People living on the street but we can find homes for people needing our help from other countries.

happyfella

When the war broke out between Russia and the Ukraine, my first thought was that all the countries around the world should be doing two things.

1) do everything they can to support the Ukraine and help them fight Russia. But, even though before Russa invaded, Biden gave it all that, this is what we will do, Russia better watch out, and then our own PM said the same, and now the Ukraine has been left on their own.

2) For the UK and other countries to provide shelter and security to all the woman and children and men over 50. I felt so ashamed at how slow the UK responded to helping people come to the UK to be safe.

But, i started to think. I am a huge supporter of solving the homeless issue. It seems very strange how we can manage to find all these people homes in the UK, and we can pull money out of nowhere. But, when it comes to homeless people, we cannot find them homes.

I am fed up of reading about all the people who have found themselves living on the street dying.

The amount of ex-service personnel living on the streets is shocking.

So, how can we find all these homes and not just now but for the past few years for people coming to the country, but we cannot find homes for people living on the streets.

There are lots of empty properties, so why are they not being used to house people living on the street.

calcotti

happyfella said: There are lots of empty properties, so why are they not being used to house people living on the street.

That is now a significant contributor to lack of homes. Second homes owned by some and a large number of properties used as holiday rentals/airbnb so not available for permanent homes. 
https://www.bigissue.com/news/housing/how-many-empty-homes-are-there-in-the-uk/

happyfella

calcotti said:

happyfella said: There are lots of empty properties, so why are they not being used to house people living on the street.

That is now a significant contributor to lack of homes. Second homes owned by some and a large number of properties used as holiday rentals/airbnb so not available for permanent homes. 
https://www.bigissue.com/news/housing/how-many-empty-homes-are-there-in-the-uk/

What local councils should do is, if a home is empty for a certain amount of time then they should be allowed to take ownership of it and use it for homeless people and vulnerable people. There was an article the other week about how some homes have been left empty for years and fallen into a bad state.

I liked an article last week where a council is hitting people hard who have second homes. I don't mind people having a second home, but if they do then they need to pay a premium council tax for it, and for that money to go to helping the local area.

happyfella

woodbine said:

2) thats men over 60 not 50

The govt has set aside money to end rough sleeping in the UK, but we should remember that some do so by choice, however it's heartbreaking we you see young people on the streets.

Many of the Ukrainian refugees who are now coming to the UK are being put up by the 100,000 people who have offered them somewhere to stay in their own homes, they are NOT being given houses etc.

The one thing there isn't in the uk is "lots of empty houses", I know this because our daughter is trying to buy a house and there are hardly any to buy.

Never believe everything you read in the daily mail 

As always you are so wrong on so many things including this. There are lots of empty homes. Friends around the country have said they do not understand why their local council keep giving permission to build new homes when they should be working with developers on the empty homes they already have.

There is also a shortage of affordable homes available.

calcotti

woodbine said: The one thing there isn't in the uk is "lots of empty houses", I know this because our daughter is trying to buy a house and there are hardly any to buy.

Empty houses and houses available to buy (and at an affordable price) are not the same thing. The fact that so few houses are available when there are indeed many houses empty is a sign of s distorted and dysfunctional market.

Houses as assets undermines houses as homes.

happyfella

One way to solve the housing crisis is to do what one council is doing and that is to let people living in caravans. We all know about caravan holidays but lots of people like to live in caravans as an easier way of life.

One council has bought a small caravan park to help with the housing crisis so people can live in them.

I think it would be a great idea if we had caravan parks like in the USA where people who want to can live in their caravans. This would then help people who could not afford to buy a house still have a place of their own.

We already have lots of caravan parks which are open for 12 months, but you cannot live in them. But, if we had some parks that allowed people to live in them, then it would provide homes for those that need them.

I remember when the right to buy act came in and lots of people bought their council house which was a great idea. But the bad thing was, those houses were not being replaced with new ones, so those who needed a council house could have a home.

I am also split on council houses that are too big for people. I have relatives that have lived in their council houses for more than ten years and it is their home. However, some of them are living in a three bedroom property when there are only two of them in the house due to the kids leaving home.

Those properties could be used for families. But, i am split on it as mentioned because home is where the heart is.

calcotti

happyfella said:
I remember when the right to buy act came in and lots of people bought their council house which was a great idea. 

But has now ended up where councils are housing people in houses they are renting from private landlords who now own the ex council houses.

The tax payer funded the construction. The taxpayer funded the subsidies for people to buy the properties and is now funding the housing benefit or Universal Credit for people to live in them at much higher rents than if they were still council properties.

happyfella

I did not say a holiday caravan, i said a caravan. this is what more councils should do https://metro.co.uk/2021/09/23/council-to-buy-two-holiday-parks-to-help-house-homeless-families-15304089/

You can buy a pre-owned caravan from as little as £12,000. If councils made land available and allowed people to live in caravans on that land then a lot of people will jump at the chance. I know people who own a caravan and they said they would give up their home tomorrow if they could live in their caravan.

Not everyone is lucky enough to own their own home. A lot of people would love to give up their own home and live in a caravan. More people now are looking at different options than living in a house.

Some of those options are living in a caravan, a boat, and even a van or converted bus.

happyfella

woodbine said:

A caravan by definition is somewhere you would spend a holiday, for many reasons you would not ant to live in a £12,000 caravan, and it's not as simple as finding Land and just siting a caravan on it, you need ground work and infrastructure which can be far more than £12,000. If you want to argue about this subject you have picked on the wrong person as I know all there is to know on the subject and then some. 

I do suggest you read what i have said instead of looking as per normal for an argument. Always advisable to learn how to read what people have put instead of having an attitude

leeCal

Caravans can get awfully cold 🥶 

happyfella

leeCal said:

Caravans can get awfully cold 🥶 

It depends on the caravan. It would help solve the problem on helping people who are living on the street. This is an interesting read https://www.wlm.org.uk/news/how-many-veterans-are-homeless-in-the-uk

It seems that we live in a country where it is take take take and never give. Brave men and women give their lives to the country but when they leave the service they are left on their own.

Ross_Alumni

leeCal said:

Caravans can get awfully cold 🥶 

They can also get awfully warm in the summer  

Thank you for sharing your experience on the subject @woodbine, I would be interested to hear more about the various challenges of living in a mobile home. Like @happyfella, I do like the sound of living in a caravan or mobile home, it has an appeal that is hard to describe, however I did once look into the ins and outs of it and at the time it seemed to be more hassle than it was worth.

chiarieds

I don't have any easy answers as to how help homeless people, nor the displaced 10 million Ukrainians. One of the first charities that contacted me about the Ukrainian tragedy was the Salvation Army, & they support both. I was actually unaware of the humanitarian aid they were able to currently provide too.

Whatever we do, actions speak louder than words, so to anyone reading this can you give even as little as £2 to help the Salvation Army, or the Disasters Emergency Committee?

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ukraine-what-you-can-do-to-help

As an aside, & something that has interested me for a while, what about tiny homes? It has been said that they cost about 20% of the cost of a new build, & could be a potential in helping the homeless, rather than temporary accommodation. I can't give specific links as they would be to UK companies advertising these. Again, the cost would  also often be in buying land upon which they could be sited, as this is often a problem. https://www.thetinyhousing.co/blog/the-future-of-tiny-house-communities-uk