Beggars belief

[misterlaffer]

So, I don't get out much these days. Well, not for a pub crawl anyway but was out Friday night in Worcester a works Christmas meal and drinks after. Couldn't get over the amount of beggars lining the streets. Must have passed at least 10 in half mile walk. Are these people genuine? Really homeless? Am I the only person who finds these people intimidating, being harassed like this for cash?

While in Southampton visiting my daughter at Uni earlier this year I visited the ATM, there was a beggar near the cash machine. A smart dressed lad came up to him and said 'are you having any luck here mate', his reply was, not really, where the response was I was round the corner yesterday had a good one there,nowhere he promptly disappeared into a nearby pub. Now me being a complete and utter cynic I know has to wonder why these people aren't validated, checked for genuine homelessness?

This countries gone too bloody soft

[chillidave]

Was in Glasgow last weekend, I know it's a big city but was shocked at the amount begging or living rough, they seemed to be on every street..

[Mike54]

So, I don't get out much these days. Well, not for a pub crawl anyway but was out Friday night in Worcester a works Christmas meal and drinks after. Couldn't get over the amount of beggars lining the streets. Must have passed at least 10 in half mile walk. Are these people genuine? Really homeless? Am I the only person who finds these people intimidating, being harassed like this for cash?

While in Southampton visiting my daughter at Uni earlier this year I visited the ATM, there was a beggar near the cash machine. A smart dressed lad came up to him and said 'are you having any luck here mate', his reply was, not really, where the response was I was round the corner yesterday had a good one there,nowhere he promptly disappeared into a nearby pub. Now me being a complete and utter cynic I know has to wonder why these people aren't validated, checked for genuine homelessness?

This countries gone too bloody soft

I don't even know where to begin with this post. All I'll say is that it shows a breathtaking level of ignorance and total lack of empathy or understanding. Enjoy your Christmas dinner, dick head.

[Tramp]

the biggest beggars are the government.....they are true swindlers....

Bon Noel..

[misterlaffer]

So, I don't get out much these days. Well, not for a pub crawl anyway but was out Friday night in Worcester a works Christmas meal and drinks after. Couldn't get over the amount of beggars lining the streets. Must have passed at least 10 in half mile walk. Are these people genuine? Really homeless? Am I the only person who finds these people intimidating, being harassed like this for cash?

While in Southampton visiting my daughter at Uni earlier this year I visited the ATM, there was a beggar near the cash machine. A smart dressed lad came up to him and said 'are you having any luck here mate', his reply was, not really, where the response was I was round the corner yesterday had a good one there,nowhere he promptly disappeared into a nearby pub. Now me being a complete and utter cynic I know has to wonder why these people aren't validated, checked for genuine homelessness?

This countries gone too bloody soft

I don't even know where to begin with this post. All I'll say is that it shows a breathtaking level of ignorance and total lack of empathy or understanding. Enjoy your Christmas dinner, dick head.

Well, charmed I'm sure. Clearly you are more informed than I on the subject, and by your wealth of knowledge I am indeed ignorant of the modern world. But may be I just don't look the other way, and should ?

[P4ulie]

Take a ride around any city in the early hours, you will see a lot of bodies all over the place, they're just the tip of the iceburg.

Blame it on mass immigration, alcoholism, drug addiction, PTSD, fecklessness, whatever you fancy....they're still living rough.

Back to the levels of the early 80s

[Zookman]

Social housing has now become near impossible to get for most people now. So they're left to the private sector of ever increasing rents and no security whatsoever.
The government wont pay all of these high rents now with their welfare cuts, even social housing is affected by the bedroom tax, but councils have no smaller properties to downsize people too.
Its all built into a perfect storm of homelessness.

There's now a large underclass of people that feel they are excluded from society. The sick, the disabled, the unemployed, even many working people are only a few wage slips away from homelessness.
Then we have the Daily Mail type prejudice against those less fortunate people and constant programs of 'poverty porn' on the tv.

[anagallis_arvensis]

So, I don't get out much these days. Well, not for a pub crawl anyway but was out Friday night in Worcester a works Christmas meal and drinks after. Couldn't get over the amount of beggars lining the streets. Must have passed at least 10 in half mile walk. Are these people genuine? Really homeless? Am I the only person who finds these people intimidating, being harassed like this for cash?

While in Southampton visiting my daughter at Uni earlier this year I visited the ATM, there was a beggar near the cash machine. A smart dressed lad came up to him and said 'are you having any luck here mate', his reply was, not really, where the response was I was round the corner yesterday had a good one there,nowhere he promptly disappeared into a nearby pub. Now me being a complete and utter cynic I know has to wonder why these people aren't validated, checked for genuine homelessness?

This countries gone too bloody soft

I think its you thats gone soft being intimidated by beggers, what were they doing chasing you down the street?

[AndyB]

What worries me more than the current level of homelessness is the even larger number of people who are hovering on the brink and it only needs another small tilt the wrong way for them to be in desperate trouble. By desperate I mean queuing for food handouts, begging on the streets after the kids have been put to bed or families sleeping rough rather than single people doing it.

The worst part is that as the tipping point gets closer the side of the balances that has the money and material possessions seems to be enjoying it even more.

[boboneleg]

What worries me more than the current level of homelessness is the even larger number of people who are hovering on the brink and it only needs another small tilt the wrong way for them to be in desperate trouble.

That's exactly right, a lot of people have no idea how easily it could happen to them. The vast majority of homeless people don't want to live like that.