring a man awarded in the New Years honours for his work with homelessness in Manchester. He’s pleased most people don’t give money to street beggars anymore but is now calling for the public to stop providing food and drink.  His argument is that giving these deters the homeless and vulnerably housed  from accessing statutory and charitable services who can provide social, medical and housing services-several charitable organisations supported his stance.  He is supporting the removal/relocation to a less visible location of a  nightly volunteer run ‘soup kitchen’ who also provide information re support services. His theory is to ‘starve’ people into accessing services and recommends this as a national strategy and asks that the public engage with individuals and provide info re services My question is are there enough accessible services and what about those  whose life experiences mean they won’t engage with or conform to service protocols of no substance  misuse  In the programme an almost incoherent woman interrupted the interview and the man stated ‘she’s a passer through with a butane gas canister’ so we couldn’t help her.

Do you know what the program is, or have you got a link at all?