Sheffield Homelessness At All-Time High

[cuttsie]

6 minutes ago, AndrewC said:

Astonishing that so many of you run to the 'too many immigrants' line. Or is it? I suppose it's a result of being told it's their fault for the last two decades by the media. You've been brainwashed; doing exactly what the Government (who have failed us in a myriad of ways) want you to do, so that you don't blame them instead.

 

Chronic underfunding of local authorities and healthcare organisations, a culture of limited house building which is driving up housing demand and prices/rents, and an overreliance on overseas, unsustainable energy sources driving up energy bills are probably all the primary reason for this.

 

But, 'stop the boats!'

There are to many people chasing housing, hospital treatments, Dr appointment s and so on , have you visited the accident and emergency at the local hospitals of late , hundreds sat there for hours on end , we are full up .

[butlers]

Single households and Good News ,longer life spans are driving the majority if the shortage.

It is funny that more or less ANY new housing development in Sheffield on this forum gets decried .

 

[AndrewC]

4 minutes ago, cuttsie said:

There are to many people chasing housing, hospital treatments, Dr appointment s and so on , have you visited the accident and emergency at the local hospitals of late , hundreds sat there for hours on end , we are full up .

I'm not denying that 'too many people chasing not enough resources/facilities' isn't ultimately the symptom that we see around us, but the point here is that simply blaming immigration for that issue completely overlooks the real problem, which is that our Government's don't deal with population increase properly.

 

Despite what the usual suspects enjoy believing, we still take in a relatively manageable and modest amount of immigrants - economic and asylum - compared to many of our neighbouring peer countries, and study after study shows - on average - immigration has a positive net impact on the UK economy. Switching off the tap of outsiders coming in to this country would actually be detrimental to the UK economy (we've already seen some micro-impacts thanks to the influence Brexit has had on economic migrants turning away from this country).

 

A functioning Government making the right policy choices should be able to manage the population increase this country has seen in the last two decades, but instead we've seen them concentrate on power-grabs, syphoning of wealth upwards away from society and in to the pockets of the already rich. We've seen laughable amounts of house-building in this country and unsustainable house-price increases.

 

Meanwhile, they use their influence in the media to paint a picture to society that it's someone who was lucky enough not to drown whilst crossing the channel in a dingy that is the real evil, the real source of the issue, and you people lap it up.

 

Good grief. 

 

 

[AndrewC]

4 minutes ago, Irene Swaine said:

As a country, we are full. A huge "No Vacancies" sign needs to be erected on the seafront at Dover.

'And suddenly, there were fewer people on the streets of Sheffield, and A&E waits dropped down to 20 minutes'

[SheffieldForum]

What the heck?!

 

How are we conflating the homelessness issue in Sheffield with immigration?!

 

Speak to some of the homeless charities (Archer Project, NOMAD, Roundabout, etc) in Sheffield and see what they say are the causes of homelessness — I bet not one of them give immigration as a major reason.

 

 

[Al Bundy]

If populations go up, including the city of Sheffield then everything will increase, including the number of homeless people.

 

Surely that's just mathematics?

 

[redruby]

3 hours ago, GabrielC said:

I get your point but not all homeless are so called ' Boat People' many are are own people who should be helped first not treated as an after thought.

Absolutely.  I think many, perhaps most are not.  The problem is that if immigration continues it is inevitable that people will be homeless.  Wherever they come from.  

[SheffieldForum]

From the article linked:

 

Karen Awdhali, of Nomad Opening Doors, a Sheffield charity which aims to improve access to affordable housing, said the city needed more private landlords.

 

While the charity normally saw between 20-30 referrals a month, in December alone there were 139, while in January there were 126, Ms Awdhali said.

 

"We have never seen anything like it," she added. 

 

While previously the average age of people the charity helped was about 27, it was now helping people in their 50s, according to Ms Awdhali.

 

"They may have had a relationship breakdown or it’s the cost of living crisis. People have lost their jobs and their homes," she said.

 

"It's not just about people sleeping on the streets, it’s those people who are sofa surfing - they are our biggest client group."

 

No mention of immigration there…

 

Or

 

 

Tim Renshaw, chief executive of the Cathedral Archer Project, which supports Sheffield's homeless people, said the charity was dealing with many more people than it used to.

 

“We get blockages all the way. We have more people in temporary accommodation and they're staying longer than they used to 18 months ago," Mr Renshaw said.

 

“People who want to go into accommodation cannot get in, so we have more people who are homeless.

 

“If somebody is in a bed and breakfast, they come into places like ours for food. We served 135 meals the other day, where we would normally expect to serve somewhere between 70 and 90 meals in a day."

 

However, Mr Renshaw said Sheffield was "not unique", with longer periods spent in temporary accommodation and longer waiting lists "all part of the general economic landscape at the moment".

No mention of immigration again?!
 

Roundabout aren’t quoted in the article, but having worked with them before I have never once heard any mention of immigration being a factor in the issues they see daily.

 

 

 

[redruby]

31 minutes ago, SheffieldForum said:

What the heck?!

 

How are we conflating the homelessness issue in Sheffield with immigration?!

 

Speak to some of the homeless charities (Archer Project, NOMAD, Roundabout, etc) in Sheffield and see what they say are the causes of homelessness — I bet not one of them give immigration as a major reason.

 

 

Because immigration is very high and immigrants need homes.  And there are only so many homes.  And so many more new homes that can be built before irreversibly wrecking our environment.  

[SheffieldForum]

From Crisis UK:

 

Homelessness: causes, types and facts

Homelessness is devastating, dangerous and isolating.

The average age of death for people experiencing homelessness is 46 for men and 42 for women.

People sleeping on the street are almost 17 times more likely to have been victims of violence. More than one in three people sleeping rough have been deliberately hit or kicked or experienced some other form of violence whilst homeless.

Homeless people are over nine times more likely to take their own life than the general population.

What causes homelessness?

People become homeless for lots of different reasons. There are social causes of homelessness, such as a lack of affordable housing, poverty and unemployment; and life events which push people into homelessness.

People are forced into homelessness when they leave prison, care or the army with no home to go to. Many women experiencing homelessness have escaped a violent or abusive relationship.

Many people become homeless because they can no longer afford the rent.

And for many, life events like a relationship breaking down, losing a job, mental or physical health problems, or substance misuse put people under considerable strain. Being homeless can, in turn, make many of these problems even harder to resolve. However, in nearly all cases homelessness is preventable and in every case it can be ended.

Read more

To find out more about the factors that contribute to homelessness please read:

• Benefits and employment
• Health and wellbeing
• Housing
• Law and rights
• Rough sleeping

 

Again - no mention of immigration being a factor.