As a former homeless person who used to roam the streets in the rain and cold it's time the government did more to protect the homeless. Many people living on the streets need sanctuary and support to get out of the rut and build a life for themselves.
Warm food and somewhere safe to sleep are a start, not placing down metal spikes in areas where the homeless could bed down for the night. Property owners have been placing down spikes, curved benches to prevent the homeless from getting any sleep off the ground.
In the past few years under the Tory government homelessness and food bank usage cross the country has soured. Every city and town has seen a crisis in of the number of people sleeping rough. The lack of shelter and cheap homes hasn't improved much as the masses of homeless people have nowhere to live.
Being homeless isn't always about junkies and alcoholics drinking in the park due to addiction and personal failure. Nowadays it isn't hard to become homeless and people can become homeless for many reasons, such as losing their home through unemployment, losing their job because of illness, mental health issues, breakdown of a relationship, bad landlords, missed housing benefit, heavy debt and people running away from abusive and violent relationships.
Society has a habit of disowning the homeless and the lack of empathy to understand their situation and struggles. As a result rough sleepers are neglected and the statistics for the numbers on the streets are on the rise.
Boris Johnson has promised to end rough sleeping and if that is to happen then the government and local councils should be protecting and helping the homeless get back on their feet.
Beds, night shelters, accommodation projects, addiction support and training to learn new skills will all help the homeless make a fresh start and reduce homelessness. These combined with decent affordable housing will help the homeless and give them the opportunities to build a new life.
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