UK
 |
| 17 year old homeless boy. |
Shelter, the homeless support organisation estimates that the number
of people sleeping rough on the streets, has risen 165% since 2010.
That year marks the transition from centre-left Labour to
centre-right Conservatives, in power. The huge financial shock in
2008 prompted the Tories to embark on policies that radically cut
State spending. Austerity became the over-arching message and
practice.
The national books needed to balance and billions of pounds
were taken from the Social Security system. Over the past ten years
or so, the Social Security system has been so severely compromised
that it is unable to give anything like the necessary level of
financial support to those in severe need. Local authorities have
received significant funding reductions from central Government and
the inevitable result has been an exponential increase in
homelessness and food bank usage all, apparently, without raising
significant protest from the wider population. And now, the pandemic is attacking the already-inadequate safety
nets. Panic-buying is leaving supermarkets to limit what people may
buy, and to have less surplus food to donate, and thus their
generosity towards food banks is reduced. But many poorest families
now rely on food banks for their daily bread.
 |
| Rishi Sunak |
In the meantime, while the rest of us walk two metres apart and
self-isolate, these measures are not available to the homeless
crammed into temporary shelters with inadequate, shared washing and
sleeping facilities. And that’s if they are lucky. Without even
temporary night shelters, the truly homeless are isolated while
exposed both to the elements and to food shortages more severe than
usual. And in the daytime, deserted streets offer scant pickings for
anyone begging. Homelessness, at the best of times, looks frightening
but in this new Corona-period, terrifying. Has Rishi Sunak, the
Chancellor, with all his splendid financial support measures for
many, many sections of society, offered anything for the homeless? I
ask because I do not know. In Brugge, one never sees begging; I
believe that anyone who tries, is swiftly removed by the police and
taken I know not where.
For people here in Brugge, life on a reduced scale goes on neventfully unless, that is, someone, somehow, picks up the virus. I
walk for an hour each day and in the morning, the streets are totally
deserted; in the afternoon, at least along the canals, there are
plenty of solo and duo walkers, some with dogs; some with children;
some with both. We all obey the two metre rule; the latest tweak to
that rule being that walkers must not stop to sit or rest,
presumably, unless desperate. So there was more than one reason I
didn’t go to the Markt this morning to sit on one end of a bench to
listen to Wim Berthelot, the town carillonneur, giving an hour’s
concert, the other being the biting cold wind.
A friend rang and we agreed that we were pretty happy all told
because we are lucky with nice flats and plenty to do in the house,
that plus the joys of Facetime and reasonable health! Keeping
positive and busy is the thing, we agreed. That’s rather like a
rich man advising, ‘Keep on with the caviare; it helps!’
 |
| The deserted Groenerei at about 9.30 this morning [29/03/20] |
The national books needed to balance and billions of pounds
were taken from the Social Security system. Over the past ten years
or so, the Social Security system has been so severely compromised
that it is unable to give anything like the necessary level of
financial support to those in severe need. Local authorities have
received significant funding reductions from central Government and
the inevitable result has been an exponential increase in
homelessness and food bank usage all, apparently, without raising
significant protest from the wider population. And now, the pandemic is attacking the already-inadequate safety
nets. Panic-buying is leaving supermarkets to limit what people may
buy, and to have less surplus food to donate, and thus their
generosity towards food banks is reduced. But many poorest families
now rely on food banks for their daily bread.
For people here in Brugge, life on a reduced scale goes on neventfully unless, that is, someone, somehow, picks up the virus. I
walk for an hour each day and in the morning, the streets are totally
deserted; in the afternoon, at least along the canals, there are
plenty of solo and duo walkers, some with dogs; some with children;
some with both. We all obey the two metre rule; the latest tweak to
that rule being that walkers must not stop to sit or rest,
presumably, unless desperate. So there was more than one reason I
didn’t go to the Markt this morning to sit on one end of a bench to
listen to Wim Berthelot, the town carillonneur, giving an hour’s
concert, the other being the biting cold wind.
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