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/commentisfree/2017/dec/14/euston-station-homeless-shelter-christmas-london
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Euston station will be a fine homeless shelter at Christmas. But then what? | Euston station will be a fine homeless shelter at Christmas. But then what? |
| (about 23 hours later) | |
| The Christmas Day initiative in London should be praised. May it inspire us to repurpose empty public spaces to help people all year round | |
| Thu 14 Dec 2017 15.20 GMT | |
| Last modified on Thu 14 Dec 2017 23.24 GMT | |
| Share on Facebook | |
| Share on Twitter | |
| Share via Email | |
| View more sharing options | |
| Share on LinkedIn | |
| Share on Pinterest | |
| Share on Google+ | |
| Share on WhatsApp | |
| Share on Messenger | |
| Close | |
| It’s a heartwarming Christmas story: London’s Euston station will be turned into a homeless shelter for one day on 25 December. Food will be served by 30 Network Rail volunteers and some much needed “festive cheer” will be provided to 200 rough sleepers. | It’s a heartwarming Christmas story: London’s Euston station will be turned into a homeless shelter for one day on 25 December. Food will be served by 30 Network Rail volunteers and some much needed “festive cheer” will be provided to 200 rough sleepers. |
| According to St Mungo’s, the homeless charity involved in the initiative, Christmas is a particularly lonely time for homeless people. As someone who’s been homeless in the past, I agree. But in my experience, homelessness is also rather lonely during the rest of the year. Indeed, most of the problems faced by people who are homeless are far from seasonal. | According to St Mungo’s, the homeless charity involved in the initiative, Christmas is a particularly lonely time for homeless people. As someone who’s been homeless in the past, I agree. But in my experience, homelessness is also rather lonely during the rest of the year. Indeed, most of the problems faced by people who are homeless are far from seasonal. |
| When I first became homeless at 16 following a relationship breakdown with my older sister, I felt ostracised. My sister and I had moved into a flat together, leaving behind our chaotic and violent childhood home, and severing ties with our parents. I’d barely been in England a year – after growing up abroad – and had little contact with my family here. I felt almost entirely alone. With no one to turn to for help, I spent my first night in a tourist’s hostel, before being allocated to a homeless shelter. There I slept on a mattress on the floor, not knowing where I was going to sleep the next night. This uncertainty is what looms largest in my memory; I was afraid that in no time at all I’d be out on the streets. And this feeling didn’t leave me for the whole six months I was homeless. | When I first became homeless at 16 following a relationship breakdown with my older sister, I felt ostracised. My sister and I had moved into a flat together, leaving behind our chaotic and violent childhood home, and severing ties with our parents. I’d barely been in England a year – after growing up abroad – and had little contact with my family here. I felt almost entirely alone. With no one to turn to for help, I spent my first night in a tourist’s hostel, before being allocated to a homeless shelter. There I slept on a mattress on the floor, not knowing where I was going to sleep the next night. This uncertainty is what looms largest in my memory; I was afraid that in no time at all I’d be out on the streets. And this feeling didn’t leave me for the whole six months I was homeless. |
| The next day I was allocated to a different shelter. I was given my own room, and support to claim benefits – but the process of claiming income support proved incredibly slow. For the first three weeks I had little over a pound a day for food and essentials and nothing for transport or phone credit, further increasing my isolation. | The next day I was allocated to a different shelter. I was given my own room, and support to claim benefits – but the process of claiming income support proved incredibly slow. For the first three weeks I had little over a pound a day for food and essentials and nothing for transport or phone credit, further increasing my isolation. |
| These are some of the characteristics of homelessness: ostracism, loneliness, insecurity and poverty. Rough sleeping also brings with it a greater risk of violence, grooming and sexual exploitation. So while harsh winter conditions can cause real problems for rough sleepers, they are far from the only danger. | These are some of the characteristics of homelessness: ostracism, loneliness, insecurity and poverty. Rough sleeping also brings with it a greater risk of violence, grooming and sexual exploitation. So while harsh winter conditions can cause real problems for rough sleepers, they are far from the only danger. |
| So as laudable as it is to turn Euston into a homeless shelter on Christmas Day, it does raise the question of why there aren’t more such initiatives spread throughout the year? The UK has no shortage of empty buildings. And rough sleepers don’t cease to be vulnerable once the winter months are over. | So as laudable as it is to turn Euston into a homeless shelter on Christmas Day, it does raise the question of why there aren’t more such initiatives spread throughout the year? The UK has no shortage of empty buildings. And rough sleepers don’t cease to be vulnerable once the winter months are over. |
| A more ambitious annual project is carried out in my current home city of Cambridge. Here, the Cambridge Churches Homeless Project provides food and shelter for 15 rough sleepers every night from the start of December to the end of March by housing them in the city’s churches. But even this begs the question: why only the winter months? If this space is available year-round, why not use it? | A more ambitious annual project is carried out in my current home city of Cambridge. Here, the Cambridge Churches Homeless Project provides food and shelter for 15 rough sleepers every night from the start of December to the end of March by housing them in the city’s churches. But even this begs the question: why only the winter months? If this space is available year-round, why not use it? |
| Charity appeals often peak in the run-up to Christmas: the cultural and religious values Christmas promotes centre around charity, generosity and compassion. And of course it’s right that charities should take advantage of this seasonal goodwill to raise money for worthy causes. But while these commendable gestures on Christmas Day provide temporary relief, they do not make the problem go away for the rest of the year. | Charity appeals often peak in the run-up to Christmas: the cultural and religious values Christmas promotes centre around charity, generosity and compassion. And of course it’s right that charities should take advantage of this seasonal goodwill to raise money for worthy causes. But while these commendable gestures on Christmas Day provide temporary relief, they do not make the problem go away for the rest of the year. |
| If the Euston project has demonstrated anything, it’s that empty public spaces can be used to help alleviate some of the worst symptoms of our homelessness crisis. And while charities cannot and should not be expected to fill the void created by government cuts – and train stations and churches are no substitute for shelters – more could be done year-round to make use of these empty spaces and help the burgeoning numbers of people forced to sleep rough on our streets. | If the Euston project has demonstrated anything, it’s that empty public spaces can be used to help alleviate some of the worst symptoms of our homelessness crisis. And while charities cannot and should not be expected to fill the void created by government cuts – and train stations and churches are no substitute for shelters – more could be done year-round to make use of these empty spaces and help the burgeoning numbers of people forced to sleep rough on our streets. |
| Homelessness | |
| Opinion | |
| Social exclusion | |
| Housing | |
| Poverty | |
| Christmas | |
| comment | |
| Share on Facebook | |
| Share on Twitter | |
| Share via Email | |
| Share on LinkedIn | |
| Share on Pinterest | |
| Share on Google+ | |
| Share on WhatsApp | |
| Share on Messenger | |
| Reuse this content |