Homeless, a little awkward
Today’s Understanding Britain class had a little twist. We had two guest speakers (and their dog) in for class. They are homeless and living in the streets of London. The professor that teaches this class has a high interest in this topic. It is an interesting one indeed and provided a look into a sometimes misunderstood lifestyle. The UK is a welfare state and has provisions to take care of everyone. That is until you fall off the complete bottom as both of these individuals have. They are stuck in an endless loop of being unable to afford and do not have a permanent address for a passport and cannot get a job because of no official ID and no permanent address and no bank account for the previous reasons. It’s an endless loop which neither can get out. They rely on each other for daily survival and their dog brings a little happiness into their lives.
I’ve always thought this subject to be a little bit of a taboo but it was interesting hearing them speak and how they get money (basically begging getting around £7/day between the two of them) and getting food. It truly is quite a sad story and proves that some wrong decisions will lead to bad consequences.
It was another gloomy day here in London. Rather cold and very wet. Tomorrows forecast is looking better though! This Saturday I’ll be going to a football game (soccer for you Americans) for class. Real hard work I know! From what I heard the crowds can get a little rowdy. There’s still a little time until that happens though. Good luck voting tomorrow! Make the right choice!
