Anyone who has passed through the city centre of Manchester in recent months, may have noticed the tents in various places around the city centre. This is because homeless people have decided to fight back, in an attempt to make the council act. The reason for the tents popping up in different places is because the council have chosen to retaliate with court orders, meaning the homeless camp had to move each time. This of course is not solving the problem, because these people are still homeless and have to sleep somewhere.
Now residing at St.
Ann's Square, the homeless camp faces the possibility of another eviction when the matter is taken to court again on 21st July. This eviction however, if successful, will mean the homeless people will no longer be allowed to set up camp anywhere in the city centre. This will not mean that they disappear overnight. They will still be homeless, but forced to go back to sleeping in doorways, alone and unprotected from members of the public who would cause them harm.
In the past, the council claimed to have offered housing to some members of the camp. They in turn have claimed that these offers are only temporary and they hope for a more permanent solution in order to end the constant merry go round of homelessness.
If the new eviction order is granted, those who choose to disobey could face fines of up to £5,000. This in itself is unrealistic, as these people are homeless and therefore it's unlikely they would be if they had a spare £5,000 lying around. Alternatively they could face two years in prison. Since it costs £65,000 a year to keep someone in prison, it could get rather costly to lock up large numbers of homeless people.
Perhaps it would work out cheaper to help these people find long term accommodation, while providing extra support to those who need it. By giving them somewhere to live without the fear of eviction, they might then be able to see a more positive future for themselves. With the right support, housing and access to training if required, they could then go on to pay their own in way in life. This is more appealing than being treated like a problem to be moved on, rather than someone who just needs help to get back into society.
