Southend Homeless

[rigsby]

Too many liberal attitudes around, firm but fair treatment of the aggressive, criminal element required. No easy solutions are available unfortunately, Society is at fault here. I wish I had a magic wand.

Most police forces around the world have one.

 

[rigsby]

Simple solution is the enforcement of the law; already (bylaw) alcohol is banned from being drunk in High Street, Queens Road, H Ct Rd areas and has been for many years but the police don't enforce it properly now. Possession of drugs is a crime.
By laws exist against camping on the cliffs, begging, when a nuisance is illegal etc.
My suggestion would be a 3 month joint Police, council enforcement campaign backed with support services for those in genuine dire straights.

The Cliffs became unusable a couple of summers ago. Groups of drunk mainly eastern European men by 12:00 and the stinks of humane waste was to overpowering to do any fitness training in the area.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

We are not talking about genuine homeless people just aggressive beggars/robbers

In that case it's a Police matter.

 

[rigsby]

In that case it's a Police matter.

The rest of us don't want our overworked police to waste valuable time on wrong'uns. So can't you come up with anything better.

 

[mattytheshrimper]

By 'vast majority' do you mean the homeless people you've noticed around Southend? If so that's an extremely biased sample since you'd have no reason to notice a homeless person that isn't causing trouble.

Love it how you ignore everything else that I said in my post haha and just pick out one line. Really can't stand and have no time for people that do that. IF YOU READ MY POST AGAIN I SAY 'IN SOUTHEND'. So if your going to call someone out, at least read my post properly first. Thanks

I'm sure some of the homeless IN SOUTHEND (Southbank Hank) people are lovely and have had a tough life etc etc BUT I can tell you IMO that the vast majority of homeless people I see in Southend are like I said in my original post.

Like I said, my opinion is based on 5-6 days a week evidence for quite some time, I saw quite some time because I believe the amount of homeless people in the high street has rocketed in recent months.

It's great seeing about 6 of them fighting each month, throwing fill beer cans at each other. THEN THEY ASK FOR MONEY FROM YOU. jeeeeezzzzz

 

[mattytheshrimper]

Apologies if people think I am being over harsh BUT I have had some really horrible experiences with the homeless people in town and in Westcliff.

I have a car park below where I live in Westcliff and no matter what precautions (gates etc) are put in place a large group of homeless people always manage to get in. They leave used needles, a silly amount of rubbishs and lean against my car. My partner works evenings and I am sick of getting a call at 9pm every night from her asking me to go to the car park and ask 6 homeless people to move from our parking spot so that she can pull in and she's scared.

It's not nice interrupting them injecting and it's pretty intimidating, these are not nice people. No use calling the police because they never do anything. You will see this group often sitting on benches by the car park at the top of Hamlet Court Road, usually drink booze all day long every day.

If that's happens to you, come back and tell me I'm being unfair.

 

[South Bank Hank]

Love it how you ignore everything else that I said in my post haha and just pick out one line. Really can't stand and have no time for people that do that. IF YOU READ MY POST AGAIN I SAY 'IN SOUTHEND'. So if your going to call someone out, at least read my post properly first. Thanks

I'm sure some of the homeless IN SOUTHEND (Southbank Hank) people are lovely and have had a tough life etc etc BUT I can tell you IMO that the vast majority of homeless people I see in Southend are like I said in my original post.

Not sure what your point is there, and I can’t remember making any comment on who’s lovely and who isn’t.... interesting that you called someone out on picking out one line of your post, then completely misrepresented mine.

To put it into context, there are plenty on here who completely lose their **** over something as trivial as different opinions after losing a few games on the trot. I can only conclude that many of us would be completely obnoxious ****s if something actually harmful happened to us like being made homeless. In case that’s a trigger, I’m not an apologist for homeless, far from it, nor am I disregarding what happened to you personally. But there’s still a duty of care. And just because “an official representative of the homeless” might have upset you, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be looking for ways to help a society problem. Which is what the OP was seemingly focused on, whether their suggestion was a good idea or not.

Or yeah, we could just conclude that “the vast majority of homeless people IN SOUTHEND” are absolute ****s. Easier that way. What about the minority that aren’t by the way? And how do we know which ones are... y’know.... alright?

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

The rest of us don't want our overworked police to waste valuable time on wrong'uns. So can't you come up with anything better.

Anti-social behaviour in public places is, of course,quite rightly a matter for the Police.

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

Apologies if people think I am being over harsh BUT I have had some really horrible experiences with the homeless people in town and in Westcliff.

I have a car park below where I live in Westcliff and no matter what precautions (gates etc) are put in place a large group of homeless people always manage to get in. They leave used needles, a silly amount of rubbishs and lean against my car. My partner works evenings and I am sick of getting a call at 9pm every night from her asking me to go to the car park and ask 6 homeless people to move from our parking spot so that she can pull in and she's scared.

It's not nice interrupting them injecting and it's pretty intimidating, these are not nice people. No use calling the police because they never do anything. You will see this group often sitting on benches by the car park at the top of Hamlet Court Road, usually drink booze all day long every day.

If that's happens to you, come back and tell me I'm being unfair.

Yep, not nice at all Matty, unacceptable, unpleasant and unsafe.
I urge you to continue to make official complaints each and every time to the Police, get the incident number after making sure the complaint is logged and then follow up phone calls re their response. When you get the usual ***** lack of service 5 times then complain regards the situation to Police management and also to your local Councillor. Be sure to mention the drugs, needles and safety fears.
It is a pain but if you conduct your reporting and follow up accurately, they (the Police) will be made to do their job; and likely detect a few drug crimes, maybe find some stolen goods or stop check a wanted person.
If it isn't reported as a problem then they won't do anything.
You might get lucky and get a good 1 or 2 who do follow things up properly and professionally.

 

[southendkid]

Love it how you ignore everything else that I said in my post haha and just pick out one line. Really can't stand and have no time for people that do that. IF YOU READ MY POST AGAIN I SAY 'IN SOUTHEND'. So if your going to call someone out, at least read my post properly first. Thanks

I'm sure some of the homeless IN SOUTHEND (Southbank Hank) people are lovely and have had a tough life etc etc BUT I can tell you IMO that the vast majority of homeless people I see in Southend are like I said in my original post.

Like I said, my opinion is based on 5-6 days a week evidence for quite some time, I saw quite some time because I believe the amount of homeless people in the high street has rocketed in recent months.

It's great seeing about 6 of them fighting each month, throwing fill beer cans at each other. THEN THEY ASK FOR MONEY FROM YOU. jeeeeezzzzz

You've completely misunderstood my post, thanks for yelling at me over something I haven't even done though, that's a great way to get your point across. If anything there's a certain irony in you telling me off for not reading your comment properly when you clearly haven't understood mine.

I'm saying your sample is biased because you are unlikely to be interacting with homeless people that aren't committing crimes unless you volunteer at a homeless shelter or something, therefore most homeless people you come into contact with are going to be people causing trouble, even if the vast majority of them in Southend aren't like that.

 

[GBJ]

Not sure what your point is there, and I can’t remember making any comment on who’s lovely and who isn’t....

To put it into context, there are plenty on here who completely lose their **** over something as trivial as different opinions after losing a few games on the trot. I can only conclude that many of us would be completely obnoxious ****s if something actually harmful happened to us like being made homeless. In case that’s a trigger, I’m not an apologist for homeless, far from it, nor am I disregarding what happened to you personally. But there’s still a duty of care. And just because “an official representative of the homeless” might have upset you before you returned to your comfortable home, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be looking for ways to help the problem. Which is what the OP was seemingly focused on, whether their suggestion was a good idea or not.

Or yeah, we could just conclude that “the vast majority of homeless people IN SOUTHEND” are absolute ****s. Easier that way. What about the minority that aren’t by the way?

I don't want to speak for Matt, but I'd like to point out, that ignoring the issues he's raised is simply detrimental to those who are in genuine need of help (I'm not saying you're ignoring it though, I mean society as a whole)

As usual there is a pretty clear left/right divide, as with seemingly every topical subject ATM. The left quick to point out that one bad homeless person, shouldn't tarnish the entire lot, whilst the right counter that, with anecdotes & examples of why they have little regard for what's perceived as "the homeless".

Being objective, you have to find some middle ground. There is an untold amount of people who need genuine help, who are good people, and who don't deserve to be where they are. But you've also got to add, that there is a vast number of people who simply don't want to conform to society, and are happy in their own distorted world. The two, whilst potentially polar opposites, just happen to be intrinsically linked via a moniker.

Is it possible to differentiate between the two? Certainly on a case-by-case basis, but the perception as a whole? The idea of this thread was to raise awareness for homeless people, which is fine, (although the idea of a homeless person being a football team's Matchday mascot is beyond me) but how do you get someone to "care more" about the homeless problem, when all they see around them, is people who don't deserve help, like the plonky's, the skag heads, the thieves, the degenerates. That is the million dollar question, no? How can you encourage more people to help? How do you convince more people that it's actually worth it? It's not fair that those in need, should suffer due to the actions of the few. But how do convince people that they're actually helping those in need, and not the dregs of society.

To add my own anecdote, there's a group of around 7-8 homeless people who roam around Grays town centre. They can mostly be found hanging around the benches outside Morrisons, drunk, abusive & causing a disturbance. Last year, one of them was found guilty of ****ing on the Town's war memorial, on two seperate occasions, in broad daylight. https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.da...rinated-war-memorial-jailed-seven-months.html

Unfortuantey, when you think of those two words "homeless person", my mind, and I dare say a lot of others, instantly conjur up thoughts akin to that link above. I'm not sure of the numbers, regarding the homeless situation here in Grays, but I assure you, anytime those two words are mentioned, a Grays resident will picture those 7-8 low life's plotted up outside Morrisons.

As always, and for lack of a better phrase, it's the few who are spoiling it for the rest. And that's despite the fact that I know there are plenty of homeless people, who aren't voluntarily homeless, but have been let down by their council, and/or simply been dealt a bad hand in life.

So again, the question is, how do you change people's perceptions? I'm not sure

 

[South Bank Hank]

I don't want to speak for Matt, but I'd like to point out, that ignoring the issues he's raised is simply detrimental to those who are in genuine need of help (I'm not saying you're ignoring it though, I mean society as a whole)

As usual there is a pretty clear left/right divide, as with seemingly every topical subject ATM. The left quick to point out that one bad homeless person, shouldn't tarnish the entire lot, whilst the right counter that, with anecdotes & examples of why they have little regard for what's perceived as "the homeless".

Being objective, you have to find some middle ground. There is an untold amount of people who need genuine help, who are good people, and who don't deserve to be where they are. But you've also got to add, that there is a vast number of people who simply don't want to conform to society, and are happy in their own distorted world. The two, whilst potentially polar opposites, just happen to be intrinsically linked via a moniker.

Is it possible to differentiate between the two? Certainly on a case-by-case basis, but the perception as a whole? The idea of this thread was to raise awareness for homeless people, which is fine, (although the idea of a homeless person being a football team's Matchday mascot is beyond me) but how do you get someone to "care more" about the homeless problem, when all they see around them, is people who don't deserve help, like the plonky's, the skag heads, the thieves, the degenerates. That is the million dollar question, no? How can you encourage more people to help? How do you convince more people that it's actually worth it? It's not fair that those in need, should suffer due to the actions of the few. But how do convince people that they're actually helping those in need, and not the dregs of society.

To add my own anecdote, there's a group of around 7-8 homeless people who roam around Grays town centre. They can mostly be found hanging around the benches outside Morrisons, drunk, abusive & causing a disturbance. Last year, one of them was found guilty of ****ing on the Town's war memorial, on two seperate occasions, in broad daylight. https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.da...rinated-war-memorial-jailed-seven-months.html

Unfortuantey, when you think of those two words "homeless person", my mind, and I dare say a lot of others, instantly conjur up thoughts akin to that link above. I'm not sure of the numbers, regarding the homeless situation here in Grays, but I assure you, anytime those two words are mentioned, a Grays resident will picture those 7-8 low life's plotted up outside Morrisons.

As always, and for lack of a better phrase, it's the few who are spoiling it for the rest. And that's despite the fact that I know there are plenty of homeless people, who aren't voluntarily homeless, but have been let down by their council, and/or simply been dealt a bad hand in life.

So again, the question is, how do you change people's perceptions? I'm not sure

Good post sir. My only concern would be the piece in bold as I don’t think it’s true. I fundamentally believe you can’t allow a minority of extremely set individuals from any walk to typecast the majority. That’s obviously ludicrous (lefties, righties, Muslims, Christians, whoever). If people need convincing of that as you say, then we’re already past the tipping point - for whatever reason that is.

Polarising opinions and bucketing them is just making people more entrenched (and I’m sometimes as guilty as everyone else on that). While there ARE definitely examples of both alive and well, I’ve always found them to be the loud and vocal minority.

Individual anecdotes will always sway opinions, but any action needs to be balanced whether its agenda is right leaning or left. The challenge we have as a nation is how to weed out the cancer without harming the rest of the body beyond repair. That means firm action is strongly required, but it needs to hit the right target.

 

[Napster]

Majority of homeless in London appear to be ex-Forces. I thought the "right" would want to help those who have served our country?

It's a tough one anyway - but look at how Finland manages: https://www.theguardian.com/housing...d-solved-homelessness-eu-crisis-housing-first

 

[Ricky Otto]

GBJ makes a lot of valid points, a very good and balanced post.

In Chelmsford we have a massive homeless problem.

I had thought that this had come about as we gained gained city status but it seems like the increase is happening all over Essex from these posts. In my walk from the train station to my house on my way home I pass 6 different spots where homeless people are sat begging, most are civil enough, they ask for change/ you say you don't have any/ they say have a nice day. There are a couple that follow you down the rd for a bit which is a mild annoyance for someone like me but I have seen them do it to women with children etc and they do look intimidated. There is one homeless woman who has got hold of some car keys and tells you she accidently came out without her purse and needs £2 to get out of the car park, I refuse to believe she makes this mistake every day.

Passing so many of them everyday you see certain patterns emerge, if somebody offers to buy them food they always say they have just eaten or need the money for shelter not food. If they are given food they are often quite rude in accepting it and you see a lot of unopened sandwiches etc just left on the street.
There is a van down Chelmsford high street run by a homeless charity CHESS, they provide food and have a shelter in Chelmsford and they say the food is never all taken and the shelter is never full.

It is true that they don't let people in who have shown violent tendencies before and those that are clearly intoxicated or use drugs in the shelter. Which is fair enough, those legitimate homeless people who are not on drugs deserve a place to go where they don't feel intimidated. The fact these measures are in place and there are still a lot of people sleeping rough in Chelmsford would point to a major drug problem. Now I don't think we should turn a blind eye because of it is drugs but I would suggest giving money to these people is not helpful and we probably need to stop it all together, giving the money to homeless charities and drug charities is far more productive.

My other half was watching a BBC documentary about drug problems a month or so back, I think it was a series on drug problems around the country. Anyway, the one I saw part of was in Bristol and followed a couple of homeless addicts. They had a pitch next to a payment machine in a multi-storey car park. I was shocked when the interviewer asked them how much they spend on drugs a day and they replied £300 a day on average! While that kind of money can be made we will see a lot of these people on our streets.

 

[Cricko]

GBJ great post.....

 

[mattytheshrimper]

You've completely misunderstood my post, thanks for yelling at me over something I haven't even done though, that's a great way to get your point across. If anything there's a certain irony in you telling me off for not reading your comment properly when you clearly haven't understood mine.

I'm saying your sample is biased because you are unlikely to be interacting with homeless people that aren't committing crimes unless you volunteer at a homeless shelter or something, therefore most homeless people you come into contact with are going to be people causing trouble, even if the vast majority of them in Southend aren't like that.

What the hell? I was quoting SBH, nothing to do with you or your post.

 

[Cricko]

It has become ridiclous now.....We as a country that care are going downhill...I expect the leaders from the top to have some form of inclination to those on the streets or who are not so clever to be able to climb out of their position...

It is all about greed and we are number 1 as far as the government is concerned..

I am in horror, rather dispair about how some treat others... (There but for the grace of God go I)

For sure there are drug addicts, beggars on our streets. You have to ask the question..what sort of upbringing did these people have and do they have no future but to fall into a life of dispair with no future.......

We can all throw stones, we are the lucky few that haven't been led down that road when times have been bad.

Have some Empathy for the Homeless.

 

[Member]

What the hell? I was quoting SBH, nothing to do with you or your post.

Why did you quote his post then?

 

[South Bank Hank]

Why did you quote his post then?

While at the same time misrepresenting mine?

 

[mattytheshrimper]

Anyway, I've made my feelings known. Plenty of good posts from other users on here with great views which I completely agree with. I just think it's worth knowing that some people don't always feel sorry for homeless people because of the experiences they have personally had and I don't think that should be dismissed.

If I was a genuine homeless person who needed help, I would be so angry with the IMO 8 out 10 homeless people in southend highstreet and westcliff that are utter scum bags. It makes everyone think they are all the same. But, I won't agree this is the minority who are like this. I would say it is by far the majority, at least around Southend anyway.