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Round-up of the 21st century
lowlights and some positive
personal changes by Mat Amp
The past few years have produced a
burgeoning list of the unbelievable.
Atop this list sit the new caricature
leaders of the free world, Dozza
and Bozza, the twin Spitting Image
puppets made flesh. What a pair of
unbelievable clowns.
How did we get here? After
the E-fuelled rampant idealistic
hedonism of the '90s, the new
Millennium fast became the era
where nothing was unbelievable
because we believed in nothing.
Connection gave way to voyeurism
and a rash of reality TV shows
featured wannabee TV presenters
acting anything but real.
It was unbelievably contrived but
inevitably led to far more sinister
form of reality-based entertainment
like Bum Fights, a homemade show
produced by a couple of 16-yearold middle class kids, that videoed
homeless guys battering the shit
out of each other, pulling out their
own teeth and getting BUM FIGHTS
tattooed on their heads.
The teenagers sold their creation
for millions but before you get too
pissed off, rest assured that they
shared that wealth with the actors.
While most of them got at least a
beer for their pain and suffering,
some received as much as US$10 just for ripping out a tooth without
anaesthetic.
The truffling oinkery continued,
with the total and utter bankers
devising ever more clever ways to
milk investments, ramping up the
stakes and hiding the risk until the
entire ivory tower collapsed into a
twirly steaming pile of canine doings.
And in the 12 years since,
austerity policies have punished the poor while quantitative easing has
rewarded the well-off for levelling our
economy to ground zero.
And then the Covid shit show
surprised us and the world will never
be the same.
In this country at least, the
homeless sector’s proactive and
coordinated response stands in stark
contrast to a government policy
which could best be described as
resembling a game of Whac-a-mole
in which the moles are not the only
blind things participating. Big up to
Pathway which has led the charge
with founder Al Story at the helm
devising the Covid-19 Homeless
Sector Plan which put simply, has
saved a lot of lives.
Although the homeless hotels have been a bit hit and miss, with
some people lucking out in fairly
decent gaffs, while others ended up
in less salubrious establishments,
the health outcomes have been
unbelievably positive. Covid-19
transmission rates are in line with
the general population, whereas
the estimates if nothing had been
done, projected a figure as high as
40% – which is, unsurprisingly, the
estimated current infection rate in
the US where they’ve done sweet FA
for their homeless community.
While our government may be as
much use as a sun bed in the Sahara,
there are an increasing number of us
working in the homeless sector who
care because we’ve been out there.
Believe it, we’ve got your back.
Take courage
- Volunteering with the Pavement and Poached Creative (now defunct) took me to …
- Groundswell where I got a part-time job running a writing programme, From the Ground Up
- Supported Permitted Work allowed me to work part-time as a project worker gaining invaluable experience researching
- The week I wrote this column (October) I got a full-time post helping to run Groundswell’s community journalism project. Find out more www.groundswell.org.uk
- When I was on the street, sticking
a needle in my arm five times a day
this all seemed a million miles away,
but I’ve got this job because of that
experience not in spite of it.
Mar-Apr 2021 : SOLUTIONS
CONTENTS
BACK ISSUES
- Issue 131 : Mar-Apr 2021 : SOLUTIONS
- Issue 130 : Jan-Feb 2021 : CHANGE
- Issue 129 : Nov-Dec 2020 : UNBELIEVABLE
- Issue 128 : Sep-Oct 2020 : COPING
- Issue 127 : Jul-Aug 2020 : HOPE
- Issue 126 : Health & Wellbeing in a Crisis
- Issue 125 : Mar-Apr 2020 : MOVING ON
- Issue 124 : Jan-Feb 2020 : STREET FOOD
- Issue 123 : Nov-Dec 2019 : HOSTELS
- Issue 122 : Sep 2019 : DEATH ON THE STREETS
- Issue 121 : July-Aug 2019 : INVISIBLE YOUTH
- Issue 120 : May-June 2019 : RECOVERY
- Issue 119 : Mar-Apr 2019 : WELLBEING
- Issue 118 : Jan-Feb 2019 : WORKING HOMELESS
- Issue 117 : Nov-Dec 2018 : HER STORY
- Issue 116 : Sept-Oct 2018 : TOILET TALK
- Issue 115 : July-Aug 2018 : HIDDEN HOMELESS
- Issue 114 : May-Jun 2018 : REBUILD YOUR LIFE
- Issue 113 : Mar–Apr 2018 : REMEMBRANCE
- Issue 112 : Jan-Feb 2018
- Issue 111 : Nov-Dec 2017
- Issue 110 : Sept-Oct 2017
- Issue 109 : July-Aug 2017
- Issue 108 : Apr-May 2017
- Issue 107 : Feb-Mar 2017
- Issue 106 : Dec 2016 - Jan 2017
- Issue 105 : Oct-Nov 2016
- Issue 104 : Aug-Sept 2016
- Issue 103 : May-June 2016
- Issue 102 : Mar-Apr 2016
- Issue 101 : Jan-Feb 2016
- Issue 100 : Nov-Dec 2015
- Issue 99 : Sept-Oct 2015
- Issue 98 : July-Aug 2015
- Issue 97 : May-Jun 2015
- Issue 96 : April 2015 [Mini Issue]
- Issue 95 : March 2015
- Issue 94 : February 2015
- Issue 93 : December 2014
- Issue 92 : November 2014
- Issue 91 : October 2014
- Issue 90 : September 2014
- Issue 89 : July 2014
- Issue 88 : June 2014
- Issue 87 : May 2014
- Issue 86 : April 2014
- Issue 85 : March 2014
- Issue 84 : February 2014
- Issue 83 : December 2013
- Issue 82 : November 2013
- Issue 81 : October 2013
- Issue 80 : September 2013
- Issue 79 : June 2013
- Issue 78 : 78
- Issue 77 : 77
- Issue 76 : 76
- Issue 75 : 75
- Issue 74 : 74
- Issue 73 : 73
- Issue 72 : 72
- Issue 71 : 71
- Issue 70 : 70
- Issue 69 : 69
- Issue 68 : 68
- Issue 67 : 67
- Issue 66 : 66
- Issue 65 : 65
- Issue 64 : 64
- Issue 63 : 63
- Issue 62 : 62
- Issue 61 : 61
- Issue 60 : 60
- Issue 59 : 59
- Issue 58 : 58
- Issue 57 : 57
- Issue 56 : 56
- Issue 56 : 56
- Issue 55 : 55
- Issue 54 : 54
- Issue 53 : 53
- Issue 52 : 52
- Issue 51 : 51
- Issue 50 : 50
- Issue 49 : 49
- Issue 48 : 48
- Issue 47 : 47
- Issue 46 : 46
- Issue 45 : 45
- Issue 44 : 44
- Issue 43 : 43
- Issue 42 : 42
- Issue 5 : 05
- Issue 4 : 04
- Issue 2 : 02
- Issue 1 : 01
- Issue 41 : 41
- Issue 40 : 40
- Issue 39 : 39
- Issue 38 : 38
- Issue 37 : 37
- Issue 36 : 36
- Issue 35 : 35
- Issue 34 : 34
- Issue 33 : 33
- Issue 10 : 10
- Issue 9 : 09
- Issue 6 : 06
- Issue 3 : 03
- Issue 32 : 32
- Issue 31 : 31
- Issue 30 : 30
- Issue 29 : 29
- Issue 11 : 11
- Issue 12 : 12
- Issue 13 : 13
- Issue 14 : 14
- Issue 15 : 15
- Issue 16 : 16
- Issue 17 : 17
- Issue 18 : 18
- Issue 19 : 19
- Issue 20 : 20
- Issue 21 : 21
- Issue 22 : 22
- Issue 23 : 23
- Issue 24 : 24
- Issue 25 : 25
- Issue 8 : 08
- Issue 7 : 07
- Issue 26 : 26
- Issue 27 : 27
- Issue 28 : 28
- Issue 1 : 01