Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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How hundreds were excluded from the Tories' ‘Everybody In’ scheme
On March 26 the government declared that every rough sleeper must be brought in off the streets. The call was hailed as a ‘landmark moment’ and an opportunity to eradicate homelessness once and for all. But why, two months later, are there still hundreds of people sleeping rough?
Homeless people queue for food
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IN TRAFALGAR Square, the steps rising up to Nelson’s column are eerily empty. The usual groups of tourists scrambling on top of the bronze lions are nowhere to be seen. But around the National Portrait gallery it’s a different story.
Here dozens of homeless people are lounging on the grass, chatting and smoking in the morning sun. They are all waiting for food and water — necessities which have become incredibly difficult to find in lockdown London.
As I made my journey to the centre of the capital to speak with volunteers providing food for the homeless, I was shocked to see people huddled in closed shop fronts and passed out on deserted pavements. (I even saw a man wrapped in a sleeping bag just metres away from Parliament itself).
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