Famous, Rich and Homeless 21:00

[kabbes]

um, me.

i have no idea who Annabel Croft is.

I remember her as a moderately successful 1980s British tennis player. Wikipedia tells me that she reached as high as number 24 in the world, which isn't too shabby. Never did anything in a grand slam event though. Subsequently went on to do Wimbledon coverage for the BBC.

 

[Voley]

She used to do Treasure Hunt in a helicopter.

 

[Rollem]

That shocked me, too, when I worked with homeless folk. You're still classed as 'vulnerable' if you're a care leaver, aren't you? It used to be care leavers, people fleeing violence and certain institutionalised people jumped through that particular hoop immediately when applying for housing.

which is fine in theory, but in practice many care leavers dont have the necesary life skills / experience or support to survive on their own in their own flat etc....

 

[foo]

one bloke said he'd been given a flat after years on the street, but didn't stay in it. there was no support to help him with the transition from the street to inside. i bet that's another big problem too.

 

[barney_pig]

Congratulations to the Camden New Journal for some excellent work exposing the BBC's 'reality' TV programme Famous, Rich and Homeless.
Showing this evening at 9pm, the programme takes five celebrities and places them living rough on the streets in two of the worst boroughs for homelessness - Camden and Westminster.

One problem any homeless person is sure to encounter is the police. But what's this, emails obtained by the Camden New Journal show that the police were tipped off as to the presence of celebrities pretending to be homeless on their beat, and so could adjust their behaviour accordingly. Indeed one of the celebrity participants, comedian Hardeep Singh Kohli, is the brother of the second most senior cop in Camden - Superintendent Raj Kholi.

Perhaps a detective won't be required as to the source of the leak.........

from paul stotts blog

 

[kabbes]

That's interesting actually -- I did spend the whole programme wondering where the hell the police were. I just assumed that the programme makers and/or cameramen were keeping them away.

 

[Stanley Edwards]

She used to do Treasure Hunt in a helicopter.

But, not Anika?


There is a fundamental flaw in this programme. All of the participants have homes. Most are clever, self-made, successful people. Even if they had no celebrity status they obviously have the ability to promote themselves and their own cause. They can sell. As far as we know they don't have habits to feed, or issues that control their lives. They've chosen to do this and haven't found themselves in a situation beyond their control. None seem obviously depressed, or mentally distressed, or skint. It's all a bit pointless really.

That said, it's good that people are talking about it.


This isn't an old repeat is it? The names all ring Blue Peter and the Beeb of Twenty years ago.

 

[Stanley Edwards]

from paul stotts blog

No doubt they're actually doing all they can to keep the real homeless people out of sight and out of harms way. Policing for the rich!

 

[butchersapron]

But, not Anika?


There is a fundamental flaw in this programme. All of the participants have homes. Most are clever, self-made, successful people. Even if they had no celebrity status they obviously have the ability to promote themselves and their own cause. They can sell. As far as we know they don't have habits to feed, or issues that control their lives. They've chosen to do this and haven't found themselves in a situation beyond their control. None seem obviously depressed, or mentally distressed, or skint. It's all a bit pointless really.

That said, it's good that people are talking about it.


This isn't an old repeat is it? The names all ring Blue Peter and the Beeb of Twenty years ago.

Les battersby obv has a habit to feed.

 

[Stanley Edwards]

Les battersby obv has a habit to feed.

Sorry. He was ITV of Twenty years ago.

Haven't watched, so shouldn't really comment. Can't help meself!

 

[Voley]

one bloke said he'd been given a flat after years on the street, but didn't stay in it. there was no support to help him with the transition from the street to inside. i bet that's another big problem too.

Which would make him 'intentionally homeless' in the eyes of many LA's. Fucking great, innit?

 

[Bakunin]

Les battersby obv has a habit to feed.

***TV TRIVIA FACT***

The chap who played Les Battersby still has some, quite severe apparently, emotional scars, dating from his having discovered the body of one of the victims of Peter Sutcliffe, the infamous Yorkshire Ripper.

He still doesn't talk about it, apparently.

 

[foo]

Which would make him 'intentionally homeless' in the eyes of many LA's. Fucking great, innit?

yup.

when i did a different job with teenagers than the one i'm in now, they would get the label 'intentionally homeless' really quickly. they just had to miss one payment/get kicked out of their shitty b&b, and they were 'intentionally homeless' - so the cycle and paperwork would start all over again...because the LA still had the responsibility to house them.

an absolutely ridiculous system.

 

[Stanley Edwards]

Coming back to the police point, I have to say IME living homeless in London the police were only ever helpful, friendly and sorry they couldn't help as much as they would want.

Drunk, high, verbally, or physically abusive homeless people can expect police to 'visit'. They can be scary people sometimes.

 

[tommers]

one bloke said he'd been given a flat after years on the street, but didn't stay in it. there was no support to help him with the transition from the street to inside. i bet that's another big problem too.

it is a big problem but services are there (certainly in london) to support people with it.

 

[foo]

it is a big problem but services are there (certainly in london) to support people with it.

yeh i know, but i think the availability of that kind of support is patchy. anyway, it's just that when he was talking to me about it, i hadn't really thought of that particular problem. i mean, my previous unthinking self thought that if everyone was given a home, then it'd be all sorted. hunky dory.

not so. obviously.

 

[smokedout]

That struck me on this programme too. Assuming that it starts out with a 50/50 split of vulnerable people, I don't like the implications of what might be happening to remove the women from the population.

theres a few reasons for this, one as mentioned is a lot of homeless folk are men who fall apart after the split in a relationship and leave the house to the woman

another is a lot of homeless blokes are left army and couldnt cope with life on civvy street

another is that vulnerable women have a habit of getting knocked up which means they stay vulnerable, but are eligible for council housing

and it is also true that some vulnerable women end up as sex workers and are therefore able to earn enough to keep a roof over their heads, some men do this as well obviously, but its less commen

 

[kabbes]

theres a few reasons for this, one as mentioned is a lot of homeless folk are men who fall apart after the split in a relationship and leave the house to the woman

It's an interesting one this. I guess that it's also a good reason why you should teach your boys to look after themselves and not rely on a woman to do it for them. Certainly there is an older generation that fell foul of this with the fallout of a lot of men that were simply incapable if left alone.

I'm not sure that was a good post or even that it really says what I'm trying to say, but I'll put it out there anyway.

 

[foo]

It's an interesting one this. I guess that it's also a good reason why you should teach your boys to look after themselves and not rely on a woman to do it for them. Certainly there is an older generation that fell foul of this with the fallout of a lot of men that were simply incapable if left alone.

I'm not sure that was a good post or even that it really says what I'm trying to say, but I'll put it out there anyway.

yep, i totally agree.

i've always been really strong on this with my two sons. i did not want them leaving me just to go in search of another mum (which is something i think a lot of men have done in the past <ducks missiles> )

they can cook wash and clean for themselves, thank gawd. my view was, they would have a better chance at happiness cos they'd not need to choose to be with a woman who would 'look after them' - but they'd choose someone just because they loved them and wanted to be with them.

 

[foo]

sorry, that's really badly written isn't it

 

[smokedout]

It's an interesting one this. I guess that it's also a good reason why you should teach your boys to look after themselves and not rely on a woman to do it for them. Certainly there is an older generation that fell foul of this with the fallout of a lot of men that were simply incapable if left alone.

its not so much that ime (i worked with homeless people for a long time and was homeless when i was younger)

its usually more to emotional breakdown, marriages breaks up, blokes leaves house to wife and kids, bloke hits bottle, bloke stops seeing kids, bloke loses job, mental health starts to slip etc etc

ive had clients who had comfortable middle class lifestyles and have just fallen apart after a series of events has left them broken and theyve lost everything

 

[kabbes]

sorry, that's really badly written isn't it

No, it makes perfect sense. My mum always had the same attitude. You should be with someone because they interest you, not because you need a carer.

 

[kabbes]

its not so much that ime (i worked with homeless people for a long time and was homeless when i was younger)

its usually more to emotional breakdown, marriages breaks up, blokes leaves house to wife and kids, bloke hits bottle, bloke stops seeing kids, bloke loses job, mental health starts to slip etc etc

ive had clients who had comfortable middle class lifestyles and have just fallen apart after a series of events has left them broken and theyve lost everything

Interesting, cheers.

I remember a Frank Skinner skit:

I heard that a lot of people are homeless because of a relationship break-up. I've often wondered how that works.

"I don't love you any more. I want to break up."

"Oh. OK. [pause]... ... do you have 10p for a cup of tea?"

 

[tommers]

I think that women are also housed (or at least put in somewhere for the short term) more quickly than men. The fact that they are a woman makes them more vulnerable IYSWIM.

 

[scumbalina]

What just happened? Did Hardeep just have a go at someone for waking the other dude up to give him ciggies, then shout that he was a victim too? What?

 

[machine cat]

What just happened? Did Hardeep just have a go at someone for waking the other dude up to give him ciggies, then shout that he was a victim too? What?

I think so.

 

[scumbalina]

They've all gone nuts

 

[Upchuck]

I thought it was a good show. Hardeep was useless, Annabelle very useful, the Boycott woman aware, and for sime reason Bruce drinking with the alkies was hilarious. He almost seemed comfortable there.

 

[Stoat Boy]

Why is that fat Sikh bloke famous ?

 

[London_Calling]

Doesn't he do kids tv now, though I think he may have been a stand up at some point.

I'm reminded of Annabel Croft's house - she might well still live in Barnes but I was thinking more of her parent’s palatial abode in the corner a quiet cul-de-sac in Farnborogh Park. She grew up in a monsterously huge place.

I’m not great on the very privileged ‘taking a journey’, even if it is nominally for ‘our’ benefit.