Ed & Jack

Talking to Ed is an education, and there's never enough time. Ed will have me wanting to whip a notepad out and wonder why he's not running for local election. Ed is an excellent example of the free tinker nature of the typical rough sleeper that I admire so. 

He filled me in on the historical rights of settlement, devised by British government centuries ago; these same laws make it mandatory to maintain a common and free strip of land between County borders where common folk have a right to settle. Therefore the way the homeless are harassed and barred from loitering anywhere is technically un-lawful. Ed is free and Ed is proud, he hasn't 'bought into the system'. He is fully aware of his own rights and of the myriad of ways the economy and government tunes in and tunes out of issues based on potential profitability. He questions their persistent pestering of the displaced in the light of their failure to get on top of the far worse threat of addiction and the whole drugs industry. He attributes the recent railing on the local homeless to an over all agenda to gentrify Bournemouth and protect the interest of the lucrative Sandbanks real estate empire, sporting some of the most expensive properties in the Country. In a nutshell - visible rough sleepers "aint a good look."

The key ingredient to the life of the homeless is to be able to re-define personal values and interpretations - to literally think outside the "media box" - take an independent look at personal circumstances and how they occurred. When the system lets you down - you need to question that very system and the part you are willing to play in it. 

Ed is part of a rent deposit scheme - when he is ready to secure his own place he wont be settling in Bournemouth though - this is because he has not agreed with the local politics that have made him feel so unwelcome. Ed is diagnosed with 'border-line personality' but receives no real support with managing life's demands. He copes well, but it all raises questions about how we value individuality and how much currency tends to dictate what can and can't be done and how much commitment there is locally to consistent social welfare.