Homeless Londoners slam 'lifestyle choice' comment

Bangkok Post Group

People who are homeless in London are slamming an idea floated by Britain's interior minister Suella Braverman to limit the use of tents and the characterization that people live on the streets as a "lifestyle choice." - REUTERS

Transcript

00:00 It's a cold night in central London, and 50-year-old Jay is getting set for another night on the

00:07 streets.

00:09 He says his tent is a lifeline.

00:12 JAY, Tenant (through translator): Just my sleeping bags and my bits and pieces.

00:15 I ain't got much now.

00:16 At least in the tent, we're like, people can't stand over us and look at us and spit on us.

00:22 Yeah, a bit of privacy.

00:24 ALI ROGIN: But shelters like his have been thrust into the spotlight recently by Britain's

00:28 interior minister.

00:30 Suella Braverman has floated the idea of limiting the use of tents by homeless people, and described

00:37 life on the streets as a lifestyle choice on social media.

00:42 Jay and his tent mate Billy take issue with that.

00:46 Reuters has agreed not to show their faces.

00:48 JAY, Tenant (through translator): No one, I guarantee you, anyone you speak to, no one

00:51 would choose to be in this position.

00:52 BILLY, Tenant (through translator): I didn't choose to come out of the army as a medical

00:55 discharge and have to go to the streets, because I ain't got no one behind me.

00:58 ALI ROGIN: London Mayor Sadiq Khan, charities, and even lawmakers in Braverman's own governing

01:03 Conservative Party have all criticized her comments.

01:08 The Conservatives promised to end rough sleeping, or sleeping without adequate shelter, by 2024,

01:14 in the run-up to the 2019 election.

01:17 But just over 4,000 people were unsheltered between July and September, according to the

01:23 Combined Homelessness and Information Network.

01:26 That's a 12 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

01:31 Here's Jasmine Bazran with the homelessness charity Crisis.

01:34 JASMINE BAZRAN, Crisis Charity, Homelessness and Information Network, Braverman (through

01:35 translator): So, we are reaching breaking point here, and we must see interventions

01:39 put in place to reduce this.

01:41 ALI ROGIN: Others who spoke to Reuters called for extra resources.

01:46 As for Jay, he's challenging Braverman to spend time on the streets herself.

01:50 JAY, Braverman (through translator): I would absolutely love for them to spend a week in

01:53 our streets just to see what it's like.

01:54 They might have a different attitude than you know.

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