Oxford City council is considering fining homeless people for sleeping in shop doorways and is pinning notices to that effect on homeless peoples' belongings.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jul/26/oxford-homeless-people-face-fines-belongings-doorways
This is a completely unrealistic approach to tackling the problem of homelessness. Not many people choose to choose to live rough in the outdoors. Most homeless people are very poor and some of them are younger people who have run away from home as well as being broke.
What is the point of taking homeless people to court to be fined? Most homeless people have got no money. What are the courts going to do if a homeless person cannot pay a fine? Send them to jail for a couple of weeks to keep them off the streets and then land them back in the position from where they started. What a pointless waste of time and money.
Why create even more difficulties for homeless people? Why not solve the problem by providing them with a home from where they can rebuild their lives? Why not help young people to be reunited with their families if they have run away from home and then support them to live together in some sort of dignity?
We are kept being reminded that the UK has 5th or 6th biggest economy in the world. We have an economy which amounts to 2 trillion pounds. Surely, we have enough resources as a nation to cater for the homeless and provide every one with a decent and safe home.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Any comment which insults someone, uses offensive language or which incites violence or hatred will be deleted.