Jump to content

Recommended Posts

People with mental health problems are a significant proportion of the homeless and can be difficult to help. They don't manage money, housing or personal relationships very well. The trauma of war means ex-soldiers can find themselves on the streets.


An organisation that tries to help is http://www.nosecondnightout.org.uk. Centrepoint helps homeless young people and the much-maligned council houses many of them. There's a Southwark Food Bank and the Manna Centre in SE1 is a place where people can wash, chat and receive their post.

Spoke to this guy about a week ago. He was holding out what appeared to be a genuine US passport and some sort of military service ID. Says he's from new York but came to UK to start a better life. I believe him that support of ex service personell I US is limited. Has no money but does have a place to stay. He says he sometimes hangs out by the Plough. Clearly has mental health issues possibly PTSD but i didnt push the subject and am not qualified to diagnose. Difficult to know what kind of help he wanted or needed rally. Was thoroughly pessimistic about the types of help available; embassy, hostels, social services etc. Even though he was standing opposite the Salvation Army building. Was very friendly but loud, gave him 2 quid as I didn't have the "couple of bucks he was asking for

rendelharris Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> For starters if he's at Denmark Hill station he

> isn't in Dulwich, he's in Camberwell, so that's

> your main point out the window. Secondly, I know

> a US veteran who lives in East Dulwich - he's

> happily married and settled, but if, heaven

> forfend, he developed mental health issues or in

> some other way found himself on the streets, why

> wouldn't he stay around here? I have no idea if

> this guy's genuine or not, but your cynicism

> reflects little credit on you.



Perhaps your friend could have a word with him and see what the problem/s are. One vet to another

Thanks, ED_moots. I didn't pick his accent for NY but def knew it was genuine US (hard to tell though as I only heard a few words). Glad to hear he has somewhere to sleep. He must be in a terrible situation as an non-EU citizen when it comes to healthcare! Can't see him being able to access mental health services through NHS but might be possible through Combat Stress or one of the other veteran orgs.


ED_moots Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Spoke to this guy about a week ago. He was holding

> out what appeared to be a genuine US passport and

> some sort of military service ID. Says he's from

> new York but came to UK to start a better life. I

> believe him that support of ex service personell I

> US is limited. Has no money but does have a place

> to stay. He says he sometimes hangs out by the

> Plough. Clearly has mental health issues possibly

> PTSD but i didnt push the subject and am not

> qualified to diagnose. Difficult to know what kind

> of help he wanted or needed rally. Was thoroughly

> pessimistic about the types of help available;

> embassy, hostels, social services etc. Even though

> he was standing opposite the Salvation Army

> building. Was very friendly but loud, gave him 2

> quid as I didn't have the "couple of bucks he was

> asking for

DulwichBorn&Bred Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I was at the bus stop today and he was there. A

> lovely chap offered him food, he refused and said

> he needed cash.


Does this guy deserve a personal thread above the other homeless people we have here already. if he's refusing food and wants cash I'd suggest he's dependent upon something that requires cash. possibly if he refuses food he also refuses legitimate help from homeless charities - id say its unlikely he hasn't been offered targeted legitimate assistance already.

Mick Mac, I started this thread as I was curious about his story (as I am about most homeless people) and did not have the intention of signalling him out but if I've done so by starting the thread, my bad.


Mick Mac Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> DulwichBorn&Bred Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > I was at the bus stop today and he was there. A

> > lovely chap offered him food, he refused and

> said

> > he needed cash.

>

> Does this guy deserve a personal thread above the

> other homeless people we have here already. if

> he's refusing food and wants cash I'd suggest he's

> dependent upon something that requires cash.

> possibly if he refuses food he also refuses

> legitimate help from homeless charities - id say

> its unlikely he hasn't been offered targeted

> legitimate assistance already.

  • 4 weeks later...

I'm curious, why does his nationality matter?


Why does it matter if he is or isn't a "actually" veteran?


The point is, the guy is homeless, possibly mentally ill, and he's a human being who clearly needs help. Cash for a quick fix (food or otherwise) is almost never the solution... supporting and volunteering for homeless charities is, not to mention electing a government that understands the serious mental health crisis this country is facing.


Having said that, stopping to talk to vulnerable homeless people -- if it is safe to do so -- can sometimes be a very humanising experience and offer the comfort of personal connection. I applaud the OP for taking an interest.


WHYPETER, I don't see that anyone said "war hero" except YOU, so in future before criticising maybe pay a little bit better attention...? Perhaps you should ask yourself why it's important to you to convert others to your hardened, cynical world view?

While it is important to be charitable it is also important to not be fooled or cheated - if only to prevent others from being so. Assuming everyone is mentally ill is dangerous and patronising and stands in the way of getting at the truth and ultimately helping that person. (I have seen the man and he seems, on the whole, lucid and reasonably fit and the kind of person who could avail himself of usual routes to help - the embassy, charities, etc. I tried to talk to him but he carried on shouting about his plight so I couldn't talk to him further.)

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • Where did I say he did a good job? Yup and Corbyn was very close to Len McCluskey and funded by Unite wasn't he...they're all as bad as each other... Labour have to purge their party of the far-left - they're a disaster. Allan Johnson summed it up so well on election night in 2019....  
    • Thank you for the detailed advise @trinidad It is definitely damage we are concerned about. I don’t think Evri would agree to pay the bill to fix our gate or letter box if they were to be damaged as a result of their delivery drivers helper. Our doorbell can be heard from outside when rung so we don’t quite believe the aggressive simultaneous door/letter box banging is necessary. It can be quite a shock it is done very aggressively.  I’ll definitely action the steps you’ve kindly provided along with a phone call tomorrow. I do sympathise with the role drivers have and how busy they are, which is why we tried communicating directly with her but sadly we haven’t succeeded 
    • What outcome would you like? Disciplinary action? Not to have the driver back? Retraining? I know there is alot of pressure on drivers to deliver within a set day. if he slams the gate, is it evidence he is causing damage, or is the noise a irritant to yourself? You could put a sign up or buy a signing asking to close the gate gentle???? can you hear the door bell from the door? he might be ringing, not hearing and therefore knocking. In trhe notes section of the be livery page, there is a note section, although there is not 100 per cent these notes would be read as these drivers are constantly rushing.  I did a google search for you, i found this and you can try the envri website Contact Us | Evri   To complain to Evri, you can follow these steps: Contact Customer Service: Call Evri's customer service at 0330 808 5456 for assistance with your complaint.    1 Write a Letter: Address your complaint to Capitol House, 1 Capitol Close, Morley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS27 0WH.    1 Use the Official Website: Visit the Evri complaints page on their official website for detailed instructions on how to submit a complaint.    2 Email or Call for Specific Issues: For issues like missing or damaged parcels, you can email or call 0800 988 8888, which is free to call.    1 These methods will help you effectively communicate your concerns to Evri.   My driver is called anthony, he is brilliant to be honest. I cant fault him.
    • When I have more time and energy, I will look up the actual number of votes cast for each party in that election, rather than the number of seats won. I'm interested to see that you apparently  think that  Boris Johnson did a good job of "leading the country through Covid." Is your memory really that short? I won't stoop to calling Johnson and his cronies names in the way that you seem to think is appropriate for left wing politicians. At least the left wing politicians have some semblance of morals and a concern for people who aren't in some over privileged inner circle and/or raking in money for themselves on the back of an epidemic. I'm not going to open a can of worms on here  by commenting on the disgraceful so called "purge". 
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...