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The other thing is that people who were homeless and then get themselves accommodation are entitled to a grant from the council in order to go out and buy their own furniture. They don't get much, but atleast they have a choice as opposed to getting what they're given. That's a good thing in my book and the costs would be similar to recieving second hand furniture.
It's low income families who probably need this stuff more than anyone else. If you're skint, £200 on a new bed for one of the kids is going to wipe you out.
Absolutely, sometimes, we can assume what's right for a person that is in a less fortunate position. That's not a bad thing, it's a caring attitude, although still presumptuous in my opinion. I always feel for these poor people who are given countless Gregg's pasties and MC Donald's coffee when maybe a couple of quid would allow them some choice and independence. To me, it's sort of control tactics as the thought is that they may buy alcohol or drugs. Food is not a problem for homeless people in this city.
Pre-lockdown, Marie Curie shop in Whitchurch was excellent at taking house clearance items, sorting it and moving it on to wherever was best including their own premises. Parking round the back helped. The money raised really helps when needed most.
Me and my daughter used to ask people what they wanted for food, explain we were on the way shopping for other stuff and would bring it back on our way back down.
It never varied much, greggs, meal deal in Tesco, Fast food etc and the drinks rarely moved away from hot drinks and water.
Yes absolutely mate. Haven't been for a while now but we'd give grub, a drink and some change usually. Used to leave it all up to my daughter and we'd make small talk for a bit.
One thing I taught her is to always acknowledge people, if you can't five them anything don't do the quick shuffle past while looking at the floor so many do, a simple " sorry I don't have any change this time" is nicer than ignoring someone
It may have changed now but in my days of working with the homeless the person who got somewhere to live ......very rare for the single homeless .......could apply for a loan from the social fund ......it was a loan .......it wasn't a grant and had to be paid back through a deduction from a person's benefits
Which is why most homeless people preferred to get basic furniture provision from charities rather than owe money
It wasn't really a question of choice
They can. For furniture, white goods, bed linen, kettle, toaster etc. But, it is generally applied for via someone from the Housing Association team and they apply for the grant. There won't be any choice as to what make it will be but they'll be new items.
There's huge merit in encouraging recycled/refurbished furniture and that's a good thing for everyone in society and shouldn't be used as some sort of guilt-trip for poor, homeless or disabled people i.e. be thankful for what we're offering.
For the record, I'm not a big fan of the charity business models and would prefer a more local community-based approach and local hubs for people to turn to. When it comes to recycling, if we can remove the status elements and accept that we don't need to be buying new all the time, then there isn't the stigma associated with 'second-hand'.