Harringay online

Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

It appears that following last weeks town hall meeting with haringey council and the metropolitan police, the first steps have been taken with an increase in police presence on green lanes and the homeless people that tend to sleep under the bridge and outside Barclays have been moved on (and relocated to a shelter I hope)

Let's hope these small improvements continue

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I was worrying about these people sleeping out over winter. There is a number you can call if you see someone sleeping rough according to this articlehttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/homeless-person-slee...(although you can't force people to accept help, and they are not always receptive to being housed.)

The article also confirms that there has been a huge increase in homelessness in the past few years - quelle surprise.

Does anyone else agree with my theory that this location is a favourite for street sleepers because of the proximity of a 24 hour McDonald's? Is it the ONLY thing open past 2am on Green Lanes apart from the odd corner shop?

I would have thought the protection from the rain would be the main issue, although the short distance to McDonald's toilets are if huge benefit.

You can sit in a cubicle and catch 40 winks for a bit before the staff reluctantly throw you out.

I have to say that I found one contribution from an attendee at the recent meeting quite objectionable! He claimed that his walk from Manor house tube to the meeting was something reminiscent of the wild west with drug dealing taking place in phone boxes and a number of aggressive beggars! I have lived in the area for almost 19 yrs and have not encountered or witnessed one instance of aggressive begging or anything anywhere near. That's not to say others have not on the odd occasion but I would doubt anyone who suggests this is a regular occurrence! My concern here is that these homeless people, as explained by others on HOL, may not wish for whatever reason to be moved on and do not want to be placed in a shelter. I sincerely hope the clearly misleading contribution at the said meeting has not been used as a quick win, but I fear it has!

One of the people sleeping under the bridge was very blatantly preparing/taking drugs (crack I assume) the other evening when I walked past. Some of the begging is pretty 'assertive' to be honest.

These are complex problems - with mental health issues looming large. Having people sleep under bridges is no solution.  

And where are people suppose to go if there are not enough hostel places etc? Are we just moving the "problem" on?

We are supposed to pressure the authorities to provide more hostel spaces.

I don't believe that LAs are legally obliged to provide housing for all homeless people. There is also a lack of social housing and shelter places. LAs are also facing massive budget constraints. Look at Harringey and the closure of children centres across the borough, including our own Ladder children's centre.

So you are quite prepared to see people sleeping in the street ?

It doesn't matter if the authorities are " legally obliged " or not - they should be doing it.

No, I am not prepared to see people sleeping in the street. That is a ridiculous statement. How did you get that from my comment? My original question is whether removal of rough sleepers is just moving the problem on to another area and not actually providing a solution. Again, do you know the massive budget restraints LAs are under. What services would you cut to make sure everyone has a roof over their heads and is it even possible with the lack of spaces? Are the people of Green Lanes doing a Hackney and cleansing the streets of homeless people? Have a read of the Shelter and Crisis websites to gain an appreciation of the scale of the problem.

Well, if you're not prepared to pressurise the authorities, who set their own priorities over expenditure, what is your solution ?

My comment does not apply to Haringey only. Yes. if we evict the homeless from our streets they will just move on elsewhere. But if ALL local authorities provided the hostel accommodation you would expect in a civilised society there would be at least a partial solution to the rough sleepers situation.

How much would it cost to convert Apex House and Hornsey Town Hall to hostels?  How many other buildings does the Council own / manage that could be used in this way ?

( BTW, I don't need to read the Shelter and Crisis websites: each year I volunteer at the Haringey Churches Winter Night Shelter operation and talk to the homeless in person. The organisers of the Night Shelter operation manage to persuade the Council to provide accommodation for most of the guests.)

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