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FEELING GUILTY when passing a beggar on a freezing winter's night? Salve your conscience once and for all by following these five steps:
- Say hello. Beggars generally feel as bad as it’s possible for someone to feel – so the simplest contact can make them feel better.
- Give them something – but not money. Even seasoned charity workers find it hard to tell between genuine rough sleepers and scam artists – so offer some food or drink. Maybe even have a chat. It’s the gesture that counts.
- Find a local homelessness charity, and give to it. Supporting a hostel or accommodation scheme will keep people off your streets. Volunteers are fairly easy to find at Christmas especially so cash would probably be appreciated more. Ask. To find a local charity, enter ‘homeless’ and your post code into CAF’s search engine [1].
- Give to Shelter (see profile [1]). Arguably the country’s most important homelessness charity, Shelter’s opinions have a big impact on government policy, making sure that money gets spent in the right places, and that homelessness stays on the Westminster agenda
- You've done what you can. Well done!
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> Beggars: the facts
Beggars: the facts
- Usually, they’re not homeless. Research in London [2] has shown that most beggars have somewhere to live.
- Most of the time, they’re on hard drugs. In central London, as many as 80 per cent have tested positive for class-A drugs like crack or heroin.
- Genuine rough sleepers are quite different. Most street-sleepers aren’t on drugs and don’t beg. Usually, they’ve got serious problems – meaning they’re not able to take advantage of the help government and charities offer to them. They need a lot of help.
- The good news: there aren’t many rough sleepers any more. Since 1998, the government has pushed vast quantities of cash at homelessness charities, and the number of rough sleepers has fallen dramatically as a result. From a peak of tens of thousands in the late ’80s, now only about 500 people are on the streets on any one night.
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What the big name charities do
Most homelessness charities are small, local and provide temporary food and shelter. The handful of big ones tend to work in cities where the problems are most acute.
Most of the big charities provide emergency hostels, supported housing and education or training courses. Their emphasis is unswervingly on getting homeless people into permanent accommodation – and by various means keeping them there.
- Crisis [3] is most active at Christmas, when it runs centres to give rough sleepers some TLC. It provides massage, haircuts, clothes and a Christmas dinner in centres across the country.
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Thames Reach [4] is a London charity that focuses on getting homeless people off the streets. But it also provides training, accommodation and long-term support.
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St Mungo’s [5] works in London and provides supported housing and educational schemes to help get homeless people off the streets for good.
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St Christopher’s Fellowship [6] provides support for vulnerable children and young people across the country. It runs supported accommodation centres, and has a hostel for homeless adults too.
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Centrepoint [7] is based in London but provides help for homeless young people across the country – including short-term hostels and long-term education, advice and accommodation schemes.
Shelter and the Salvation Army are a bit different.
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Shelter [8] concentrates on research and lobbying. It also helps homeless families get into permanent accommodation, and runs a telephone advice-line.
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The Salvation Army [9] provides national, hands-on support for homeless people, including food, education and advice, right across the country – all shot through with its Christian ethos. But it doesn’t offer any accommodation itself.
> More on helping the homeless [9]
> St Mungo's and Thames Reach: spot the difference [9]
> More Watchdog articles [9]
> More Features [9]
With thanks for background information to Sister Ellen Flynn from The Passage, Shaks Ghosh formerly of Crisis, and Sarah Roberts of Centrepoint. The opinions above are not necessarily theirs.
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