LETTER: Whatever happened to helping the homeless?

I was once again shocked and saddened to overhear a couple of women gossiping about the subject and one of them commenting that she had seen ‘a young woman give one of them some money....more fool her.’ Shame on this person for such a comment. Does she have no humanity or compassion? In her ignorance she seems to think ‘it is all their own fault, and could have been avoided.’ Can she not understand that no-one chooses to sleep on the streets?

One of the young men in question is to be found within a stone’s throw of the local Methodist church but I have not noticed members of the congregation streaming out on a Sunday morning to offer him their assistance. Shame on them also.

And shame on Chesterfield Council which, I feel, pays lip service to the problem but does nothing. Take the lead from ex-homeless man, Kevin Newton, on the Isle of Wight, who has raised £15,000 to set up a night shelter for the homeless in an old double decker bus (BBC news website, March 19). Cheap as chips but a much needed lifeline. Come on Chesterfield, give your homeless some hope.

Sandra Hall

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