Established 2005 Registered Charity No. 1110656

Scottish Charity Register No. SC043760

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Anti-begging poster outrage

September 09 2015
Kensington and Chelsea campaign attacked as “shocking” and “idotic”

A controversial anti-begging campaign which asks people to give to charities instead of people begging, has been attacked as “shocking” and “idotic”.

The campaign posters, put up in Kensington and Chelsea last month, went viral on Twitter with people reacting with anger to the message that beggars did not deserve the public’s help.

The campaign is the latest in a line of controversial campaigns, which urge the public to donate to charity instead of giving to beggars.

The Connection at St Martins and Thames Reach have both run similar campaigns in recent years.

Council leader Nick Paget-Brown defended the campaign, writing on his blog: “Many will say they want money for food or for accommodation for the night but all the experience of the Council’s Street Population Outreach Team, the local police and many charities that work with the homeless is that a high percentage of those begging use the money to fund their drug and alcohol habits and already have a roof over their head.”

However, charity Crisis said people begging were amongst society’s most vulnerable to whom an act of kindness could be “important”.

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