Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Reply from council about rough sleepers in Harringay and rubbish dumping in Green Lanes
A couple of weeks ago I emailed the council to ask how they were planning to tackle the issue of the increasing number of homeless people in the area. I also flagged that lately Green Lanes and the streets around it seem to be more dirty than usual, with lots of rubbish scattered around.
This is the reply I received from the council, if anyone is interested.
The council is aware of the growing number of homeless people in Haringey and is endeavouring to address this issue on a number of fronts. We are working in partnership with a wide range of services to identify areas affected by rough sleepers and to take appropriate action to address these problems. The Anti-Social Behaviour Action Team (ASBAT) work very closely with Thamsereach, who provide the outreach services (Streetlink) to people sleeping on the street; immediate referrals are made which are usually responded to promptly by StreetLink – the designated outreach service. Members of the public can also make referrals to Streetlink using the weblink below:-
http://www.streetlink.org.uk/or you can call them on 0300 500 0914
The ASBAT are also working closely with the local police teams and Immigration Enforcement. We are currently involved in a series of operations targeting sites where there are individuals sleeping rough who are not exercising their treaty rights and could face deportation. Thamesreach are also involved in these operation to enable appropriate support and advice to be given to those eligible for housing assistance. Please do contact the ASB reporting line with any information regarding rough sleepers in the Harringay ward, we are collating this information and will add any new individuals and/or sites to our list for future operations.
We have been advised by other residents and businesses, that a number of individuals sleeping in Green Lanes are also begging, again we are working with the Harringay Safer Neighbourhood Team around identifying these individuals and it is very important that members of the public call the police as and when any begging is occurring. The police need to witness the begging and/or have witness statements identifying the beggars to justify enforcement action. If you should witness any begging in Green Lanes please do call the police on 101.
With regard to your concerns about the rubbish in Green Lanes, unfortunately the council has had to make changes to the street sweeping regime on all residential roads in the borough from twice weekly sweeps to once weekly. However Green Lanes itself is swept twice daily, as the sweeping of main roads and town centres has not changed. The Neighbourhood Action Team officer also monitors the area on a regular basis and any illegal dumping of waste is reported to Veolia who will remove within 24 hours. Members of the public can also report dumped rubbish or missed scheduled road sweeping via the Council’s website http://www.haringey.gov.uk/contact/report-it. Alternatively please contact theVeolia Haringey Contact Centre:-
Tel: 020 8885 7700
Email: enquiries.haringey@veolia.comI appreciate this may not be the response you were hoping for, but trust that it does highlight the work we are doing to address your areas of concerns.
Tags for Forum Posts: homelessness
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Charlotte A on
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I'm not sure that's what they mean - they aren't 'exercising their treaty rights' which to me implies that these people are legally in the UK because they're from the EU, but they aren't exercising their rights to whatever benefits they're entitled to. Or exercising their right to work, perhaps that's what they mean.
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I don't know whether they were deported, they were 'offered free passage home' weren't they?
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Permalink Reply by JulieB on
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Exactly what I was thinking, I thought the first paragraph was talking about getting help with re-homing but on second reading it's not very clear.
I absolutely agree the council should be finding help for them, not hounding them off the streets.
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Permalink Reply by Protheroe O'Shea on
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I don't see why the council just pay the homeless folk to clean up green Lanes. They'll no doubt been cheaper and do a better job.
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Permalink Reply by Matt on
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I've a sneaking suspicion that several of the Green Lanes 'rough sleepers' aren't homeless. Certainly come nightfall most of them have packed up and gone. Granted, they may be finding quieter more private spots to bed down, but a friend of mine who works in this area (for another London borough) says many of them have places of residence, and are just begging as a living during the day rather than actually homeless. A lot of the stuff with them, sleeping bags etc, merely props.
There was another thread on here that I think mentioned some of them had refused the outreach mentioned in the council's response?
As I say I'm sure there's a real mix, and no simple one-size solution.
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Homeless people are not rough sleepers. Homeless people tend to live in hostels or night shelters. Rough sleepers sleep on the streets. I can assure you the vast majority are homeless.
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Thanks Ben for the clarification, I hadn't considered the difference in the terminology.
There was another HoL thread, where IIRC someone said they knew one pair (I think, the couple who pitch up beside the ATMs at Barclays) and that they do in fact have a home locally.
One of surely the most easily solved ills of modern society. It's certainly an issue (homelessness) that requires something a good deal more than the platitudes the council replied with.
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Of course rough sleepers are homeless, but defined as rough sleepers.
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