Privacy - v - Homelessness

Having been speaking to many of our local homeless 'residents' in Bournemouth - and yes they technically are still residents so long as they continue to reside in this location - I felt moved to blog on the issue of privacy for the homeless.

Many of us take privacy for granted; if you have a home, you have the luxury of being able to retreat there and shut the door - you interact with the outside World as and when you choose. You have a legal right to control who has access to your personal space and possessions; your interactions can take place in private; if you have a dispute with your wife, for example, this can take place in private - you haven't got the rest of the town observing, making judgements or taking sides.

This is not so for the homeless. Many of us want to judge the homeless because we may have seen them having a dispute, their clothes don't smell too good or they may look a little shabby. We know they don't have a sheltered space to negotiate privately or a wash room to clean and freshen up - but yet we feel to judge them for these obvious signs of homelessness.

People often say, "They are there through choice". Well perhaps, but when have you actually survey'd their circumstances - when last have you talked to an individual on the street? Who do you know that opted for a life solely on the streets - where all their business is public - literally! And they are frowned on by the moral, and mainstream, majority? Are you so sure that, if faced with the same set of challenges, some starting before birth (like so many foster kids), you wouldn't have made the same 'choices'. Factor in the mental illness experienced by many who eventually find themselves not coping; Can you really 100% judge and snub?

Together with this lack of privacy, with not even the luxury of a 'glass house', the homeless are expected to continually expose themselves to state intrusion - in order to secure any tangible benefits or help. They are expected to out-lay their lives as open-books - to a system that has likely continually failed them, or that may even  have contributed to their demise. During Saturday night's Street Light soup kitchen (run by Anastasia Wells) I spoke with a lady called Wendy, who conveyed the story of a local homeless man called Andy, who I haven't yet personally met and interviewed. He apparently was spun out from State Hostel's and barred from re-entry, due to a £600 housing debt that he incurred. We could of course judge him, and banish him to the streets, for that; perhaps agreeing with the Local Council - but I would ask why we can't at least afford emergency shelter and direct access services as a basic level of provision, whatever the homelessness circumstances we encounter? Just a basic level of provision to match the very basic human need for shelter.

How many of us would pass the test if all of our business was both witnessed and scrutinised 24/7? In this context, I think we could all apply a little, much needed, human empathy: You can sign the 'Bournemouth Night Shelter'  petition by clicking here.