“Due to the emergency situation of low temperature/extreme weather, the premises at 123 Main Street has been requisitioned for emergency shelter” … What if councils created Homeless Outreach Liaison Officers and gave them the powers to save lives? Does any statutory body look out for the immediate welfare of the homeless?
Spotlight has built a reputation over the years as a hard-hitting investigation programme, highlighting wrong-doings of citizens and elected representatives alike, on Tuesday 17th March it tackles a hidden issue in society, that of homelessness. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4gru1qGZzo&w=560&h=315] The dichotomy of Northern Ireland is such that the incomparable can often become synonymous with each other, whilst MLA’s argue about the hundreds of millions of the welfare bill and whether or not northern irish citizens could become taxed for the luxury of …
Whilst our glorious leaders at Stormont have spent the majority of the week (month…year…??) debating welfare reform in the millions and sometimes hundreds of millions, a small band of dedicated souls have been hard at work making a positive influence without the caterwauling of an army of civil servants, lobbyists, media types and other interested parties. The Common Law Ni group have refurbished the Homeless Pod and put it back in situ on Wednesday evening, right back in the forgotten …
Some of you may remember that I wrote in support of food banks in December, related to my homeless teenage years. I never used a food bank back then because I didn’t know about them, I wish I did…life might have been easier to cope with. The public response to my account was far beyond my expectation, people really care about this issue. There is a pattern with charities and homelessness around Christmas time… People feel privileged in their warm …
The topic of food banks came up this morning on social media and on BBC Talkback, it’s an area I have particular interest in because when I was younger, I spent some years (fairly important formative ones at that…) homeless. It wasn’t that I was living rough per se. I did spend a good few nights in a car, but rarely consecutively and they were few and far between. I was in my mid teens, this was in the lead …
