March With The Homeless
No Extra Deaths On Our Streets Saturday third March 2018
A couple of days in the past in February 2023 a report got here out that the variety of tough sleepers in England has elevated for the primary time since 2017.
The rise is blamed on the cost-of-living disaster making the varied causes of homelessness worse, and the federal government’s ‘Ending tough sleeping for good’ technique introduced final 12 months has to date didn’t be any assist.
We’re nonetheless one of many richer nations on the earth, and it’s a shame that so many don’t have any place to go. London’s Mayor is reported as calling it extraordinarily alarming and saying “It’s excessive time ministers received a grip on the escalating meals, power and housing crises and restored the social safety security web which helps cease folks turning into trapped in a cycle of homelessness.”
The realm with the most important quantity is in fact London, and inside London the boroughs of Westminster and Camden on the coronary heart of London prime the figures. In addition to having the most individuals sleeping on the streets, these boroughs are additionally house to lots of the wealthiest folks within the nation (or no less than considered one of their properties) and of probably the most egregious examples of over-consumption the place the rich swarm to spend ridiculous quantities on over-priced items and providers.
The rise has additionally been biggest within the capital, with the determine in Westminster, the house of our authorities, alone up from 187 in 2021 to 250 in 2022.
London in fact has ridiculously excessive home costs, stoked partly by overseas traders who personal properties simply to revenue from the will increase in costs moderately than truly dwell in them. Many too are owned by offshore trusts, nonetheless hiding the precise house owners, and sometimes empty or underused.
The issue isn’t actually home costs, or an absence of properties – we’ve greater than are wanted to provide everybody an honest house. However inequality, which continues to rise. And at its roots is the greed of the wealthy, for whom sufficient isn’t sufficient. And there are ten instances as many empty homes as there are homeless folks.
The March With The Homeless on Saturday third March 2018 passed off are a latest chilly snap had killed plenty of tough sleepers on the streets of London. In addition to organisations supporting road homeless together with #solidaritynotcharity, Streets Kitchen, Homeless Outreach Central, and London: March for the homeless there have been additionally a few of these homeless participating.
I discovered the police response to this protest stunning. They got here out onto the streets to attempt to cease it occurring and to power these participating to return to there static protest reverse Downing Avenue the place it started.
In addition to officers on foot there have been additionally two police horses attempting to manage the protest, however whose riders appeared unable to manage, notably in a few of the narrower streets. I usually needed to rush out of their approach and at one level I used to be crushed in opposition to a wall by a clearly uncontrolled horse, however thankfully solely barely bruised.
I believe the police noticed their position as defending the property, notably the properties of these house owners who had empty properties which they feared the protesters may try to occupy. The intention of the march wasn’t to really occupy properties, however to create slightly minor disruption to site visitors and noise that may deliver consideration to the issue and put strain on the federal government and authorities to take some efficient motion. However I believe there was little if any media protection of the occasion.
They meant to march to a squat in Nice Portland Avenue that had occupied empty business premises and was giving meals and shelter to homeless folks, getting them off the freezing streets. The police appeared to be attempting to maintain them out of the West Finish, the place they could disturb extra folks. I needed to go away the march when police had halted them at Piccadilly Circus, however I believe finally they did make it and the squat supplied meals and in a single day shelter for round 30 folks on the night time of the march.
Extra on My London Diary at No Extra Deaths On Our Streets.
Tags: #solidaritynotcharity, 2018, value of residing disaster, empty properties, empty properties, evictions, household breakup, greed, homeless, Homeless Outreach Central, home costs, inequality, London, march, March With The Homeless, a number of properties, offshore trusts, uncontrolled horses, peter Marshall, police, police horses, protest, tough sleepers, second properties, solidaritynotcharity, squat, road homeless, Streets Kitchen, Westminster
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