homeless people

jonny0

ive always wondered why there are so many homeless people out there when they can claim all sorts of benefits ?

Im not talking about the illegal immigrants, im talking about the ones who were have been born and bred in the UK then you see them sleeping rough and begging.

why ? ....are they not allowed any benefits ?

seven-day-weekend

I think there is a problem with claiming benefits if you have no fixed address.

I don't know why they have no fixed address, but have read that many homeless people are mentally ill and not getting the help they need.

RoxsiScotland

im no expert on this, but i would say many people arent claiming the benefits they are entitled to because of the complicated nature of the system, conflicting advice from benefit agencies and the large amount of paperwork and evidence required.
as many homeless people have become homeless due to mental problems, learning difficulties, and drink and drug abuse problems it makes it harder for them to be in a fit state to go through these processes.
if i did not have family to stay with while trying to claim income support i too would have been homeless.(3 months with no income while i filled out forms, gathered evidence, they lost my forms, i filled out new ones, waited and waited and eventually got something).

dmg24

s-d-w is right, to claim benefits you need an address, but to get an address you would need to claim benefits. I think there are ways around this, such as using a hostel as an address, but not everyone can get a place in a hostel.

Equally, there are areas where there are housing shortages, so even if someone wants to get something, they can't.

As well as those with mental health problems mentioned above, some people actually choose to live that way.

Sadly, there are also those who do not want to be traced, in particular runaway children. Scary to think that some people's home lives are so bad that they would want to sleep on the streets.

Hapless_2

they do daily signing if they have no fixed address, which means they have to go to the job centre each day and then pick up their giro weekly.

joeblack066

One person that I know had a house and a job, mortgage, car and everything, worked long hours and left all the finances up to his wife. Came home one day, house had been cleared, rang his solicitor who ranghim back a few minutes later to tell him that the house was being reposessed the next day, and that his bank accounts had all been cleared or taken into overdraft. She had run off with the lot. Left him homeless and in debt to the tune of £38,000. He was homeless for two years until he got back on his feet again. In theory, it could happen to anyone.