This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jan/04/windsor-homeless-were-human-beings-i-just-want-to-get-back-on-my-feet
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 5 | Version 6 |
|---|---|
| Windsor homeless: 'We're human beings too. I just want to get back on my feet' | Windsor homeless: 'We're human beings too. I just want to get back on my feet' |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| Just before 11am, a regimental band marched towards Windsor Castle, rounded a corner by a statue of Queen Victoria and entered the 11th-century fortress through the Henry VIII gate for the thrice-weekly changing of the guard. | Just before 11am, a regimental band marched towards Windsor Castle, rounded a corner by a statue of Queen Victoria and entered the 11th-century fortress through the Henry VIII gate for the thrice-weekly changing of the guard. |
| Pipers and drummers clad in kilts and bearskins led the way, followed by the New Guard bearing bayonets over their left shoulders. It was a quintessential British sight, applauded by tourists lining their route. | Pipers and drummers clad in kilts and bearskins led the way, followed by the New Guard bearing bayonets over their left shoulders. It was a quintessential British sight, applauded by tourists lining their route. |
| Windsor council leader calls for removal of homeless before royal wedding | Windsor council leader calls for removal of homeless before royal wedding |
| A few metres from the castle walls at least 10 rough sleepers huddled in doorways and bus shelters, wrapped in damp blankets and sleeping bags. | A few metres from the castle walls at least 10 rough sleepers huddled in doorways and bus shelters, wrapped in damp blankets and sleeping bags. |
| Stuart, 40, who has lived on the streets for the past four months, was rolling his first cigarette of the day as the New Guard approached. “It’s nice to see it,” he said, stretching inside his sleeping bag. “Mind you, I’ve seen it that many times now.” | Stuart, 40, who has lived on the streets for the past four months, was rolling his first cigarette of the day as the New Guard approached. “It’s nice to see it,” he said, stretching inside his sleeping bag. “Mind you, I’ve seen it that many times now.” |
| Stuart is one of a growing number of people living on the streets in the royal town of Windsor. This week the council leader, Simon Dudley, called on the police to issue enforcement orders against “an epidemic of rough sleeping and vagrancy” before the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle there in May. He said the issue was presenting “a beautiful town in a sadly unfavourable light”. | Stuart is one of a growing number of people living on the streets in the royal town of Windsor. This week the council leader, Simon Dudley, called on the police to issue enforcement orders against “an epidemic of rough sleeping and vagrancy” before the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle there in May. He said the issue was presenting “a beautiful town in a sadly unfavourable light”. |
| For Stuart, whose home since losing his private tenancy is a makeshift shelter of cardboard and blankets by a bus stop opposite the castle, the council leader’s call was in stark contrast to the kindness and generosity many people in the town have shown him and other rough sleepers. | For Stuart, whose home since losing his private tenancy is a makeshift shelter of cardboard and blankets by a bus stop opposite the castle, the council leader’s call was in stark contrast to the kindness and generosity many people in the town have shown him and other rough sleepers. |
| Dudley, he said, “just wants to clean up the royal borough. He doesn’t want vermin like us on the streets when the whole world will be watching, but at the end of the day we’re human beings too. I just want to get back on my feet.” | Dudley, he said, “just wants to clean up the royal borough. He doesn’t want vermin like us on the streets when the whole world will be watching, but at the end of the day we’re human beings too. I just want to get back on my feet.” |
| The main poverty indicator used in the Joseph Rowntree Foundation's study is the number of households that have income levels of less than 60% of median income. Using the same measure, the UK was ranked 22nd out of 35 in an international league table of child poverty rates in rich nations put together by Unicef in 2012. | The main poverty indicator used in the Joseph Rowntree Foundation's study is the number of households that have income levels of less than 60% of median income. Using the same measure, the UK was ranked 22nd out of 35 in an international league table of child poverty rates in rich nations put together by Unicef in 2012. |
| In a 2016 league table of all measures of poverty, the UK did rather better compared with other nations. The study, also by Unicef, ranked the UK joint-14th out of 35 rich nations. This was just above the US, but well below many European countries, notably Denmark, Finland and Norway. On some specific measures the UK did less well, notably education, where it ranked 25th out of 39 countries, and health, where it was 19th out of 35. | In a 2016 league table of all measures of poverty, the UK did rather better compared with other nations. The study, also by Unicef, ranked the UK joint-14th out of 35 rich nations. This was just above the US, but well below many European countries, notably Denmark, Finland and Norway. On some specific measures the UK did less well, notably education, where it ranked 25th out of 39 countries, and health, where it was 19th out of 35. |
| In the latest official comparison of poverty across the 28 countries in the European Union, the UK ranked 15th. This was some way behind the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Netherlands but ahead of Ireland, Spain and Italy. The European figures confirmed the JRF’s observation that the number of people at risk of poverty in the UK has risen since 2008. | In the latest official comparison of poverty across the 28 countries in the European Union, the UK ranked 15th. This was some way behind the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Netherlands but ahead of Ireland, Spain and Italy. The European figures confirmed the JRF’s observation that the number of people at risk of poverty in the UK has risen since 2008. |
| He said he had been offered accommodation a few miles away in Slough, but he wanted to stay in Windsor where his elderly mum lives. She visits him in his bus shelter most days. “She worries about me, especially when the weather is like this,” he said. | He said he had been offered accommodation a few miles away in Slough, but he wanted to stay in Windsor where his elderly mum lives. She visits him in his bus shelter most days. “She worries about me, especially when the weather is like this,” he said. |
| He didn’t ask passersby for money but put out a pot for people to donate loose change. “People bring food and hot drinks. There are a lot of good people around,” he said. | He didn’t ask passersby for money but put out a pot for people to donate loose change. “People bring food and hot drinks. There are a lot of good people around,” he said. |
| Down the road, outside McDonald’s, Tracy, 49, had awoken cold and wet, “the same as every other day,” she said. She has been living on the streets for seven years after losing housing benefit when her daughter left home. | Down the road, outside McDonald’s, Tracy, 49, had awoken cold and wet, “the same as every other day,” she said. She has been living on the streets for seven years after losing housing benefit when her daughter left home. |
| Now, everything she owns – mostly spare clothing and bedding – is packed into bags in a shopping trolley. Her sausage dog, Pixie – “my everything, without her I’d be in my coffin” – was staying with a friend until the weather improves. | Now, everything she owns – mostly spare clothing and bedding – is packed into bags in a shopping trolley. Her sausage dog, Pixie – “my everything, without her I’d be in my coffin” – was staying with a friend until the weather improves. |
| Like Stuart, Tracy said she did not ask people for money, rejecting Dudley’s claim of “aggressive begging and intimidation”. “If people give us money we appreciate that, but we never ask,” she said. | Like Stuart, Tracy said she did not ask people for money, rejecting Dudley’s claim of “aggressive begging and intimidation”. “If people give us money we appreciate that, but we never ask,” she said. |
| “We’re going to be punished for being on the streets when the royal wedding happens. Why don’t they help us instead? No one wants to be homeless.” | “We’re going to be punished for being on the streets when the royal wedding happens. Why don’t they help us instead? No one wants to be homeless.” |
| Tracy said she got a mixed response from the public. “I’ve been spat at and had things thrown at me, but other people bring us food and blankets. I just want somewhere to live, to be part of a community, to be a normal citizen.” | Tracy said she got a mixed response from the public. “I’ve been spat at and had things thrown at me, but other people bring us food and blankets. I just want somewhere to live, to be part of a community, to be a normal citizen.” |
| We must declare 2018 the year of the right to housing | Leilani Farha | We must declare 2018 the year of the right to housing | Leilani Farha |
| A Windsor resident for all her life, Tracy had rejected an offer of accommodation in Reading, more than 20 miles away. | A Windsor resident for all her life, Tracy had rejected an offer of accommodation in Reading, more than 20 miles away. |
| Emma Pendry, a police sergeant in Windsor town centre patrolling before the changing of the guard, said the force was working with the council on a joint strategy for rough sleepers. “All have different, complex needs, it’s not a case of just arresting them,” she said. | Emma Pendry, a police sergeant in Windsor town centre patrolling before the changing of the guard, said the force was working with the council on a joint strategy for rough sleepers. “All have different, complex needs, it’s not a case of just arresting them,” she said. |
| The police received complaints on a daily basis, centring on “aesthetics, left bags and begging. But unless an offence has been committed or there is a security risk, we don’t arrest people,” Pendry said | The police received complaints on a daily basis, centring on “aesthetics, left bags and begging. But unless an offence has been committed or there is a security risk, we don’t arrest people,” Pendry said |
| “Technically we can arrest people for begging, but if someone is trying to get a few pounds to eat, it will be dropped in court or they will be fined, which they can’t pay anyway. So what would be gained? It’s better to engage with them, to come up with strategies to help, rather than penalise them.” | “Technically we can arrest people for begging, but if someone is trying to get a few pounds to eat, it will be dropped in court or they will be fined, which they can’t pay anyway. So what would be gained? It’s better to engage with them, to come up with strategies to help, rather than penalise them.” |
| Regarding the royal wedding, Pendry said: “I can see the issue from both sides. But from a policing point of view, our overriding aim is a person’s welfare. We need to look at the bigger picture and find a solution for these people.” | Regarding the royal wedding, Pendry said: “I can see the issue from both sides. But from a policing point of view, our overriding aim is a person’s welfare. We need to look at the bigger picture and find a solution for these people.” |
| In the King and Queen gift shop, opposite the castle’s Henry VIII gate, Derek Prime, 74, a lifelong Windsor resident, took a tougher line. “There’s been a huge increase [in rough sleepers], they’ve taken over the bus shelters, the bits and pieces they have with them get bigger and bigger, they ask for money all the time. They’re offered places to go, but they’d rather sleep out there in the cold and wet,” he said. | In the King and Queen gift shop, opposite the castle’s Henry VIII gate, Derek Prime, 74, a lifelong Windsor resident, took a tougher line. “There’s been a huge increase [in rough sleepers], they’ve taken over the bus shelters, the bits and pieces they have with them get bigger and bigger, they ask for money all the time. They’re offered places to go, but they’d rather sleep out there in the cold and wet,” he said. |
| Blaming the rise on European migrants putting pressure on accommodation, he said the rough sleepers “will have to go before the wedding is broadcast worldwide. It’s not right to have people sleeping on the street – this is 2018, not 1918, after all.” | Blaming the rise on European migrants putting pressure on accommodation, he said the rough sleepers “will have to go before the wedding is broadcast worldwide. It’s not right to have people sleeping on the street – this is 2018, not 1918, after all.” |
| Taking a cigarette break from his construction job opposite the castle, Martin Edwards said rough sleepers had demanded bank notes, not just loose change, from him, “which I find incredible”. | Taking a cigarette break from his construction job opposite the castle, Martin Edwards said rough sleepers had demanded bank notes, not just loose change, from him, “which I find incredible”. |
| Although he didn’t give money, he felt sorry for those living on the streets, he said. “Most people are only a couple of pay cheques away from serious debt and downward spiral, aren’t they?” | Although he didn’t give money, he felt sorry for those living on the streets, he said. “Most people are only a couple of pay cheques away from serious debt and downward spiral, aren’t they?” |
| Homelessness | Homelessness |
| Poverty | Poverty |
| Social exclusion | Social exclusion |
| Housing | Housing |
| Communities | Communities |
| Royal wedding 2018 | Royal wedding 2018 |
| features | features |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |