RE: CALLS for action to address ‘inhumane’ treatment of the homeless on Weymouth’s streets - Dorset Echo.

It was good to hear our councillors “supporting” the homeless, I hadn’t previously realised that we had brief holders for social exclusion. Nor had I realised the damage that the street homeless do, I had thought the £millions wasted on the ferry fiasco or the sale of the council offices were more important issues, but clearly, I was mistaken.

Destroying the few meagre possessions with utmost haste, of those who find themselves on the street is a more pressing issue it seems. Never kick a person until they are down would seem to be an apt description of the comments I have heard from some of our representatives.

The most common reasons people give for losing their accommodation is that a friend or relative is no longer able to provide support, or because of relationship breakdown.

However, there are often a wide number of factors at play. Individuals can arrive at the point of homelessness after a long chain of other life events. Some factors and experiences can make people more vulnerable to homelessness include poor physical health, mental health problems, alcohol and drugs issues, bereavement, experience of care, and experience of the criminal justice system.

If we dismiss the rough sleepers as a problem to be ignored and placed “out of the view of everyone”, not only are we wasting the lives of people who could and should be useful members of our society, we are not using our resources well’

Medical and criminal justice costs could be much better spent on giving a hand up and investing in our fellow citizens.

LEE DALTON

Rylands Nook Fairview Road Weymouth

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