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.