This week I had an interesting conversation. Whilst in manchester on Wednesday I had noticed the massively increasing number of homeless people on the streets. I had a good chat with some of them and bought them something to eat and drink. They need to keep warm. It’s getting cold out there. I happened to bring this up in conversation and this is how my Tory “friend” replied… He said “I don’t know of any homeless person that doesn’t want to be homeless. They like living like that and it’s their choice to live like that”. I responded and stated the obvious. That it’s not a lifestyle choice. They have no choice. They’ve ran out of options and can’t afford to stay anywhere else. They might have had nice homes, jobs, families. Then something happened. They could have lost their job, their relationship might have broken down or they could have left the army with ptsd or they could have been sanctioned and made homeless because of the bedroom tax. Left with no viable option they turn to the streets, begging for enough money to eat or if they are lucky enough to find a bed for the night. The universal credit scheme will not allow anyone to claim who hasn’t got an address. This is so wrong.They want nothing more to have somewhere warm to live and have a job to go to.
We need to change people’s perception of homelessness and people claiming benefits. We need to stand with them and demand that they are treated fairly and with compassion.
And as for my Tory friend… Well I educated him and I hope he has a different view now but I won’t hold my breath.
Please join us on our weekly demonstrations outside Ashton under lyne Jobcentre on Thursdays at 1pm until 3pm.
And thank you to our friend who travelled a long way to join us. Your support will never be forgotten.
Success story of the week. A person who had recieved no money for months due to unlawful sanctioning has at last had a payment so has gone out today and bought some food. That makes me feel good. This is why we help people.

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