Homelessness in Ipswich

Hello people with a heart

Ive been meaning to write about the homeless problem for a long time now. When you talk about homelessness you definitely get mixed reactions. Whilst some of us walk past pretending not to notice people sprawled out in shop doorways, or selling the Big Issue or the ones who are brave enough to ask us for the ocassional £1, there will be others who work hard to do what they can to try and ease the situation.

There are clearly not enough beds for the homeless in Ipswich. Emergency beds are even more of a problem whereas night shelters exist in other large cities such as Cambridge and Norwich, Ipswich has the Salvation Army which gets full very quickly and people have to wait some times several weeks to get in there. This is not an attack on the Salvation Army as they do a fantastic job but only my observations to alert those "who give a damn about the current and very urgent problem which by the reports done by BBC Radio Suffolk are clearly getting worse."

There has been a large amount of press interest about Ipswich in general, alerting women to the the dangers of being out on the Streets in Ipswich alone late at night. This has become evident since the murders of the Ipswich Prostitutes, yet, we still find in inadequate emergency beds for homeless people. Ipswich did have a couple (meaning two for the whole of Ipswich in a shared room!) emergency beds within a hostel but I understand that the project either has come to an end or is soon to finish due to lack of funding. I ask then, what are we as caring individuals going to do about all the people that will once again be found in shop doorways etc. when this winter comes. There are people who are living in tents for months as it is there only option. These people are very vulnerable to all kinds of diseases especially the flu, bronchitis and even foot rot living in damp and very cold conditions. It is easy for us to say go out get a job and earn a living. Unfortunately for people who have already been out of work for a considerable period of time and may have fallen into the "drugs trap" as a means of escape, it is almost an impossibility.

Ipswich needs a Homeless Team at present I understand that there is a team who can help called HOP which can help with Health Clinics flu jabs and bbvs. They are to be found on St. Helens Street in Ipswich. They have supply food parcels for the homeless and hampers at Christmas time and until recently they have also been a scripting clinic for methadone and needle exchange. HOP is needed! There has to be a Homeless Team in Ipswich please support them in any way that you can as they work alongside projects like FIND a Charity which provides funding for emergencies for homeless people as well as supplies the much needed food parcels at Christmas many people without this emergency aid would just perish.
In addition there is also the YMCA in Wellingto Street but you have to be 25 or under and so they are also full most of the time.

I am appealing to those out there with a conscience to let them know that Ipswich needs a night shelter so that the homeless can spend at least some of the winter warm and dry this winter. If anyone has any good ideas about this or can help anyway please contact the HOP team in St Helens Street or the FIND organisation. The more aware that people are of the need for the night shelter the more hope there is of it coming about.

If you have a building or you would like to set up a homeless project yourself, I am sure that there are charities who could help you with this. Please help Ipswich homeless need you.

PLEASE BE AWARE,
PLEASE CARE.

Rainbow's End, Unit 3, Old Fox Yard Stowmarket.

Hello, this is to let you all know about what a great little shop Rainbow's End is in Stowmarket, they only have a small space but sell practically everything in the way of new age/hippy goods from body jewellery to candles and clothes. The owner there Karen is absolutely fantastic and she lets me use the upstairs area for my angel card readings and angelic aura drawings so if you are interested please get in touch. I am also able to give Reiki, Massage and balancing of the chakras at the shop also as the upstairs area has a couch as well as all the mod cons. So if you fancy a shopping trip to Stowmarket and a reading or healing it may be just the job or a reading and healing combined treatment. There are also a number of workshops and also belly dancing plus many other things going on, so do take a look. Please pick up a copy of Inspirations as I have a poem called I am a Rainbow in there this month.

You will see from my website that I am quite busy this year and that I have quite a full schedule as I also have a "normal" job as a support worker as well. What is a normal job, well normal is termed as not unconventional yet as it is so important now that we are integrated and learn to stand in our own power, I guess I am an unconventional support worker! Does it really matter anyway if we are a little quirky around the edges as long as we do a good job. We have to be who we are and not a clone of what is expected of us. I noticed in the Apprentice last night that Alan and his colleagues gave that poor girl a bit of a hard time for being too perfect which is a classic example of the expectations that are put on us to conform to be someone we arent and then nobody really being able to jell with us.

So if you fancy a little bit of not quite the norm but you wish to find out where you are heading, either you are at a sign post again or you are stuck for the first time. Please either call me or email me details on the www.angelwisdom.co.uk website.

Always remember that we are individuals and sometimes are lessons are hard and it isnt always possible for us to go on leaps and bounds all the time. Be kind to you, you are worth it.

Love & Light
Jennifer Lynch