Fines for being Homeless

Several readers have contacted me to demand why I am not covering this subject. My correspondents seemed to regard this as a dereliction of duty and self-indulgence on my part. I was avoiding "really serious issues!" like this one and wasting my time on frivolities like UFO's and conspiracy theories etc. Not true. firstly, I have covered it; see the background links below. Secondly, UFO's and conspiracy theories etc are not frivolities; they are directly connected to the problems of human wellbeing, including homelessness. Oxford has more rough sleepers per-head than anywhere else in Britain outside London. I've noticed it getting worse in recent years. It's impossible to walk through the city, especially in the evening, without being approached by beggars, looking for money to pay for the charity shelter, The Gatehouse. There used to be a free dormitory run by the council which shut a few years ago, which of course explains why rough-sleeping has increased. The reaction by the city council to this has not been to reopen the dormitory, but instead to hire "civil enforcement officers" to walk round Oxford putting notices on homeless people's property and issue fines for repeat offenders; as if these people have money to pay the fines even if it wasn't an immoral attack. Source: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jul/26/oxford-homeless-people-face-fines-belongings-doorways. How much do these enforcement officers cost to employ? Probably more than the dormitory did. It is not only insulting and dehumanizing, it is also totally impractical to treat homeless people as if they are some kind of wrongdoer. It is possible to clear fire exists without handing out penalty notices. Two hundred years ago there were workhouses in this country. How many poor souls did they have to lock up before the penny dropped that people are not homeless because they want to be; that it's some kind of lifestyle choice? The delusion has not gone away though, in fact it's making a comeback, and perhaps the dark shape of the workhouse roof could once again rise above the skylines of our declining industrial towns.

See here for background: http://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/anti-homeless-spikes.html.

And: http://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/no-crib-for-bed-in-oxford.html.

And: http://hpanwo-tv.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/down-and-out-in-oxford.html.