MODERN TIMES & Homelesness by A. Wastling

MODERN TIMES ( Charlie Chaplin ) 1936 : The Tramp struggles to exist and retain his individuality with the aid of a homeless woman The Gamin who is fleeing the police after stealing a loaf of bread.A damning indictment on the desperate employment and financial conditions many people faced during the Great Depression . When millions were thrown on the scrapheap of mass unemployment after the Capitalist financial crash . The System attempts to crush The Tramp to the level of an anonymous and alienated cog in the production line factory system.Quite innocently The Tramp picks up a flag fallen off the back of a lorry and waves it aloft in an attempt to attract the attention of the driver only to find himself by chance at the front of a workers march and thrown in jail as a Communist agitator after a riot ensues after the cops attack the peaceful though noisy workers march. A masterpiece of silent cinema which also incorporates the Marxist Theory of alienation and imagery particularly when The Tramp becomes locked into the very heart of the machine he is tasked with operating as well as having an episode of mental breakdown due to the drudgery and repetitive nature of work on the ceaseless conveyor belt of the then novel factory Assembly lines. Some of Chaplin's earliest California friends were socialists and members of the radical International Workers of the World, the so-called Wobblies, all dedicated foes of capitalism. In some of Chaplin's earlier films the initials IWW can still be clearly seen chalked on the backs of doors on set

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Covid 19 How can you stay at home - when you have no home? - by Andrew Wastling

“There is only one way to solve this issue…crack down. Fine aggressive beggars and arrest them.”

Councillor John Blundell 2017

“Blundell’s comments are dehumanising, divisive and frankly just ignorant, only exposing his lack of knowledge and experience on the issue.

“The solution to begging, rough sleeping and homelessness isn’t fines, intimidation and social cleansing – the typical Labour way. It is fixing our broken housing system once and for all, ending luxury developments, guaranteeing genuinely affordable housing, getting people off the streets and preventing the initial causes.

“I will never understand why the Labour party seems to have such a problem with rough sleepers and homelessness – it’s just baffling.”

Former Manchester MP John Leech 2017

A 2017 Freedom of Information Request to Rochdale Council recorded 945 homelessness presentations, 205 homelessness advice presentations from people aged 16-25yrs for the same period with 65 homelessness presentations from people aged 16-25yrs recorded in the last quarter of that year. We also know also that the number of people waiting on the current waiting list for Social Housing in 2017 was 6,374 households.

Three years before the Covid pandemic began I calculated that if all of the people currently on Rochdale Councils waiting lists stood one person per step on St.Chads 122 stone steps they would have gone up and down our towns historic landmark almost 54 times with one family standing on each medieval stone step!

Moving forward to the pandemic outbreak , in 2020 B&B accommodation has been used locally for 384 clients, this includes 272 singles and 90 families.

Additionally the number of households open to homelessness fleeing domestic abuse throughout the pandemic was 159.

That there is a local housing and homelessness and domestic violence crisis there is no absolutely doubt whatsoever!

At the same time we know that Empty Homes Week (23rd September 2019 - 29th September 2019 ) reported over 216,000 homes in England have been empty for over six months. In all, over 600,000 homes are currently vacant. The latest statistics for Rochdale show that there were in 858 long term empty properties in 2017.

Rochdale Borough Housing proposals for massive urban vandalism with the potential demolition of 4 blocks at College Bank and 11 blocks at Lower Falinge, which include 395 currently occupied RBH social rented flats will only serve to remove further essential units from the Social Housing stock - or Council Houses as they were once rather quaintly referred to in certain circles!

Campaigners have long been concerned that attempts to exclude homeless people through draconian and overzealous use of Public Space Protection Orders will simply serve to criminalise and further marginalised already socially excluded individuals.The vast majority of whom should be in a place of safety receiving care for complex mental health , trauma or addiction issues rather than a magistrate courts prison cell.

Locally we know that 49 Fixed Penalty Notices have been issued since the introduction of the Rochdale Town Centre Public Space Protection Order. Consisting of Street Drinking – 7 Soliciting for money – 3 Anti-social parking – 7 Begging 32 . This was as of December 2020 as the second wave of Covid-19 began . It's also illuminating to note that nobody from the Council staff issuing these fines has bothered to record the number of people offered legal aid . Despite the fact Rochdale Council is at pains to point out that : vulnerable people will be offered support not just punishment.

Likewise although Rochdale Councils states nobody was issued notices or imprisoned under the decrepit and discredited 1824 Vagrancy Act it is not too difficult to find local homeless people who will tell you that they have spent a night in the cells under Vagrancy Act legislation just prior to Christmas. A public and significant corporate endorsement of the Christiam message at the heart season of peace & goodwill to all which even Scrooge would retch at?

With many people in the hostel environment having low or no immune systems requests from campaigners to prioritise the Townships homeless rough sleepers or sofa surfers for Covid-19 vaccinations have hitherto fallen on entirely deaf ears.

A recent written request to NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Clinical Commissioning Group to lobby local NHS Service Providers & GP Practices to prioritise the position of local homeless population on the grounds that:

Currently the homeless lie sixth in line for inoculation behind care home residents, health workers and older folks. They would likely be classed as, “vulnerable adults under 65” by medics, as their average life expectancy is just 45 years-of-age '. The only response to this so far has been that:

Details of the vaccine programme locally can be found on RBC Public Health site at http://www.rochdale.gov.uk/covidvaccine

In addition in response to further public questions , namely:

How many homeless people, rough sleepers, hostel residents have tested positive for Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic?

and,

Have there been any fatalities of homeless people attributed to Covid-19 in the homeless / hostel environment or on the street itself in Rochdale since the pandemic began?

There is now the familiar response that: 'The CCG does not have access to this data'.

Campaigners have also pointed out to Rochdale Council that FEANTSA the European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless / Fédération Européenne d'Associations Nationales Travaillant avec les Sans-Abri has issued an international statement pointing out that:

'Homeless people are disproportionately affected by poor health with mortality rates 3–6 times greater than those of the general population. They are often at a higher risk of contracting infectious diseases and are especially vulnerable to respiratory problems due to compromised immune systems, poor nutrition and hygiene, and frequent overcrowding at shelters. Research has found that when homeless people are in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, they often have problems typically associated with much older people. Homeless people are at high risk of premature frailty and geriatric conditions. There is also a high prevalence of multimorbidity in this group.Research calls for a needs-based rather than an age-based approach for homeless health and it makes the case for homeless people to be included in the priority group for vaccines based on their specific health needs rather than their age. Although they are clinically vulnerable and have complex underlying health conditions, people experiencing homelessness often face barriers in accessing health care and consequently, their medical conditions are often underdiagnosed and their health needs, while multiple, left unmet. This makes them a high-risk group for COVID-19.'

Incidentally any Northern Voices reader who'd like to send a copy to their ward councillor to urge them to get a hurry on with the priority vaccination homeless people and other disadvantaged socio-economic groups can find the full FEANTSA statement at : Vaccine_Statement_Feb_21.pdf (feantsa.org)

Though don't expect a reply or even an acknowledgement anytime from them anytime soon!

In short a forty year old hostel dweller with a history of sleeping in the damp conditions of squats of skips with a bronchial infection, a drug user with a history of intravenous drug use with an impared immune system through HIV or AIDS, or a someone in their forties with the lungs of an eighty year old due to the reduced lung capacity of COPD or low or no immune system due to years of drug alcohol or substance misuse is not best placed to avoid the transmission of Covid 19 in the comunal conditions of a hostel, bed and breakfast, hotel or squat with shared showers, toilets and baths and cramped living conditions with limited opportunities to self isolation or quarantine.Homeless people have also experienced problems in accessing NHS GP services. As FEANTSA state:

'They are often at a higher risk of contracting infectious diseases and are especially vulnerable to respiratory problems due to compromised immune systems, poor nutrition and hygiene, and frequent overcrowding at shelters.'

It is self evident also that there will be no records locally of the number of transient or itinerant individuals not registered since they are by their very nature hard to reach and mobile.What is certain however is that they will not be getting an email, text, or a telephone call asking them to come in for a Covid vaccination - since officially they do not exist. No GP registration then no vaccine unless you are fortunate to be homeless in a progressive council such as Oldham or Liverpool that is.

But it is not the homeless alone who appear to be languishing forgotten and marginalised at the back of the vaccination queue People with learning disabilities were found to be up to six times more likely to die from Covid-19 during the first wave of the pandemic, analysis shows. A report from Public Health England (PHE) found the death rate for those with a learning disability was 30 times higher in the 18-34 age group. Learning disabilities charity Mencap have said that the government had "failed to protect" a group already experiencing health inequalities.'

'The report highlighted that certain kinds of learning disabilities, such as Down's Syndrome can make people more vulnerable to respiratory infections. Adults with the condition have recently been added to the government's "clinically extremely vulnerable" list. Almost half of those with Down Syndrome who died from Covid-19 were living in a care home. The Down's Syndrome Association said priority must be given "to measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in these settings, including regular testing of care staff".

When asked if our local HMR CCG agreed with the findings of the Public Health England Report their response was:

The CCG is unable to provide opinion-based responses

Our HMR CCG it would seem are short on answers and long on the time taken in responding to them.

Whilst our Council is keener on sweeping the homeless issues out of sight and out of mind rather than dealing with the root causes. When considering the issues of local homelssness, rough sleeping, begging and the thousands of local families waiting without any realistic hope of rehousing please remember three things. Whilst this crisis is deepening local Housing provider Rochdale Borough Housing are in the process of moving ( in many instances frail & vulnerable residents ) out of their homes in three of the Seven Sister flats , Underwood, Holland Rise, and Mardyke , stating that:

'Over the past few months, we have been carrying out technical surveys, including the recent fire risk assessments, and although we still do not have the full detail of what refurbishment and modernisation work could involve, we do now know for certain that it would be extensive enough that residents would not be able to continue to live in their homes while the work is carried out.'

One can only marvel at the total lack of awareness & timing of this during a global health pandemic requiring social distancing and unnecessary travel; particularly of the elderly with possible underlying health conditions!

Secondly we should remember that just THREE people were recorded sleeping rough in Rochdale in November 2018 - a truly astounding 40% reduction from figures taken eight years earlier!

And, thirdly , we need to be mindful of the unavoidable fact that there are elements within Rochdale Council who would clearly spitefully and totally unecessarily rather scapegoat , dicriminate against , prosecute and criminalize the poor , mentally ill an marginalised than give them fully funded and functioning support services with which to treat them with basic human dignity to help them rise up out of their destitution and misery. As the great Angela Davis once said :

'Prisons do not disappear social problems, they disappear human beings. Homelessness, unemployment, drug addiction, mental illness, and illiteracy are only a few of the problems that disappear from public view when the human beings contending with them are relegated to cages.' ______________________________

Unpublished letter to Rochdale Observer & Manchester Evening News 14/01/2021

Dear Editor Rochdale Observer / MEN ,

Local Homeless People & Covid 19 Vaccine roll out

On 13 January Oldham Council teamed up with local GPs in a bid to ensure that rough sleepers and those without homes are inoculated against Covid 19. They are the first in the country to roll-out a programme specifically designed to vaccinate homeless people (1).

This progressive and humane initiative received favourable national publicity in the print media, online , on radio & television, (2), (3).

Could I please ask Rochdale Council through your Letters Page what plans there are, if any, for the scheme to vaccinate homeless people to be extended to cover homeless, rough sleepers & hostel & bed & breakfast dwellers in the Heywood, Middleton & Rochdale area?

As we know homeless people are at risk of Covid due to low or no immune systems & also at risk of transmitting it through the wider community through no fault of their own.

I am aware of one homeless person still sleeping on the streets of Rochdale & sofa surfing who should be screening because he has no Spleen and is on the NHS list for those at high risk of Covid 19. Is he a lone example or more typical of the local response to meet the needs of those without homes during the pandemic?

Founder of Homeless Friendly Dr Chauhan has pointed out that: 'As a health carer who has worked on the Corona virus front-line at care homes, I can absolutely see why older people and health workers need to be prioritised. But so too do the homeless. Each winter they face problems such as hypothermia, pneumonia and even frostbite. Does death from COVID-19 also now be added to that list of shame?'

Thank you

Faithfully,

Andrew Wastling

Park Court, Drake Street, ROCHDALE

m | 07786251801

APPENDIX:

(1).

'Homeless man gets Covid-19 jab in city council's rough sleepers vaccine drive', Daily Mirror( 13/01/2021)

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/homeless-man-gets-covid-jab-23311099?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar

(2).

'Oldham launches one of the first homeless COVID-19 vaccine schemes', Planet Radio, (13/01/2020)

https://planetradio.co.uk/hits-radio/manchester/news/oldham-launches-one-of-the-first-homeless-covid-19-vaccine-schemes/

(3).

https://www.bigissue.com/latest/homeless-couple-given-covid-19-vaccine-in-oldham-world-first/

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