Dignity.

An old Irish proverb tells us that
“it is in the shelter of each other that people live”. 

You’d hope this rings true today in contemporary Britain, but does it? When you see people sleeping rough on the street or begging for change, you question who is looking out for those at the margins of our society.

Because the homeless have no-one to shield them from their poverty; no shelter to take refuge from life’s storms. They are ultimately left with no hiding place, exposed to the world with what little they may have for all to see, yet ignored by passers-by and forgotten by the state. You may recognise them with a rugged backpack full of possessions, maybe even a pet to feed, and carrying the burdensome stigma that goes hand in hand with being homeless...

That false yet fabled stigma that they are all alcoholic, drug-abusing, dirty criminals scrounging off the rest of us ‘hard-working model citizens’. But may not this flippant and ignorant perception of the homeless apply to individuals across the board? The idle neighbour drinking at home living off undue benefits, or the chief executive sleazing around with his shareholders’ trusted funds are but two examples. Of course, there’s no denying that a number of homeless people find themselves out on the streets having lost everything due to alcohol or substance addiction, or possibly as a result of a criminal past. But there are also all those without a home having experienced financial difficulties following a business failure, faced housing difficulties after losing a job, or as result of violence or family break-ups that left them cast aside. Each and every one of us regret certain decisions in our lives, just as they do, but they are the ones sitting out in the cold for their mistakes or misfortunes.

And the cold pavement is no place to sit around, as the homeless’ exposure to the public and the elements take their toll in making them vulnerable to illness, verbal abuse, and physical violence. Indeed last year’s riots inflicted a great stress upon Britain’s homeless amidst the chaos, as does the merciless winter freeze each year. Furthermore, this poverty is compounded by a hunger, lack of hygiene, and a solitude that compounds their struggle to survive. For the public eye sees them as a nuisance littering the street, and this is what they shrink down to; an inconvenient and invisible truth lost amidst the high street’s commerce and commotion as their pleas for help fall on deaf ears…

For what they want is their voice to be heard. And what they ask for is enough money to survive. But what they need is support. We’re told that charity begins at home, and the street is the home of the homeless, so let’s start there. Perceptions and prejudices die hard, but no longer should people divert their paths to avoid the guilt of ignorance, no longer should shops’ adverts avert our eyes from those less fortunate, and no longer should people look at a street seller as if he is selling Nazi propaganda. Because there are avenues offering a way out of poverty, providing a step in the right direction towards better health and housing, with homeless support agencies catering for their needs. Offering them the stability to rebuild their lives, the opportunity to earn their own income, and the help needed for them to help themselves.

So the rest is up to us. To open doors and to welcome the homeless into a more inclusive society, free of prejudice and prejudgment, that gives them hope for a better future. We may not be able to house them ourselves, but what we can offer is the social support that allows a route back into employment, and provide them with a hand up, if not a hand-out. Indeed, Jesse Jackson, the American black civil rights leader, once commented that “you should never look down on anybody unless you’re helping them up”. It is now upon our streets that this sentiment must echo.

Daniel Bowen.