2006 Series
GET TOUGH WITH THE HOMELESS
The Insider this week is John Bird, founder and editor-in-chief of the Big Issue, a magazine launched 15 years ago to help the homeless.
Friday 23rd February 7.30pm
Saturday 24th February 4.40am (r)
As a former homeless man himself, John is well-placed to understand the problems faced by those living on the streets. However, the changes he hoped the Big Issue might usher in haven’t materialized. Fewer people are sleeping rough, but the numbers of people in hostels and temporary accommodation has risen dramatically.
The reason for this, he believes, is that the personal problems that are the primary cause for homelessness have been neglected. John is calling for a new drive to banish homelessness for good – a contract that guarantees top quality rehabilitation and new powers to force people into it if necessary.
In Get Tough With The Homeless, he meets Ray, a young homeless drug addict and alcoholic battling to find a hostel place and Spud, one of the estimated 400,000 so-called “hidden homeless”, who spent 12 years on the streets and is still only a step away from his former life.
He visits the Promis Centre, a rural recovery clinic, where for £4000 a week addicts can dry out and be cured. With a hostel place costing £50,000 a year, John Bird argues that it’s cheaper to tackle the root cause of people’s homelessness than keep them in the system indefinitely.
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