Regarding the recent survey of homeless rough sleepers by Crisis
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A recent survey by the charity which aids the homeless, Crisis, reaffirms the belief of housing advocates that the homeless are much more likely to be the victims of crime and not the perpetrators {Survey of *Rough Sleepers, December 2023, is readily available on the Internet to people who wish to read the full details}.
The survey of 150 people sleeping rough in England revealed how the vast majority experienced a lot of physical and mental abuse rendering highly questionable the old English proverb 'Never kick a man when he is down.' Many of the homeless questioned stated the abuse had worsened rather than declined.
The advent of the Criminal Justice Bill will further criminalize those sleeping rough by fining them 2500 pounds for 'trespassing' or facing one month in prison. The soaring rise in homelessness, dark rhetoric by British politicians to demonize the homeless, and the introduction of more punitive laws suggests the future perspectives for those sleeping rough are very bleak indeed.
There are some striking and vivid events which you just can't forget. They leave an indelible mark on you.
When I heard of how some homeless were spat upon, I recall one particularly ugly incident at school where a teacher was spat upon by a pupil. It is without doubt one of the most humiliating ordeals anyone can experience. It is as if the culprit views you as just a piece of dirt or discarded rubbish. The story happened in 1974 at a Scottish school near Glasgow, but I recall it as if it were yesterday.
One day, a history teacher was late for our class. To get to our class he had climb up some spiraling stairs. For some reason a 12-year-old schoolboy standing above noticed the teacher coming up the stairs and spat at him. The saliva hit him on the head. This teacher who was usually strict but calm turned furious. He was fuming when he entered the classroom. When he reached us he asked, "I would like to know who spat on me. If he is not a man enough to own up, I will belt every pupil in this classroom.... So who was it? Is he not going to own up?" He then turned to face me and asked "Stephen, do you know who was responsible?" I answered candidly "No, I don't." I think he asked me because I got on well with him, we joked about history and we both went to a local war-game club. For some time there was an eerie silence. In the end, the pupil owned up and the teacher harshly belted him in front of the other pupils.
When I later told the story to one of my Russian school students she was shocked. She told me "Not even the worst pupil in our school would behave that badly!" Years later when I was recalling this story, I noticed there was some connection between how schoolteachers and the homeless are treated. Of course, the homeless are treated worse but it is the similarities than are more striking than the differences. Both teachers are often insulted, physically abused, and humiliated in different ways. Both suffer from a bad press. Both groups are constantly abused and denigrated. They are also used as scapegoats. And I think that both groups are much more likely to be spat upon by the public.
The recent survey published this December of 150 rough sleepers in England underlines the mental and physical abuse they daily experience. The report reveals how the abuse has shot up rather than declined. The report comes at a time when official government figures indicate over 3,000 people are sleeping rough in England. The level of homelessness in England has soared by a staggering 74% since 2010.
The situation is set to worsen as landlords push up rents to higher levels, wages remain largely low, the no fault evictions are carried out, housing benefits have been frozen over the past 3 years and social housing for the poor has been devastated.
There is simply no affordable housing in Britain. We have a broken health system, broken welfare state and broken housing system. A broken Britain, period!
The survey makes grim reading. As many as 90% of those sleeping rough reported experience violence or verbal abuse, 58% have been physically assaulted, 20% had someone urinate on them or near them. As many as 75% had been robbed, and 53% had bricks and beer thrown at them.
But those statistics can never measure or sum up the terrible misery and fall in self-esteem people experience. One homeless person stated, "It was a horrible feeling, horrible feeling. You got nowhere to use a bathroom, nowhere to shower, nowhere to wash, nowhere to change your clothes. Horrible!"
Some people reported having to keep one eye open in order to be on their guard against aggressors.
The old scars don't always go away if a homeless person finds a place. When you sleep, you can still dream of being homeless. How cold it continued to be despite how many clothes you put on or slept in. When you wake up you are astonished to discover you are not on the streets anymore but have a roof over head. The old insecurities and vulnerabilities never go away!
The rough sleepers still think “What if it all happens again?”
The charity group Crisis and other homeless advocates claim that any government with a will and determination could end this unjust situation. All this suffering could be alleviated and prevented.
A more caring and improved society could be established if enough people would fight for it!
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* “Rough sleepers” is the British term for homeless persons, namely those sleeping outdoors. One of the most recent figures puts their number at 3,069. See: Rough sleeping snapshot in England: autumn 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)