Pity the poor?

by Mike

I’m sure many of us walk past the homeless and do not give them a second thought or glance for that matter. I unfortunately have a sceptical view of homeless men; I don’t know why the same does not apply for women, in that they are only out on the streets begging to feed a drink, gambling or drug habit.

I used to work for a bookmaker and many of the people I see begging in and around the city centre are men who would come into the shops I worked in every day and bet small amounts on horse and dog races. I would argue that these are people who will never learn, they chase a dream that can never come true; the horse race that will bring them their fortune.

However I have come to realise that there are genuine people out there who need help and do not make a great living out of conning people into giving them money. I have read of some stories where the beggar goes home to a massive house having earned a wage that most of us in ‘normal’ jobs would be envious of.

In England the homeless charity St Mungo’s commission a survey called ‘Home is where the heart is’ and found that a third of people who become homeless blame relationship breakdown for causing their life on the streets. 43 per cent of the charity’s service users do not give a next of kin and half would like to have more regular contact with their families.

Many of us take for granted having strong, loving families that support us through the difficult times…If we, and other organisations like us, support homeless men and women to rebuild their family ties we can help to prevent them returning to the street.

Charles Fraser, St Mungo’s Chief Executive

When relationships break down it cannot be easy to maintain some sort of relationship with loved ones. You regularly here stories of parents who are unable to see their children and provide them with the financial support needed in their development because quite simple they cannot even support themselves.

Is it right that it seems that few people have so much with many having so little? It is something that has been argued many times in relation to poverty and I do not believe there is a simple answer to it. Some people never get the opportunity to better themselves and work hard to gain a good quality of life, while others get too many chances to do so and simple throw it away.

Whatever the reason I do not believe the problem is tackled enough. I think more consideration and more options for possible solutions have to be looked at otherwise it will get worse before it gets better. The Celtic Tiger has done a lot of good things for this country but I think that it has made us less humble.

Monday, November 26th, 2007 and is filed under Pain and suffering, Thoughts & Questions, Views on News.