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Beggars at railway stations

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anme

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Something that has increased since the EU free movement - even some smaller suburban stations and shopping areas now have beggars.

Have you heard of Occam's razor? This is nine years of austerity doing exactly what it was intended to do!
 

Bletchleyite

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I am accepting of homeless people, sitting with a cup with a sign or playing an instrument (they're harmless) I have and will continue to report (if I can) aggressive, rude and damn right piss takers to the BTP or local officers if I feel need because that sort of begging is what the Vagrancy act should be used for to get the worst of the worst off the streets

I have a little rule in life - don't lie to me. If anyone lies to me, they get nowt, in any area of life. So I have no truck with this "bus ticket" type begging. If you want money for food, say so. If you want money for alcohol because it's the only thing that numbs the pain, say so - it's not nice but I can deal with "not nice" fact. But if you say you want a bus ticket and I offer to pay the driver for you and you reject it, you're a liar, and the offer is withdrawn.

Add to that - don't be rude. If you're asking for something and you're rude, whether you're a salesman or a homeless person, you get nowt.

One of my regular week's work involves a couple of days of 0300ish starts before edging through to 0700ish. It's interesting that it I walk through the city centre at 0300, there are no beggars there. By about 0600 they're setting up with their blankets and everything, and by about 0730 they're asking the commuters for money for a hot drink as they've been there all night and it's freezing.
No Romanians amongst them, they're all British. Strange how they all turn up just before the rush hour starts!

To be fair if I was homeless I would "commute" like that. Sleeping in a city centre doorway strikes me that it would feel unsafe. I'd take my sleeping bag and whatever else I had and hide in a bush somewhere in the suburbs, then return in the morning.
 

Statto

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Going off tangent a bit, but at Victoria Coach Station you always get a group hanging in the arrivals hall showing travelcards, effectively wanting you to buy a travelcard from them, i always ignored them & walked straight past then, them & buy my travelcard from official sources, don't know if they're still there as i haven't used National Express to/from London for years.
 

Clayton

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Many moons ago when I was in India a fellow traveller gave me a useful tip - when a beggar asks for money (invariably in English) ask them, in Polish, "do you speak Polish ?". Worked a treat.

I don't know if I have been lucky, or just look like I have no money, but I seem to have missed the massed ranks of beggars at Sheffield and Doncaster stations mentioned earlier.
Polish?? And what’s India got to do with it? Most beggars are British or Irish
 

Ken H

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Have you heard of Occam's razor? This is nine years of austerity doing exactly what it was intended to do!
government spending as %age of GDP higher now than many years of labours 1997-2010 government
 

Ken H

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lots of beggers, cr@p buskers and religious types (Jehovas witnesses?) on the Brussels Metro. I (like most other people) just ognored them. this was 2001 though - might be different now.
 

Skimpot flyer

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I’ve often wondered how beggars on the London Overground services I use gain access, if the stations are gated. If caught by revenue protection, what happens to them?
 

Mordac

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There's a picture out there of a fellow sitting on a pavement somewhere with a sign "Need money for beer, pot and hooker. Hey, at least I'm not B***S****ing you!". I'd be inclined to contribute just for his honesty.....
That reminds me of a story about C. S. Lewis, who was asked for money from a beggar while walking with his friend, and after giving him some scolded by the friend, who told him the man was just "going to waste it on ale." To this Lewis replied, "That's what I was going to do with it." :D
 

Mordac

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Athelstan

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I don't want to get into the rights and wrongs of why these people are needy and whether any of them are just scam artists.

But seriously, the best way to help them is to give to a local homeless charity. That way your gift goes on food, clean clothes and shelter.

If you give them money, like as not it goes on drugs. Short of drugs, its still going on alcohol, tobacco and crisps.

If you feel you have to give, give a small amount on a monthly standing order to a local homeless charity and DO NOT give money direct to beggars.
 

TrainAndBike

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30 years ago I was living in North London. There was often a beggar lying on the floor outside the Angel (Islington) tube station. I felt sorry for him. Then one weekend I went home to South Wales. It was the weekend of the Wales - England Rugby International. On Friday evening I caught the Valley Lines train into Cardiff. To my surprise the same beggar was lying of the floor of Cardiff Queen Street station. I lost sympathy for him after that.
 

Wtloild

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I quite often get a late evening train into Piccadilly & due to Northern cancellations end up having to walk through nightime Manchester to Victoria for a connection home.
If I gave a quid to everyone who asked for one, I'd need more than mere pockets to carry it all.
 

Roger100

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I caught a late train from Kings Cross to the north east a couple of weeks ago, and there was a gentleman working his way up the train before it departed. He actually managed to do this twice in the 10 minutes or so before departure time. He was very polite and I heard quite a few thank yous.
 

modernrail

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4 beggars at Newcastle station yesterday evening, one of them horribly distressed. All British, as if that matters. I have seen a huge incresse in beggars and homeless people around stations in recent years. Pre-Christmas I was at London Victoria and there was a guy in massive distress at the top of the stairs to the Underground. I am pleased to say that human intuition did kick in and within a couple of minutes 4 people had him a sandwich, a cup of tea and a hug.

I suspect it is a combination of austerity, expensive rents and some of the horrible synthetic drugs that seem to be flooding the market. Whatever the cause, a civilised society should always rail against homelessness and many homeless beg. I am not saying give money to beggars, but do feel free to get very angry indeed that homelessness has gone up massively recently and do feel free to do something about it.

In response to the incident at Victoria, which shook me, I tried to volunteer at a homeless shelter. In another positive sign, they are over-subscibed with volunteers. I will find another way.
 

185

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There used to be a regular in Manchester years ago. At the end of his "working" day he would drive home in his Ford XR3.

I see large groups of the city centre beggars leaving and returning to their homes and hostels every day. Almost all the ones police spoke to are on the streets "voluntarily" as they put it, the majority are in housing association managed hostels costing £176+ per bed per week, and in receipt of benefits. The real problem is drug addiction. The hostels operators are happy with the lucrative status quo, it's a lot of money for a 40 bed building. Expensive as it may be the beggars belong in a secure hospital in my opinion, until they test drug free for six months.
 

Skipness

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I suspect it is a combination of austerity, expensive rents and some of the horrible synthetic drugs that seem to be flooding the market. Whatever the cause, a civilised society should always rail against homelessness and many homeless beg. I am not saying give money to beggars, but do feel free to get very angry indeed that homelessness has gone up massively recently and do feel free to do something about it.

In response to the incident at Victoria, which shook me, I tried to volunteer at a homeless shelter. In another positive sign, they are over-subscibed with volunteers. I will find another way.

A major problem seems to be the synthetic drug "spice", also called the "zombie drug". I have seen the results of this on a number of occasions and witnessed the amount of time devoted by police and paramedics to the "victims".
 

shredder1

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I had one once ask me for a quid for a coffee outside Manchester Victoria, I said if I give you a quid you`ll only spend it on drink and drugs, he replied, "well want do you want me to do with it put a deposit on an house"
 

AntoniC

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There where quite a few drunks and homeless people at Bussels Midi when I was there over the weekend.
 

furnessvale

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There where quite a few drunks and homeless people at Bussels Midi when I was there over the weekend.
I'm surprised that Belgium hasn't sent them back to the UK. /irony/ They must be British seeing as homelessness is a problem unique to this country caused by our current government's policies. /ironyoff/
 

Realfish

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30 years ago I was living in North London. There was often a beggar lying on the floor outside the Angel (Islington) tube station. I felt sorry for him. Then one weekend I went home to South Wales. It was the weekend of the Wales - England Rugby International. On Friday evening I caught the Valley Lines train into Cardiff. To my surprise the same beggar was lying of the floor of Cardiff Queen Street station. I lost sympathy for him after that.

Another long distance beggar (well Big Issue seller actually)! Some years back on my way home from Edinburgh, I was offered a Big Issue on Waverley Steps. Two days later we visited friends in London for the weekend, and selling Big Issue in the Kings Cross underground tunnel was the same Scots guy. When I told him he's tried to sell me one at Waverley he laughed and said, 'Aye, I get around in this job'.
 

Esker-pades

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I'm surprised that Belgium hasn't sent them back to the UK. /irony/ They must be British seeing as homelessness is a problem unique to this country caused by our current government's policies. /ironyoff/
It's almost like there was a general strike in Belgium on the 13th of February this year in part due to their government's austerity measures.
 
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ainsworth74

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They must be British seeing as homelessness is a problem unique to this country caused by our current government's policies

I'm not sure anyone is blaming the current Government for the existence of homelessness and begging. But what they are blaming them for is the significant increase in such things. Taking the Governments own statistics there were 1,768 people sleeping rough (which is what we're talking about here broadly) in autumn 2010 which had more than doubled (a 165% increase to be exact) to 4,677 people by autumn 2018 (though that's actually down 2% on 2017 to be fair). Considering that the economy has been growing since 2010 it isn't just poor economic conditions that have lead to such an increase in rough sleeping.
 

Bletchleyite

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I'm not sure anyone is blaming the current Government for the existence of homelessness and begging. But what they are blaming them for is the significant increase in such things. Taking the Governments own statistics there were 1,768 people sleeping rough (which is what we're talking about here broadly) in autumn 2010 which had more than doubled (a 165% increase to be exact) to 4,677 people by autumn 2018 (though that's actually down 2% on 2017 to be fair). Considering that the economy has been growing since 2010 it isn't just poor economic conditions that have lead to such an increase in rough sleeping.

There has been a very visible increase in MK, certainly.
 

DarloRich

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There has been a very visible increase in MK, certainly.

The actions of the local council ( under central governmental financial pressure mind) didn't help the situation in MK.

They must be British seeing as homelessness is a problem unique to this country caused by our current government's policies

hmmmm. The policies of the Coalition and Tory governments have not helped matters. @ainsworth74 shows the stats.
 
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