No Help For the Homeless

Take a walk around central London and what do you always see? Stunning architecture, historic monuments and busy pubs. Our capital is a hub of cultural and economic radiance. Because of this, we ignore what we see every time we stroll through London – the overwhelming number of people sleeping on the streets. The only misfortune more horrific than this is that nobody wants to do anything about it; neither the mayor nor the citizens.

Homelesness in the capital has been always been an issue. People from all over the world migrate to London, seeing the city as their best chance of making a living. The ugly truth is that many of these migrants are the ones who end up on the streets, joining an extremely vulnerable group of people.

So why are these vulnerable fellow citizens not tended to? Because society doesn’t see them as fellow citizens. There is a general unwritten rule that everyone convenes to; if you’re not in the system, you’re not a person.

This attitude needs to change. There isn’t even any reason why these people should be on the streets. Across just six boroughs in north London alone, there are approximately 8,000 properties that have been unused for more than six months. 3,000 people spend a night on the streets in Greater London each year. There’s some pretty simple mathematics there. In tandem with charities such as St Mungo’s, which run hostels for the down and out, there is more than enough space in London to temporarily accommodate all homeless people in the capital.

Obviously there are several issues surrounding letting private properties to homeless people, 70 per cent of which have mental health issues. Landlords will be contemptuous about giving rooms away for free to people who are likely to not look after them.

This is where Boris’ council comes in. A scheme could be created to persuade and encourage landlords with incentives, such as tax breaks. Carers for the more vulnerable of the homeless could be assigned to make sure properties are looked after by their reforming tennants and to help them get into work.

The fact is that there are a million and one things which could be done to solve this problem. We could provide support for people before they have to resort to sleeping rough by identifying and rectifying the issues before they develop into destitution.

If everybody keeps walking around with their heads in the sand however I’m afraid that homelessness will continue to rise and more lives will be ruined. All we need to do is recognise these people as kin and realise that they deserve the help of a system which has spat them out. No-one should have to sleep rough here.

Image courtesy of Chloe Crisford