The Big Issue - Simon

"Simon Says" sign the petition to reopen Bournemouth's Homeless Night Shelter 

You can sign the petition by clicking here.

Simon is a Big Issue vendor and has been for many years, he remembers when they could be bought for 40p and sold for £1. Now of course he spends £1.25 each copy and sells them for £2.50. He reckons that the content of the paper has also slipped a little since its founder John Bird used to own it. We both felt that surely they could sell it to the homeless cheaper to allow them a bigger mark-up and profit.

Simon proudly sells the Big Issue as an alternative to anything that resembles begging and that is a common feeling among many of the street traders; some even refuse to sell any newspaper that they can obtain for free, and this option is available to the homeless here in Bournemouth. A local publisher gives his magazine to the homeless for free in order for them to keep the distributions proceeds. He recommends the sale price at £3.00 and allows the homeless vendors to keep 100% of the proceeds. It is simple ideas like this, born out of creativity and concern that go a long way to helping the local homeless community.

I reasoned with Simon and Hayden who sell the Big Issue that selling a magazine that they can obtain isn't really begging because they spend their labour hours distributing the material on behalf of the publisher. Regardless they feel that the Big Issue formula is best for them.

Simon did express a concern with visitors to the UK from other parts of Europe who adopt the Big Issue distribution option at key times of the year like during Christmas. They are seasonal traders and not technically part of the British homeless community. Whilst he believes in free-trade, it does cut into his earnings potential quite substantially during these key times of the year.

I asked Simon about the homeless night shelter, now closed to ad-hoc homeless rough sleepers. He said that the shelter should be re-opened and had helped him in the past. Though it is now one of many hostel facilities in Bournemouth - it doesn't cater for emergency shelter needs because you have to go on a waiting list to qualify and of course if you are deemed to 'have no local ties' that will never happen.

The old night shelter used to provide a nights shelter at £3 per night - for the maximum period of 2 weeks. Combined with that was some support with 'next steps' to more permanent accommodation and within that provision you were offered breakfast for free, could use it as a day facility between 7:30 and 1pm and during that time purchase a meal for under £1.

The situation now is that if you aren't on that hostel list of residents who have lined up for some time to qualify, there is no facility for you to obtain ad-hoc night or day shelter, no wash rooms, meals or heating.

Simon is no longer homeless - these types of supports have assisted him along the way to now being able to privately rent a room in a shared home. It is a place that accepts his dog Beano and can become a springboard to his independence. 

"Simon says" support the petition to re-open the night shelter.
You can sign my petition by clicking here.

Hatred Kills, Kindness Heals

Let's not get it twisted - your kindness is always appropriate. The last thing that thugs need is an excuse to clear-up our streets of the homeless in the form of a "government issued theme tune and mantra"

Many of the homeless that I interview report malicious attacks on them by random haters in Bournemouth. Now the government has the audacity to launch a campaign entitled 'Kindness Kills'; is that at all wise in this current climate? Not only have we just experienced one of Britain's worst recessions, but there has also been an accompanying increase in teen depression and suicide. Are we really saying that we are to withhold kindness from the victims of either?

And what of your high hopes for your own family members coming up? Can you imagine a day when they go through a slump that ends up to be fatal, because we fail to monitor our streets for the homeless? "David Atkinson’s father, Neil,said the family were devastated.The father-of-four said his son, a former pupil at Winton Boys’ School, had a breakdown last month but seemed to be turning things around" (Bourenmouth Echo 27.8.14) .All it takes is a spell of vagrancy for one of our promising youths to be snuffed out. Hatred kills, Kindness heals!

We can't say yet whether murder or suicide is involved in today's Echo reported death's of the 2 young homeless men (aged 27 and 21); What we can recognise though is:

• The marginalisation of the destitute 
• The current climate of promoting the unkind, 
• Our local government putting good money behind anti-kindness campaigns to promote unkind agendas

Hayden's Brother - Ron - Siblings in Care

Ron has been homeless longer than Hayden - he is 41 and Hayden is 31. Ron grew up in a combination of Children's homes and his grandmother's home. He became homeless when his Grandmother died, when he was just 25 years old. 

He spiralled into depression and out-of-society. He has had a history of drug and alcoholism since bereavement. 17 yeas on he struggles alonside his brother, Hayden to make a living from 'Big Issue' sales'. The bigger issue of course is that neither of them can ever qualify for any social assistance anywhere because their childhood's in care has robbed them from any 'local connection'. Their lot then is to try and raise a combined £1400 from incremental Big Issue street sales. Of course it doesn't help when Hayden wakes to find his essentials robbed. Suffering from 'trench foot' he needed to buy back his trainers that had been stolen last night while he slept rough in a shop doorway.

Kids in care seem doubly disenfranchised - with the odds permanently stacked against them from birth. Few beat the odds, many fall foul, few of us seem to even know much less care.

Hayden and Ron are currently appealing their rejection for assistance with local detox and will get a decision next week. I have offered to assist them with paper work - they are going through the designated Bournemouth Council appeal process. Let's hope that their dedication sways the decision in their favour.

United they stand - we mustn't let them fall!

Street Trader - Sean

Sean has been homeless for just over a year; he originally hales from London. He became homeless after witnessing his, then fiance, sleeping with his own brother. He left her distraught and with the property in order to relinquish his home to his sons, twin boys.

His ex-fiance has since had the children removed from her into their Grandmother's custady, but Sean misses them terribly. Sean is 3rd gneration in care - he grew up in a combination of foster homes and children's homes - but it was his fiance's unfaithfulness that finally drove him down-and-out.

Sean is well qualified and comes from a counselling background - having obtained a level 3 qualification in it. He is also a trained tatooist and was a fully functioning member of society until his recent emotional trauma.

He now sleeps in car parks and doorways and is gradually trading through all of his possessions just to survive.

He sells the 'Big Issue' but would much rather be a street artist or professional tatooist.The former requires a trading license which he has been refused due to 'no local ties' in the area. The latter is a challenge because Sean finds it difficult to turn up to interviews washed and prepped to perform outside his street existence. Daily some stop and offer him potential opportunities only to renege their promise upon witnessing him in less favourable circumstances or attire.

Seam is optimistic about his future - because he has real skills and marketable qualifications. The danger is that he may no survive the streets though - only last night he woke to see a 'burly blonde man about to stamp on his head' - upon meeting eyes with Sean, he decided to just trample his sketches instead. But this, Sean tells me, damaged his heart and soul deeply.

To be honest I am a little concerned at the recent and sinister antagonism towards the local destitute in Bournemouth - perhaps even encouraged by the governments recent 'kindness kills' anti-charitable announcements. A 21 year old was found dead in the streets just this week, plus Hayden who we recently blogged about had his trainers stolen from him while he slept - the same Friday night that Sean was almost assaulted.

I will research and blog further on this recent violent down-turn.

On a side note, in line with the fact that Sean is part of the 3rd generation of his family in-care, he tells me that his sister is sleeping rough and in London; her homelessness experience has been even more challenging than his because of the recent installation of pavement spikes to deter the homeless from loitering. She apparently rolled over, accidentally spiking her hip - and now has these injuries to deal with on top of her obvious housing needs. I truly question how we value human beings when I hear of such mistreatment. What's more important - clearing the problematic from our eyesight or offering real solutions to their problems?

Street Traders - Hayden

Hayden has been homeless, on Bournemouth streets, for a year now, since his son died of meningitis at the age of 7. His history is that of foster care and children's homes, he's only ever known his Mum who currently resides in Bulgaria. His brother is also homeless. Hayden fell into drugs (heroine) and alcohol after his son's death. He has scaled down but wants government assistance with a full detox. He isn't able to get any assistance in Bournemouth because he is assessed as having no local connection, indeed this was the reason sighted during last week's local council rejection interview, where he and his brother were refused local detox assistance.

This failure to be recognised as local, bars them from any local provisions, including housing lists or local detox programs. The thing is neither Hayden or his brother have any local connection anywhere, having grown up through foster care and being moved from home to home. Hayden sells the big issue, sales reach 60 - 100 copies per week. He buys each copy at £1.25 per issue and sells them on at £2.50 each and reckons its somewhat of a living. Though he currently sleeps in local shop doorways, his aim is to raise enough money to privately rent some day.

Hayden left care at the age of 14 - unfortunately his launch into adulthood was dramatic and significant. He was imprisoned for assault of his, then, step-father whilst defending his mother who had endured years of domestic violence and abuse at his hands; Her latest assault of a broken nose, Hayden just couldn't ignore; yet he paid dearly with a 2 yr. custodial sentence, of which he had to serve 22 months. Hayden reached the streets alone at 17 and the rest they say is history.

When asked what he thought of the latest Kindness kills campaign's emphasis on the drug and alcohol issues of the homeless, Hayden simply replied "to be honest, there are more drug and alcohol issues in-doors than on the streets" and I guess he has a point - for that's where many of them originate - before people find their lives spun out onto the streets. 

Hayden was to visit his brother in Bournemouth General Hospital today, but he has had to put it off since he hadn't sold enough Big Issues yet and it was already 6 pm. The six mile walk to the hospital would take some doing after a full day of street touting, and weighing it up, Hayden decided to defer until tomorrow; he had 4 boxes worth of the Big Issue yet to shift. After all without any other local assistance - it literally is his "bread and butter"