JUST ZINE VOLUME 1 • ISSUE 3 • 1 JULY 2020
COVERING SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES IN WEST LONDON
1 JULY 2020
1
JUSTZINE
Editor in Chief Cinzia D’ambrosi
Digital Editor Laura James
Contributors Helena Neeson Gemma Mancinelli Idil Abdullahi Sabrina Merolla Laura James Fatima Sanchez Urmila Nagarkoti Eurydice Caldwell
Jenny Bardoville
Cover Art Andrew Mcleay 1 JULY 2020
2
JUSTZINE
A Letter From the Editor
I
am very excited to present the third issue of Just Zine magazine. In this issue we focus on homelessness in a Covid-19 world as we understand that the pandemic has worsened an already widespread issue.
lawyer. Contributors have also shared an extract from a children story on homelessness and a touching and powerful personal story on homelessness. In issue three we have also covered the opening of non-essential shops and the merging of DfID and the UK Foreign Office and the potential implications on foreign aid as a result of this merger.
Homelessness is an extremely vast topic to cover. This issue considers the different forms homelessness can take from life on the streets, to insecure housing and now, to temporary residence in hotels thanks to the Government’s public health initiative to get people off the streets to reduce the spread of the virus. In order to produce the articles and photo stories found in this issue, contributors have met with people who are experiencing homelessness, visited a Soup Kitchen, interviewed homelessness support workers on their role during the pandemic, consulted an immigration
1 JULY 2020
Once again I would like to thank the hard-working and very talented group of participants in the Youth Zine West project, run by the Photojournalism Hub, who produced this issue and as always, I thank our funder the Mayor of London,
Cinzia D’Ambrosi Editor-in-chief 3
JUSTZINE
CONTENTS Homelessness Features • The 999 Club Page 6-7 • A Conversation with Tony Page 8-11 • Photography, Photography Photography Page 12-13 • Homeless in London Page 14-19 • Susan’s Humble Experience Page 20 -22 • Joconda’s Experience Page 23-25 • No Place Like (Any) Home Page 26-30 • Poetry Page 31 • The Wealthy Beggar Extract Page 32-34 • Ealing Soup Kitchen Page 35-39 • Living on the Streets Page 40-41 • Through Lands and Seas Page 42-45
Other Features • Lonley - A Photo Story Page 46-51 • The Politicisation of UK Foreign Aid? Page 52-53 • Shops Reopening Page 54-57 1 JULY 2020
4
JUSTZINE
Homelessness 1 JULY 2020
5
JUSTZINE
The 999 Club By Helena Neeson
I
recently spoke with Zisca Burton from rather cynically on my part, if she was frusThe 999 Club in Deptford about homeless- trated that resources had now become ness during the covid-19 pandemic. Zisca is available to tackle homelessness because a a homelessness prevention and rehousing broader health issue exists, she said she was worker at The 999 Club in Deptford. She does not frustrated personally, she was just happy such admirable work in the day centre and that the people she knows so well and is so fond of are getting help. helps to organise the volunteers. A risk assessment was unThe 999 Club offers serdertaken to decide who was vices for people expehoused where, with each riencing homelessness, person being assigned a risk those who sleep rough or category (low, medium or are vulnerably housed. high). The assessment conThe demographic of sidered factors such as mentheir guests is principally tal health issues, underlying men aged 25-50 that are health issues or violence in not considered ‘priority the person’s past. In addineed’. Services available tion, everyone was initially include a nightshelter, screened for Covid-19 sympadvice and support on toms and if someone was housing provision and exhibiting symptoms, they benefits eligibility, mainwere housed in a designattaining links with private ed “covid hotel’ and treated landlords that accept there. Those that were in former rough sleepers the high-risk category were as tenants and programs assigned a hotel where they designed to encourage Above: Zisca Burton would receive support to adconfidence, self-esteem dress their additional needs and employment skills. People can also vis- (also supported by St Mungo’s staff). The othit the centre to get breakfast, have a shower ers were either assigned a different hotel or alternate temporary accommodation. and do their laundry. As a means to reduce the spread of Covid-19, People in the hotels receive three meals a day, the UK Government launched a public health toiletries, help with laundry and access to medinitiative to help people experiencing home- ical care. In return they sign an agreement that they will not engage in anti-social behaviour. lessness off the streets. As a result, hotels At first glance this may sound like a welcome or temporary accommodation were found reprieve, however the situation can also presfor thousands of homeless people in recent ent challenges. Many people feel lonely and months. All of The 999 Club’s night shelter isolated (especially those having to shield for guests have been rehoused into hotels, tem- 12 weeks) and some have been housed in hoporary accommodation or emergency ac- tels in areas of London they are unfamiliar with commodation. When I asked Zisca, perhaps creating further uncertainty and anxiety.
1 JULY 2020
6
JUSTZINE
“
To address these challenges, charities such as The 999 Club and St Mungo’s provide telephone support to the guests. Zisca has a number of people that she checks in on (either daily or weekly depending on which category they fall in) to ask about their physical and mental health, ensure they are receiving benefits, have access to enough food and PPE and other general concerns. She also helps to keep them up to date with Government advice regarding Covid-19, all of which requires compassionate communication. Zisca made sure to highlight that the guests always ask about The 999 Club’s staff and volunteers’ well-being too. Some people are scared. One older man was afraid to go outside because of the virus so he was just staying inside but with some advice and reassurance from Zisca and a delivery of PPE, he is now getting outside for walks. Another example of the importance of these phone calls. Some people have also expressed concerns about where they are going to be moved to after the hotel. Anxiety about what happens next is natural in light of recent reporting by The Guardian that already two hotels used for the initiative have stopped in preparation to return to business. Despite a few positive first steps being taken (for example, a task force being set up and funding pledged for 3,300 homes), the Government currently does not have an exit strategy for those housed in hotels. Like many others, St Mungo’s recognises the unique opportunity for the Government to ensure that as few people as possible return to the streets and accordingly has launched its ‘No Going Back’ briefing setting out recommendations for the Government to address this opportunity. 1 JULY 2020
Many people feel lonely and isolated... and some have been housed in hotels in areas of London they are unfamiliar with creating further uncertainty and anxiety.
”
One thing that I am certain of is that returning to the streets cannot be an option for these people, especially given that support functions that provide a sense of stability such as shelters, like The 999 Club’s, cannot currently open. Increased Universal Credit claims suggest that as the pandemic continues homelessness may increase. If rehousing and new homelessness are not addressed swiftly and properly we risk making the already extremely vulnerable, more vulnerable.
7
JUSTZINE
A Conversation with Tony By Gemma Mancinelli
W
haven’t taken advantage of that opportunity because I feel that being inside with different people will increase my chance of catching Covid-19 again.
hat have you been observing in the streets since Covid-19? Mixed emotions, I saw people taken by the fear. I’ve seen the best and the worst come out in people on the street. People being told different stories from different point of view from the media. People have been acting very strange in public, dodging people, pushing people away. I have seen people wanted to fight somebody because they got too close to somebody.
Do you know which hotels are the one accommodating homeless people? I think is Travelodge, I doubt they’re the ones in Central London where the millionaires go!
What are your essentials? I guess the first thing that a homeless need is How long have you been living in the streets? shelter, a tenth for example, a pop up tent, a sleeping bag and a pillow; that’s the best way 6 months now. to shelter themselves. Woolly hat, gloves, pilHas covid19 impacted the way you live in low, sleeping bag. Knowledge of where the food is, where washing facilities are. the streets? In a strange way I welcome this kind of virus in me. I caught it actually, about two months Do you often find these? ago. I know I did, I got the worst pain inside People offer me these things; I have been the organs, inside the body, which I never felt very fortunate to have them. For others it before in my life. After a week it disappeared. could be a problem. Is this your favourite spot? I like this spot because of the wind coming down the hill, the sun is shining this side in the morning. Actually this is a very strange spot for this period that I am facing everyday. The cemetery. I have seen a lot of hursts coming in and out of there, the amount of coffins going in that place. I have never seen I bet you can observe a lot from here! I do yes. I saw some very horrible things that so many coffins going in there before. It has been quite sad. people do to other people. What do you enjoy the most? I love photography. I want to be a photographer. At the moment I am just observing life, rituals of people; once I get my camera back, I’m working in my mind on a topic on isolation, I have already a few ideas for it.
What are your future prospects? I would like to get my accommodation sorted out first, to have a place and an address which the advice can recognise. Get a part time job, continue into full time; first I need to get a place and then a job. I have to go back to the council and say that I am ready to be rehoused and that they will take it from there. I want Covid-19 to disappear or to level out to control. Things in my life fell apart, since then I have been mentally traumatised by the happenings of my life. I get my mental support from Mind, the Charity, they helped me a lot. I’m getting by day by day, I am getting my confidence back, looking forward to the bright future.
Have you been to any shelters? I usually go to soup kitchens, all around London; especially the one in Trafalgar Square, they have several meals a day there. Do you find that are busier now? Yes, they’re much busier now, they’re over run. Do you get the same service? Yes, now everything is outside though. There’s a long queue and there’s no going inside. I take my hat off to all the people that are helping us. They don’t have to help us but they do. I heard that they’re also prioritising homeless people and put them in hotels. I 1 JULY 2020
8
JUSTZINE
“
I am
get t ing m y co nf idenc e b a c k, lo o king f o rwa rd t o
”
the brig ht f ut ure .
1 JULY 2020
9
JUSTZINE
“
I Like this spot because of the wind coming down the hill, the sun is shining this side in the morning.
1 JULY 2020
�
10
JUSTZINE
1 JULY 2020
11
JUSTZINE
Photography, Photography, Photography By Sabrina Merolla
J
ane (fictitious name), is a 23 years old woman from Central Asia. She moved to London to work and study. But she wasn’t able to find a job, and is now living in a public hostel.
How did you find the hostel you are living in? I met someone, and I helped her. So we became friends soon, and she took me here. I am here in the hostel, I am studying and learning everything here.
How was your life back home and why did you decide to move from Central Asia to May I ask you if you were scared when you arLondon, UK? rived in such a big and crowded city as London? Well, I always wanted to know the outside Yes, let me tell you about it. When I arrived world, and the differeverything was really realent ways of living in othly difficult. And it was comer countries - different pletely different from my I just came on people, different rules, dreams. Because of the new different languages. And language. Because there my own in 2018. I started planning my fuare so many new people, I am alone here. ture. Because my family is new rules, it’s a completely from a lower middle class, different world. And here I My family is back they don’t have a lot of am really learning how the money or food. In London others talk, how they behome. But it’s life, there is everything, and if have and follow different Life is hard , you know. you want something you rules. So now I bear in mind can try to achieve it, you that I am always learning everything is always know. So I began to look from all the people I meet. for a job in London, and And I know that my English hard. These things think about a future. Beis still not really good. But I happen, it is natural. am learning. cause in my country it is not like here. I arrived here on Do you have any friends? Did you have any friends I have a lot of friends, now. my own, and or relatives in the UK when I met them in the hostel. soon I found you moved here? There are three other womI just came on my own in en in my room. And this my place in 2018. I am alone here. My hostel is really amazing. family is back home. But They really welcome and this hostel. it’s life, you know. Life is help everyone here, with hard, everything is always everything. We have a daily hard. These things happen, it is natural. I ar- schedule and a time for breakfast or dinner, rived here on my own, and soon I found my we can meet a lot and eat together. We have place in this hostel. food, study, and learn. We laugh and do so many things together. Everything is really reAt first, I looked for a job. But without speak- ally nice here. I love to stay here! ing any English it was too difficult. My English is very low. And I thought if I learn Eng- What changed for you with the COVID19 lish well, I can really build my future here. So pandemic?
“
”
1 JULY 2020
12
JUSTZINE
Well, I have been living in this hostel for a year and a half now. I feel safe here. But I really love my family, and I am really far away from them, and I was missing them. I was so worried for them when the pandemic spread out. Because they live far from the big city, and it is more difficult to find food there. There were so many people dying everywhere. I was worried about what they were going to do.
Excellent! It seems you feel safe. and have many projects for the future. How do you feel about your life now? I am really struggling over my life. Because I want to learn many many things. I want to go outside, see the world, take pictures and share them. It is very difficult at the moment, because of the COVID19 lockdown. But I hope I can start working quickly part-time, while I continue to study. Now I go out more. I go out running in the morning, because I love running. And I can also shoot some pictures.
But then they were in lockdown, and me too. And nobody walked around anymore. Nobody could meet friends, nobody could talk to each other in person, or hug and kiss. And that was really difficult for me. Because my family was really worried for me, too. But now it’s a little better. Because I am always calling them, and I have explained that I will not go back. And that this pandemic is happening ever where, and we have to calm down and wait. They have understood. And they seem to be well, even if sometimes there are some problems with food. But as for me, I do not want to go back. Because I know there is COVID19 here, now, but I have come here to build my future, and I love to attend my English and photography classes. I will not give up.
Is there any camera available for you at the hostel? No, there isn’t. I am taking pictures with my mobile phone. I cannot have a camera, now. Because I have no money to buy it myself at the moment. But I will buy it as soon as I start to work. I want to learn many things about the photographic journey, you know. So, even if I do not have a camera with me, I can still use my mobile. And I can see online how to shoot pictures with a camera. I can still learn now, and practise with a DSLR camera later on. I like to take pictures of the women who live in the hostel, you know, or the homeless people who have to live on the street. I want to take pictures of them and make a study about them. But I also like landscape photography. I like to go to garHow has life changed inside the hostel dur- dens and parks to shoot pictures of plants ing the pandemic? Did you have to isolate and animals. I am generally curious about all the new things, and I love to take pictures of yourself from the others? Some room-mates are from London, and that, too. they went back to their families for the lockdown. But everyone is safe and hap- What are your plans for the next future and py in the hostel. We cannot really go out, in the long-term? and sometimes it is difficult. But we have a Well, my plan is focusing more on my photogarden and I am studying photography on- graphic education. This is what I really really line, because I found this opportunity with want to do. And when I see all these people a charity. My dream is to become a pho- taking their beautiful pictures, I just want to tographer. I also attend my English classes start soon doing like them. So, if you ask me online, because of the lockdown. I will take about my future, well, I know this is the one. my English language tests in the coming It will be about photography, photography, photography! My dream is to become a phomonths. So I keep very busy. tographer, plus helping homeless people, Were there any COVID19 cases in your hostel? and to publish a book about them. No, nobody had it. We never went out. Who lives in the hostel at the moment? It is a mixed group of people. Some are local, and some are not. We are around 70 women under 28 years old. 1 JULY 2020
13
JUSTZINE
Homeless in London
My experience navigating being homeless in London as a young woman By Idil Abdullahi
I
became homeless shortly after my seventeenth birthday. I was in my first year of college, doing four A-Levels like most people my age. Like people my age, I was pretty focused on my studies and hanging out with my friends as much as I could. It was a Thursday when I remember sneaking a glance at my phone to see twelve missed calls from my mum, which was pretty unusual. I thought maybe I forgot to lock the door or perhaps she had forgotten her keys before she left for work. I managed to excuse myself from class to call her back. My mother wasn’t always the best at delivering bad news and it was no different this time around. “You can’t come back to the house,” she said, “We’ve been evicted. I’ll pick you after you finish for the day.” The phone call lasted for about fifteen seconds but I stood outside the classroom for about five minutes before being called back in. My mind never raced so fast. How could we be evicted without any notice? Why had my mum and sister not mentioned we were struggling to pay rent? Where would I be staying tonight? What about my coursework? Would we be able to collect fresh clothes? Would the council help? None of the questions could be answered until I finished class that day. I deliberated on whether I should let my teachers know about my home situation but my mother’s mental health was suffering from extreme bouts of paranoia. She would often accuse us of working against her and threatened to kick us out the house, which meant informing my teachers would only fuel these accusations and therefore decided against letting anyone know. There were only the two of us living together so there were 1 JULY 2020
no other family members to have this discussion with. My sister had moved out that year into a shared student house and I was happy that she wouldn’t be affected by this. Being the youngest meant that I was often left out of serious home conversations, so I had no idea that we were going to be made homeless, which also meant I had no way to prepare for what was about to happen. The next year and a half of my life were the most unstable. We sofa surfed at many different distant relatives houses, many of which I had never even met before due to my mother isolating herself for over a decade. Her mental
“
My mind never raced so fa could we be evicted without an Why had my mum and sister not we were struggling to pay ren health continued to deteriorate at an even more expedited rate than before. Our relatives had heard whispers within the community of her state before but were often shocked when faced with the reality. We normally stayed for around a month before it was made clear to us, in the most discreet way possible, that we had outstayed our welcome. My mother would be extremely reluctant to talk about where we were going to live permanently and what her plans were. Instead, she wore her eyes out by staring at her laptop screen day in, day out. I suppose it was a means of escapism for her. I tried to understand my mother’s situation as much as I could. Germany, where my sister and I had been born, from Italy after finishing her second year of university. The Somali
14
JUSTZINE
War had broken out that year and therefore she was not able to return home. My father had left the family short after my fifth birthday. We saw him sporadically until eventually falling out of contact altogether. Isolated and alone, my mother struggled for many years and relied heavily on my older sister. Seeing that there was no one to take care of me and how I needed to be taken care of, I knew this was something I was going to have to do for myself. I started to wash any piece of clothing I had worn the same night I got home just in case we were told to leave. I woke up hours early to make sure I was able to shower as I didn’t know when I would ast. How next have the opportunity to do ny notice? so. I saved any money I had and more forthcoming about mentioned Imywas situation to my friends.
nt?
”
I immersed myself in my studies and took to photography, even choosing it as an A-Level because it was something I grew to enjoy doing in my spare time. Having accompanied my mother to a few offices and shelters to speak to community workers I was often surrounded by other homeless people who slept rough. What shocked me was how young some of these people were, some my age, many only a few years older. I once had a conversation with a man one evening. He told me it had been years since he was last photographed, so I promised him the next time we’d meet, I’d bring my college camera and take a few snaps of him. A few weeks had passed and during my next visit to the office I upheld my promise and photographed him, alongside a few of his friends. They were all very
1 JULY 2020
welcoming, which lifted me off of the shame that I was feeling for the first time in a long time. I may have become homeless, but I had forgotten that despite all of what’s happened, this is not the one definition of myself, just a circumstance I had fallen into and something I had no control over. Inspired, I spent the next year photographing other homeless people on whatever cameras I could find. It was a very hard topic to cover and I often struggled, but I was proud of myself for capturing a part of society most would deem seedy in a way, but through my work I was able to portray with a sense of truth, one that was true to me and my new-found community. I’ve decided to include some of these photographs in this zine, at the time they were taken this was something I would have thought of as unimaginable. That someone as unimportant as me would have their shabby photographs published one day. My story with homelessness is far from over and it’s something I still struggle from time to time. I’m lucky to be a part of the Somali community, a community that has given me a home and parental figures in my life. Though I feel like my story is nothing special, I still want to focus on the homeless community, the many people that have stories and the depths which have yet to be explored. Right now in the UK there are 280,000 homeless people living, with thousands more at risk. According to Shelter, this figure is not only expected to rise but to double within the next two decades. Homeless people aren’t bums on the street. They are just people without homes. A country’s treatment of the homeless speak volumes. It is not some far off problem which we will never be able to resolve. The government is very much able to help people and give them better living situations. They are just choosing not to do so.
15
JUSTZINE
Homeless in London Photo Story By Idil Abdullahi These images were part of a snowball research project I undertook five years ago, when I was seventeen years-old and struggling with homelessness myself.
Janay (not her real name) was a friend I made during my second school year. Like me, her living situation has changed drastically since. She has also struggled with homelessness while working as an actress. These images were taken in a flat she was squatting in shortly after she graduated college.
1 JULY 2020
16
JUSTZINE
Patrick spent most of his time in Holborn where he had been sleeping rough for 5 years at the time I interviewed him. He had three kids which he was unable to look after due to his living condition. Patrick’s biggest goal was to become a responsible parent and a pillar in his children’s lives.
1 JULY 2020
17
JUSTZINE
Terry had only been homeless for 6 months when I first met him, he had been born and raised in west London. His wife had left him a year prior which greatly affected his financial situation. This resulted in Terry living on the streets and sofa surfing when he could. He mostly slept rough in south London to make sure he wouldn’t bump into anyone he knows.
1 JULY 2020
18
JUSTZINE
Mahir has been living in the UK for the past 4 years. He came to work here as a builder when he was 21, shortly after his arrival Mahir lost his job. Rendering him unemployed and eventually homeless. I often invited Mahir out to hang out in public places, he always refused. He told me no one wants to go into a bar and see a tramp.
1 JULY 2020
19
JUSTZINE
Susan’s Humble Experience By Fatima Sanchez
S
tatistics show that housing in the UK is more expensive than in other European countries. Londoners spend more than one third of their household income on private rent, which is ultimately outrageous. Susan was part of this fundamentally unstable and unaffordable sector until one day she changed her mind – although she is still unsure as if that was for the better or worse. After practicing her vocation as PE teacher and Head of the PE department in the same secondary school for 27 years, one day, Susan decided to take all her savings in the form of four 500€ notes and travel from Serbia to the UK in the search of a new life and new hopes. Susan was deeply attached to her brother
“
since she lost both her parents at age 22. In September 2013, after three long and exhausting years Som of fighting skin cancer, he passed away leaving Susan; his only sister, I never g and his family completely devastated. On the verge of hopelessness, Susan no longer found joy or had to, was the strength to tackle routine after her brother’s loss. After a long year or alcoh of consideration and deep thought, she finally bought a one-way ticket to London where she had no relatives, no contacts or no promise of a place to stay; she simply felt the urge to run from the place where so many memories endured. She arrived at London Heathrow on September 11th, 2014, “a day of worldwide mourning”, she reminisces. After finding a bus stop at the airport she noticed a bus with the sign ‘Woking’ and asked the driver, “How far is Woking from here?” The bus driver told her it could be up to one and a half hours by bus or 30 minutes by train, which she found acceptable and bravely chose Woking as her destination. Not only did she have to sleep rough for a couple days but no bank or establishment would agree to exchange her 500€ notes because they suspected they could be fake. She survived for a week on biscuits and other non-perishable goods she had carried in her backpack from Serbia, until she managed to change one of the notes at a travel agents two weeks later, and ultimately managed to rent a single room. Her first job was at the local shopping centre from 9pm to 6am cleaning the centre’s escalators, more specifically, removing the
1 JULY 2020
20
JUSTZINE
dirt from every groove in the tread area of the step for the entire night. She did this for 17 months.
Though, at times settling in was tough and challenging for her; constantly surrounded by loneliness and haunting memories, she humbly points out: “Something I never gave in to was drugs or alcohol”. She eventually got a supervising role in the cleaning department of an office building, and mething later on was hired at a supermarket where her hopes escalated until one gave in day she had some bad experiences due to her bedroom’s landlord.
drugs ol.
”
Once she had a stable salary, though still relatively low, she did her first big shopping spree: a well-deserved mattress which she signed to pay for in instalments. Three payments from paying off in full, she returns home from work to realise that her brand new single mattress has been swapped by the former old, stinky mattress. When her landlord finally owned up to it; she said her “teenage children deserved it better” and refused to give it back. This episode forced her to move. Eventually Susan came to realise the cheaper the room; the bigger the saving but also the regrets would ultimately be as big.
“
It’s just me, myself and I. It’s the loneliest.
For some time, Susan attempted to map out the coming years, which were ultimately the prelude to retirement, according to Serbian constitutional laws at least. She, at some point, concluded that she will have to continue saving up in order to survive in Serbia until she is eligible for retirement at age 60. However, she came to realise that before she was able to retire in her sweet home in Serbia (which she built previously when working as a teacher) she would never be able to save sufficient funds unless she had no rent or bills to pay today. As our conversation ventured into the specifics of her situation, she 1 JULY 2020
calculated, “£1,200 is my monthly income: £450/500 will go on rent; £300 will go on food easily; £80 on petrol and possibly £150 on other bills/expenses including money I send over to my niece and home’s caretaker. That leaves me with less than £300 to save”.
”
With this in mind, one day Susan radically decided to leave her rental accommodation and move into her four-seater car. A problematic, yet, cost-effective way of living. With no rent, no bills, no TV licence or council tax to pay; she managed to save about 70% of her salary, at the cost of periodic backaches, restricted living space and many other challenges. One year on, I asked her to reflect back on the wildest decision she has ever committed to, to which she offers a profound insight complaining that the hardest part is when, “it’s just me, myself and I. It’s the Loneliest’”. 1 In writing this interview I will alter the interviewee’s real name to protect her expressed concerns about anonymity.
21
JUSTZINE
1 JULY 2020
22
JUSTZINE
Joconda’s Experience A positive, hopeful look back By Fatima Sanchez
J
oconda is not only an active-thinker, tenacious, persevering and a natural fighter, she is also incredibly humble (at all times during our conversation she acknowledged God’s glory for all things her and her family achieved).
a dynamic firm of solicitors based in London and Brighton, who agreed to take on her case, and eventually secured two rooms in a general emergency accommodation for 6 months.Although the constant and nerve-wrecking worry had diffused, they were sharing a house with alcohol and drug Joconda’s story is a story of perseverance, users even though the law provides that a faith and constant hope: a story worth tell- family like Joconda’s should not reside in ing. Joconda, her husband and her three such a property. little ones (3, 6, 10) ended up homeless back in March 2019 after there was a fire Together with the legal adviser Joconda kept in the kitchen of her mother in law’s house, pressuring the Council on several occasions during her stay at the emergency accommowhere they were living. Denis, father of the dation, until her hard work, strong sense of family, suffered an ear infection when he hope and perseverance finally paid off. worked as a bus driver for TfL, forcing him to go on sick leave for a period. This situation added to the living constraints they had been facing (which at that time meant Once the living five people living together in just one room conditions got due to financial problems). Once the living conditions got critical, they went to the local Council several times in search of aid. In spite of the Council’s unhelpful response, offering no charitable solutions in the short or long term, Joconda kept fighting and searching for alternative support options. In the midst of desperation, she eventually tried the police station given that the Council had not been able to offer any assistance. The Police were able to refer them to ‘family accommodation’ for one night in Heathrow. Day in, day out; she would go to the police station and follow exactly the same procedure just to ensure her children could sleep under a decent roof for the night. She did this for at least three nights.
“
critical, they went to the local Council several times in search of aid.
”
After one year of living in emergency accommodation and having no success in finding a private rental, the Council finally offered Joconda a two-bedroom flat situated in Southhall; one and a half hours away from the children school in Hampton.
After thorough evaluation, Joconda and her husband realised that it would probably be their only lucky shot for some time, so they decided to take the flat and move in. Only a few days later, national lockdown was announced all over the country. Joconda now reflects back and thanks God they have a During one of her routine visits at the Food- private place where they can refuge for the bank, she met a legal advisor from Lawstop, unknown future. 1 JULY 2020
23
JUSTZINE
Joconda’s encouraging message to those fighting for their very own rights: “Never get tired of fighting… As I often tell my friends… if they say ‘no’ from one direction, I will keep on persevering until there is a ‘yes’. Also… I never lost faith. I always trusted in the Lord, the one who could do all things possible” (Staying sane and on the straight path) “I always believed in God firstly…I knew He would keep his promises as a father. The same way I had hopes for all my children that they would do better than we did. They would earn things we couldn’t get… I’d tell them ‘you will be able to achieve for things we didn’t manage to achieve… because you can do all things through Christ’. I never lost faith… I always persevered… and I believe I’m now collecting the harvest of what I once hoped for.”
1 JULY 2020
24
JUSTZINE
1 JULY 2020
25
JUSTZINE
No Place Like (Any) Home From invisibility to visibility and back? By Sabrina Merolla
I
n recent months, people around the world have lived suspended lives waiting to stem the pandemic. COVID-19 has brought radical changes to our lives. For some those changes were temporary, while for others things will never be the same again. The luckiest have “learned to be alone” thanks to the internet, spending their days inventing new ways to pass the time - online parties with friends, ironic videos, films, lectures, free courses, chats and video calls. Others have decided to overcome fear by giving themselves the wellness they had always longed for, following rigorous diet, fitness and relaxation schedules. Many others have struggled to work from home in the company of flatmates, partners, children and all their online groups of teachers and classmates. However, in one way or another, those who did not suffer excruciating loss, were not impacted by the loss or reduced rate of work, or did not have to struggle alone with chronic disabilities, violent domestic environments or expired working visas, have acknowledged that real social isolation has hardly touched them. Because social distancing is not isolation. Those who self-isolate at their homes have a choice, while social isolation is the consequence of a long chain of cause and effect. It is like a bubble that makes people invisible. Whoever enters it believes simply to be lonely at first, while he is just not visible to the others, and gradually disappears. Long before the outbreak of COVID-19, there were thousands of invisible human beings in the UK, and at least 150 million people worldwide (UNHRSP). These people 1 JULY 2020
had already “learned to be alone” in harsh circumstances before the pandemic. And a vast number of them have stayed alone. In today’s society, the loss of homes as places of essential protection quickly leads to this type of loneliness and invisibility. According to the latest government figures published in February 2020 by the MHCLG (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government), there were an average 4,266 people sleeping rough on any given night in the UK between September and December 2019. While the general rough sleeping figures have increased by 141% since 2010.
“
According to the latest g in February 2020 by the MHCL munities and Local Governm 4,266 people sleeping rough between September and Dece Hidden homelessness is hardly recorded, but widespread. According to data from the charity Crisis, about 62% of single homeless people in the UK are invisible and may never show up in the government’s official figures. Yet, “rough sleeping is forecast to rise by 76 per cent in the next decade unless the government takes action to tackle it”. The hidden homeless are the most invisible. Also because they often wish to hide. They are generally traumatised, as many have escaped violent and abusive environments. Many of them are also migrants whose right
26
JUSTZINE
to remain in the UK has been denied, or with an NRPF (No Recourse to Public Funds) status, that casts them away from any hope of council housing. Crisis’ provisional figures are so high because they attempt to take into account the damage caused by the Government’s “hostile environment” strategy and the related implications on public housing, migration and refugee policies. To navigate the deluge of legislation, policies and measures that make the lives of migrants and asylum seekers harder in the UK, I asked Agnete Gribkowski, a passionate immigration lawyer, to
government figures published LG (Ministry of Housing, Comment), there were an average on any given night in the UK ember 2019.
”
comment. Since 2011 she has been at the frontline, assisting these policies’ particular target group, working alongside charities such as the Lewisham Refugee and Migrant Network, Praxis Community Projects and Law Centres. She sets out in detail a long list of measures that can lead migrants to job and housing loss. They are generally combined with the “lack of care taken in training Job Centre staff, that is arguably again part of what appears deliberate negligence with a hostile environment effect”. 1 JULY 2020
Her first-hand accounts clarify how, since 2012, the right to rent policy has led many landlords to “not even consider anyone without a British passport”. Meanwhile, the NRPF condition “which is placed on the visas of most non-European migrants”, means that even before the lockdown many families “lived in one room in shared houses, or found themselves in extremely precarious housing”. This policy was declared unlawful at the beginning of May. “But migrants must still apply to the Home Office to have this condition lifted - which people struggle to do without legal assistance.” Needless to say, no legal aid is available to them because it was withdrawn for all immigration cases (except asylum) in 2014. This lack of assistance is also part of the hostile environment. With the COVID-19 pandemic, “all of the precarity and hostility brought about by the above general policy agenda meant that migrants have been harder hit in terms of job loss, barriers to claiming public funds, and thus also homelessness”. The lack of workers’ rights in the types of jobs often filled by migrants (such as fake self-employment and zero-hours contract jobs) meant they were let go instead of being furloughed, “with all the pre-existing conditions of precarity exacerbating their situation”. As for the policies to stop evictions and the accommodation of rough sleepers in hotels, the lawyer highlights the following with respect to the period of government assistance, “they lasted only three months (unlike mortgage holidays) and evictions will start again this month”.
27
JUSTZINE
Nonetheless, some progress has been made with the last three months’ ‘Everyone Inside’ emergency measure. On March 26, Dame Louise Casey emailed an executive order to local authorities and homeless charities, triggering a coordinated chain reaction by charities and councils. In less than one week, 4,000 people were taken to London’s hotels and hostels in an extraordinary joint effort. During the lockdown, more than 5,400 rough sleepers found a bed in Holiday Inns, Travelodges and Ibis hotels all over England. Nominally, this operation was born to help any rough sleeper. The junior housing minister, Luke Hall, even wrote to local authorities (March 27) stressing that those with NRPF status should also be supported with emergency accommodations, but without explaining how. Now, there are many negative reports denouncing how Councils, in the absence of government guidance or funding, have dealt with migrant hidden homelessness. The charity EachOther, for instance, exposed how undocumented migrants were repeatedly “forced to sleep rough during the Coronavirus pandemic amid an increase in illegal evictions and a lack of government guidance”.
London and across the UK, have signed an open letter to local councils. They urge them not to evict homeless people with NRPF status from emergency accommodation. They also ask councils not to share the homeless people’s personal information with the Home Office without their consent, and to lobby for an end to the NRPF system.
If the Everyone Inside project brought 90% of the people known to be rough sleeping into hotels to quarantine, many invisibles still stayed invisible. Now that the lockdown is easing, it is vital to ensure that at the very least those who were housed keep their access to safe accommodation. Crisis, like many other organizations dealing with homelessness, has stated that “unless we do something now and enact long-term as well as short-term solutions, this progress will slip”. Citizens UK, a leading community organising network, has written an open letter to point out that any extended housing support “will only be available to those who qualify for welfare benefits.” A fact that, in some areas, could lead to up to 50% of those currently housed returning to the streets. Meanwhile, more than a hundred charities, campaign groups, lawyers and local councillors providing accommodation and support to those facing destitution, in every area of 1 JULY 2020
28
As migrant homeless people face, on a daily basis, all the typical dangers and traumas of homelessness plus others, the solutions to foreign nationals’ homelessness must start the same way as for any other rough sleeper. Therefore, homeless charities urge the set of policies that stand in their way to be changed. On a daily basis, migrant homeless people face suspicion about their motives, exclusion from support services and the JUSTZINE
pressure from the constant threat of remov- of his behaviours and identity, and the homeal from the country in which they live. The lessness, can be extremely damaging. political agenda of the hostile environment severely affects them. As countless cultural and psychological case studies have widely demonstrated, the psyBesides, it is also vital to recognise that mi- chological identity of a subject is closely regrants can have their own specific needs, in lated to their socio-cultural one. The creation order to break down language and cultural over time of a personal and cultural identity barriers and recover from the trauma they depends on spatial references. “To be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognised need of the human soul”, stated November 2008; Roma Termini Simone Weil. And she was so right. All those Station, Rome, Italy: A homeless who, voluntarily or not, leave their home of migrant sleeps at the entrance origin find themselves dealing with different of a shop. degrees of liminality. This is true for asylum seekers and migrants but, in general, for all those who experience social isolation and lose their home. These people may risk their lives to remain in a limbo, an intermediate position between two defined social roles, the old one they are abandoning and the new one they should acquire. And this natural way to process changes, if turned into an endless circle, can cause deep displacement and alienation. The homeless person’s unspoken need to find reference points and to be recognised by a group, rather than being isolated, is a crucial element for those who want to safeguard their mental health.
may have experienced both at home and in the UK. Therefore, giving a home to a person who has been repeatedly displaced means giving him or her a new identity, not just another chance. Talking about homelessness or migration, people often think of groups rather than individuals. In doing so we often forget that the refugee or the migrant in question is a man, a woman, a child - with a personal baggage of memories, hopes and disillusions. The repeated displacements he goes through, plus the daily questioning of 1 JULY 2020
When I ask Jane, a young migrant from Central Asia who lives and studies in a female hostel in London, what she would do if she lost her place there, initially she does not understand my question. But she is not lost in translation. She thinks my question “doesn’t make any sense”. Because that is an impossible hypothesis to her. “I never thought about it. And I don’t think it will ever happen. But if something like this happens, I know the social workers and friends here will always help me to find another place.” At the hostel, she has not merely found a roof and a bit of company. She has found her reference group. Here she is choosing her future, working to achieve her goals inside the safety net of the community of women that surrounds her. Those who decided to trust the volunteers and social workers who brought them to a hostel three months ago may have felt reluctant and fearful. However, they pushed
29
JUSTZINE
those fears. Now that they have started to involved parties lamented a lack of legislacreate their own safety net in a comfort tion with a clear strategy. zone, sending them back to the street would The new funds are a relief as they buy this be a disaster. government a little more time. Thanks to Today is June 24, 2020. As I finalise the writ- the pandemic, and the results of the iming of this article, the MHCLG informs the na- pressively quick collaboration by social tion that the Treasury has just granted ÂŁ 105 workers, charities and Councils, the Governmillion of new funds to provide interim sup- ment must acknowledge that there really port for 15,000 vulnerable people accom- is a chance to act, to develop coordinated modated during the pandemic and “keep strategies to fight both statutory and hidden homelessness. Today there is a chance to rough sleepers safe and off the streetsâ€?. create a truly virtuous system of laws that, Three years ago, the government imple- for example, restores the LHA (Local Housmented the Homelessness Reduction Act ing Allowance) rates and put an end to the and described it as a crucial part of its strat- unlawful NRPF system. This government has egy to prevent homelessness. After more the opportunity to redeem itself from past than two years and before this pandemic, policies by creating a fair system able to prehomelessness was not decreasing, people vent statutory and hidden homelessness, all threatened with homelessness kept losing the while paving the path for homeless peotheir homes, councils kept struggling to pro- ple to be free from social isolation and claim their civil rights again. vide personalised support, and all the
November 2019; Victoria Line, London, UK: Hands can always tell you a story. These are the hands of a South American migrant worker I used to meet early in the morning, while commuting to work.
1 JULY 2020
30
JUSTZINE
Homeless A basic An essential A place to lay A safe space go A growing place A room A mansion Somewhere to be To rest my head and to meditate Why would you take this A person forsake this Wander the streets Rather than still their weary feet Who broke him Why is he so alone Disconnected Difficult and rejected One of the Invisible and discounted He breaths my friend He’s of blood and bone He has feelings Don’t you know? Broken His-story unspoken Who are you to judge From your perched comfort zone For a moment stand in his shoes and As if you were he Imagine desirably Eurydice Caldwell
1 JULY 2020
31
JUSTZINE
The Wealthy Beggar Extract By Jenny Bardoville
1.
Once upon a time, there lived a man called Joe who owned a fabulous fortune, but he didn’t know it. So, even though he was very wealthy, he lived in a wooden box, in a dark corner, on a dark street, in a rather sad part of town.
wooden box and, as he left it, the whole thing folded up and disappeared into a speck of dust. In the dream, Joe wasn’t frightened or upset because somehow he knew that the box wasn’t his real home. In the distance, Joe saw a huge mansion on a hill that was shining in a beautiful kind of light. Joe instantly knew that this was his real home and he made his way towards it with a warm feeling in his heart. Very quickly he was at the door; a big door painted red. Sweet music was coming from somewhere that he couldn’t locate; not that he wanted to. It all felt quite mysterious, but at the same time wonderful and perfect. Just as the door was about to open, he woke up.
A long time before he had begun to live in that box, he was in search of something. He hadn’t known exactly what he was looking for, but he knew it was something great, something more valuable than gold, more precious than diamonds, and even brighter than sunshine. Lately, however, he had stopped looking and had nearly forgotten all about the dream that had made him Joe sighed because he realised it was only want to leave his old life behind. a dream. The warm feeling faded as he Most days, Joe begged other people sat up on his hard bed. for what he needed--money, food, and clothes. He was also lonely and really wished he had someone to talk to in his wooden box. Often, he would go to sleep cold, hungry and alone. He had been poor for as long as he cared to remember, and he had nearly forgotten everything that had happened before he arrived on this street. If only he could remember that he was a wealthy man with all the comfort a wealthy man has. If only he could remember to continue looking for his dream. One day, after many years, Joe was so sick and tired of living the way he did that he really wished things would just change. Joe wished he had a proper roof over his head, and a family to share meals with, and at least one good friend who would visit him. It was that night that Joe had this wonderful dream: In his dream, Joe got up from his little 1 JULY 2020
32
JUSTZINE
Joe was no longer frightened, although he was still a bit puzzled. ‘I’m Joe’, he managed to say. ‘Pleased to meet you, Joe’, Rodders replied and put his hand out to shake Joe’s. It was so long since anyone had shaken Joe’s hand that it took him a few seconds to remember what to do. In fact, he squeezed a bit too hard, but Rodders didn’t seem to mind. ‘I am new in town and I wondered if you might show me around. I figured that you’d know the town better than most people and you might even enjoy some company; I know I would.’ Joe thought Rodders was definitely from out of town if he would want a homeless person for company but, as you know, he really did want some company so, he agreed to show the stranger around and about.
2.
‘Before we set out, let’s eat a little breakfast’, Rodders said, and out of a large pocket he produced a couple of tangerines, and a litre ‘If only what?’ came a voice from outside his bottle of water. ‘Fancy sharing?’ box. Startled, Joe jumped. He stayed quiet, wondering if he really had heard the voice. Joe clapped his hands together ‘Yes, please!’ ‘If only what?’ the voice asked again. ‘Who is that?’ Joe asked nervously. ‘Come out After they had finished breakfast, Joe sugand see,’ came the reply. Even though Joe gested showing Rodders the high street, so was still a little nervous, he slowly put his off they went. On the way, Joe showed Rodhead out of the hole at the front of his box, ders his favourite places to sit in the suncurious as to where the voice was coming shine, especially on a cold day. He knew all from and to whom it belonged. Nobody the streets and where they led, the parks was there. Joe chuckled to himself and said, and shops and what were in them, and the ‘Wow, I must be imagining things,’ and he local offices and when they had break time, began to get up and stretch his morning and he might get a spare cigarette. stretch. ‘What things have you been imagining?’ There it was again, but Joe couldn’t When the two had walked around for an see anyone. ‘Who’s there?’ Joe insisted. hour or two, Joe sat down on the bench that ‘Where are you? What are you doing here? was most bathed in sunshine at his most faWhat do you want?’ vourite of places; in the ornamented garden ‘Hello there. Here I am,’ said the voice. Joe of one of the parks. twisted round to see a young man with dark skin and a big smile. ‘Sorry to startle ‘If only’ Joe said, quietly. you. Good morning, my name is Rodney, ‘If only what?’ Rodders asked him. though I prefer to be called Rodders.’
It might seem strange to you, but because Joe just shook his head trying to pretend it Rodder’s voice was so calm and welcoming, was nothing. ‘Oh, it’s just a wish’. 1 JULY 2020
33
JUSTZINE
‘Come on now,’ Rodders said looking straight at Joe, ‘out with it’. ‘Well, I had a wonderful dream last night and ....’ Joe realised Rodders was actually interested in what he had to say, ‘... well, I wish I knew how to turn my life around, for the better, you know. I only seem to make my life worse and worse.’ ‘Hmm, I know what you mean.’ Rodders was quietly thinking back to when he had gone through a difficult time. Then he smiled that big welcoming smile of his and said ‘Perhaps I can help. Would you like that?’ ‘How can you help?’ Joe asked him, intrigued as to what he might suggest.
Read the full story at: www.padlet.com
1 JULY 2020
34
JUSTZINE
Ealing Soup Kitchen By Laura James
I
n 1973 Ealing Soup Kitchen was a mod- you through this, but this [smaller] problem, est van serving food to homeless people on this will go away’. He calls this element of his the streets of West London. Fast forward role the ‘picking up the pieces stuff, stuff no 40+ years and the Soup Kitchen is an official one else is really doing because it requires a Charity with two ‘Hubs’ at St John’s Church lot of time and patience.’ and Salvation Army Hall. At the Hubs, clients can not only get a hot meal, but also have a Ealing Soup Kitchen also support homeless shower, pick up some clothes and get a hairpeople by giving them the opportunity to cut. However, in light of the volunteer at the Hubs. Andrew pandemic, a lot of the Soup explains that they ‘prefer for Kitchen’s key services have To see homeless people to volunteer had to be modified. I went as most of these guys need a along to St John’s Church and someone who leg up. So if we can give them a spoke with Andrew, the sole bit of a hand by giving them a member of staff at the Soup feels loved Kitchen, and Alan, a Trustee for bit of responsibility, and somethe Charity, about the servic- enough that they thing to do, it gives them that es provided and how they are first element of work expericoping during the pandemic. can go out on ence.’ He goes on to say that by volunteering they learn ‘what More than just soup their own and it’s like to work in a team and A key service that Ealing Soup feeling equal with people, and Kitchen provides is giving meals make decisions... usually that’s enough to kick to homeless people and those start people. They think cool in need at their Hubs. Yet, they that’s a real I’m gonna look for a house go beyond this by providing an now, I’m ok. We’ve had that privilege. advocacy service to clients, deand that’s incredible.’ livered by Andrew. Andrew primarily helps with Universal Credit and beneBy providing this service Andrew hopes to fits claims, opening packages and mail with empower his clients to lead a better life. He clients (especially for those that can’t read), says that ‘what’s most important is love and registering them for the GP and helping them being loved.’ In this context, love is what ento find housing. He explains that ‘a lot of the ables people to make good decisions about time the stuff they are worried about is everytheir lives. He says: ‘To see someone who day stuff, that we all get anxious about’ such feels loved enough that they can go out on as a missed phone bill or a small fine. their own and make decisions - that previFor those that are homeless these issues can ously they wouldn’t be able to make because be magnified and Andrew comments that the they are so consumed by the fog of life, anxiety and stress from these smaller issues choices, and all the things that blind us and can be severe. He tells me that ‘we just try make us anxious and sad - that’s a real privand put things in perspective. Of course your ilege. Once you build somebody up enough, life right now is horrible and we want to help they are enabled to do those things.’
“
”
1 JULY 2020
35
JUSTZINE
Below: Andrew
Changes to services during the pandemic In light of social distancing regulations, I asked Andrew if he is still able to provide an advocacy service to his clients. He tells me that people can no longer drop in to talk with him face to face, and they can no longer offer homeless people voluntary positions. However, they are giving out mobile phones so that he and Alan can still communicate with clients. He explains that they now call people and ask ‘how are you today? What can we do for you? A lot of it is just well wishing really, we advocate on their behalf to places like the council – but that’s all we can really do. The clients are very sympathetic, they understand there’s not a lot we can do at this time.’ Another way in which they have adapted to the challenges of social distancing is by providing meals for takeaway instead of everyone eating together inside the Hubs. They are still running takeaway services on Monday evenings at Salvation Army Hall where they feed about one hundred and fifty people. Then on Saturday and Sunday evenings they operate from St John’s Church where they feed over one hundred people per evening. Amazingly, Ealing Soup Kitchen have also been able to widen their remit of support at this time. They are now supporting the wider local community through delivering food and groceries. This food, which is packed and 1 JULY 2020
sorted by a dedicated team of volunteers at St John’s Church, is then taken to hostels, elderly people, their own volunteers who have been ill with Coronavirus, and people who have given consistent financial support to the Soup Kitchen over the years who themselves are not in a healthy financial state. Andrew remarks that it feels good to be able to give back to the wider community at this time.
Increasing challenges during the pandemic Both Andrew and Alan tell me that they have seen an increase in the number of people needing to use the Soup Kitchen’s services in recent times, with Alan exclaiming ‘it’s nonstop. It’s a growing thing’. It is not surprising that in this period of crisis more people are losing their jobs and unable to pay rent – thus becoming homeless or entering unstable accommodation. Andrew says that ‘there are so many people now who’ve never been in this position before’. He gives an example of a man who used to be banker and had previously been very wealthy, but since the pandemic he is having to rely on the Soup Kitchen and food banks. Andrew comments that it is particularly saddening to see people who once had everything, to now being in a vulnerable position. He tells me that ‘the look on their faces is horrific because it’s one thing when you’re homeless and you know you’re homeless. There’s a sadness there when you genuinely believe you’re untouchable and think t happens 36
JUSTZINE
this won’t happen to you, and then it happens to you. You can see it on their faces that their whole world has just gone. It’s like someone has punched you in the face and its permanent, you know, it’s really really tough to see that’. The pandemic has also affected families, with both men telling me that before Coronavirus, families with children would never use the Soup Kitchen – but now it is necessary. Andrew explains that parents used to avoid coming to the Soup Kitchen with their children as the environment could sometimes be uncomfortable. He tells me that ‘it’s hard embracing a place like this because it’s not easy, it’s not pretty’. But now because of the challenging circumstances, parents are having to use the Soup Kitchen’s takeaway and delivery services in order to feed themselves and their children. Andrew explains that the delivery service has been very beneficial to families and to people who wouldn’t normally come into the Soup Kitchen because of a sense of pride. But now that people can get food delivered Andrew says that ‘they can still feel that sense of normality and still get fed and not feel like they have to rely on charity. Because a lot of people are proud, they don’t necessarily want to rely on charity, they want to do things themselves’.
are seeing. Its brought a lot more community spirit.’ Alan goes on to say that he has witnessed members of the community picking people up from the street and taking them in their car to the Soup Kitchen to get them help. He proclaims: ‘Before that was unheard of, you wouldn’t put them in your car and drive them anywhere you know?’. But now people in the community are noticing those who are living on the streets and starting to help them. They are no longer being ignored. And it is imperative that we all keep this attitude alive and take responsibility to help those around us, because as Alan says, the Soup Kitchen is ‘a sticking plaster. It’s the community that will demand and make change’. Below: Alan
A supportive community Although there is so much negativity to come from the pandemic, one amazing thing both Andrew and Alan tell me is that it has brought about a stronger sense of responsibility in the local community to care for those living on the streets. Alan tells me: ‘I think if anything, Covid has improved people’s attitude. I mean the number of people now that’ll message us and say we’ve seen this guy such and such is homeless. Then we’ve gone out and found people and got them into accommodation just from people starting to respond to what they 1 JULY 2020
37
JUSTZINE
Above: Andrew Below and Right: Volunteers
1 JULY 2020
38
JUSTZINE
1 JULY 2020
39
JUSTZINE
Living on the Street By Laura James
M
y conversation with Alan, the Trustee for Ealing Soup Kitchen, shed some light on the challenges that come with living on the street. Alan himself was previously homeless for three years and it was with the help of Ealing Soup Kitchen that he was able to get off the streets. He talks to me about his own experiences and the general experience of what being homeless is like for many people.
Isolation ‘The isolation is dangerous. You got a choice of hanging around with groups where there are a lot of drink and drug problems, or you’re pretty much on your own. You have no interaction with ordinary people, you become invisible really. People will walk past you and they won’t see you. You don’t exist.’
Sleeping and Food ‘You never get enough sleep. You have to wait about an hour after the pubs shut as that’s a dangerous time, when people come out of pubs. Then about five o’clock the traffic will start. You get this very short amount of sleep which does affect you – that can seriously affect you physically and mentally. And you can’t cook so you are reliant on places like this [Ealing soup kitchen]. You won’t be able to go in a restaurant or a café, they will block you at the door if they think you are homeless. So, you become reliant to survive, you lose the ability to think independently. It’s almost an institutionalised situation.’
“
You never get enough sleep. Yo
the pubs shut as that’s a dangerou
pubs. Then about 5 o’clock the traffic
”
amount of sleep which does affect physically and mentally. Responsibility
‘I was on the street for nearly three years and Andy’s predecessor got me off the street and housing. She was a strong believer in idle hands… so she got people doing things, and it grew from there. [Volunteering] gives you a bit of responsibility back. Which you don’t have when you are on the street, you aren’t responsible for anything. That responsibility kick-starts you into a normal way of thinking and acting.’
Anger
Stigma ‘A lot of people look at the people on the street and think they are drinking, that’s why they are there. They are doing drugs, that’s why they are there. A lot of people weren’t alcoholics or drug addicts until they got on the street because it kills the day – every day 1 JULY 2020
is the same. When you see it stretching into infinity and there is no light at the end of the tunnel people just sink into despair. It’s not that they don’t value life, they just don’t care. There is nothing for them, so once that sets in, you see people deteriorate all of a sudden. If society takes away your value as a human being and they do it enough times, that’s what you will turn into - you don’t believe you are of any value. It’s very hard.’
40
‘People on the street tend to lose all their self-confidence and it’s very easy to replace that by being angry. You go down the street and you see someone homeless and somebody says something and their reaction is well over the top. But they don’t JUSTZINE
know how to deal with it any other way. They go into total despair or it’s anger that keeps them going.’
Young People ‘If you get someone young and they are on the street, you gotta get them off quick because after a certain time it becomes that blur from one day to the next. London is a magnet for people, it’s all kids from Liverpool
ou have to wait about an hour after
us time, when people come out of
c will start, so you get this very short you – that can seriously affect you and Newcastle. They have this idea if they go to London, it’ll be great and their life will turn around and it’ll be wonderful. Then they get here and it’s the middle of winter and it’s pouring of rain and they don’t know anybody. People could come from dysfunctional families, or they are a little bit dysfunctional themselves and life is difficult. The bright lights of London, they see if on the telly, but they don’t realise that’s only a little piece and the majority of London is the same as where they have come from. But they don’t know anybody.’
1 JULY 2020
Andrew’s painting of a client at Ealing Soup Kitchen
41
JUSTZINE
Through Lands and Seas By Sabrina Merolla
Portraits from Sabrina Merolla’s immersive multimedia exhibition Through Lands and Seas. With the help of a small and darkened room, torches, a projector, a mirror and the sounds produced by the Electro-Acoustic Non-Collective NISE, the work immersed the audience into sounds, lights, sensations and images connected to the journey of hope of many non-European migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. The printed pictures were portraits of asylum seekers involved in “The Adventure of Tin”, a craftsmanship workshop for a group of non-EU political refugees led by the well-known Italian Arte Povera movement representative Riccardo Dalisi, together with the cultural association Samp e Diop.
1 JULY 2020
42
JUSTZINE
1 JULY 2020
43
JUSTZINE
1 JULY 2020
44
JUSTZINE
1 JULY 2020
45
JUSTZINE
Lonely • A Photo Story By Urmila Nagarkoti
1 JULY 2020
Sit on the bench and think about beautiful healing words.
The be and yo truth;
About life.
Life f
46
JUSTZINE
eautiful sound of a waterfall, ou really feel you found the ;
flows like water.
1 JULY 2020
Life is never the same. Look at this picture: what do you see? Some of them are growing up, while the others are already dead.
47
JUSTZINE
When I feel lonely I go to the garden and see beautiful colorful flowers everywhere. I am happy in the garden, I simply forget the past. And I can have a new start. A new growth changes my life.
1 JULY 2020
48
JUSTZINE
Lay down on the grass, and look up to the blue sky. You can bring your truth, a dream.
Life is a short journey. Sometimes you go up and sometimes you go down. But any dream you have can always come true.
1 JULY 2020
49
JUSTZINE
When I feel lonely I come here, think about myself, and deeply feel about MY DREAMS.
1 JULY 2020
50
JUSTZINE
Build on your beautiful colorful life.
1 JULY 2020
51
JUSTZINE
The Politicisation of UK Foreign Aid? By Helena Neeson
I
gnoring recent expert advice, the Government plans to merge the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the internationally respected Department for International Development (known as DfID) by September 2020. The new office will be referred to as the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. At first glance this may appear to be another pointless Government reorganisation but the merger threatens to politicise and commercialise the UK’s provision of foreign aid. The FCO exists to protect and further the UK’s interests overseas. DfID is the Government department responsible for the UK’s response globally to issues such as “poverty and disease, mass migration, insecurity and conflict”. Although badged as a merger or integration of foreign aid and foreign policy departments, the Guardian anticipates that “DfID will undoubtedly lose its authority, influence and unique identity”. The new office will have to balance foreign policy and the provision of foreign aid but which will win out? Given that Boris Johnson said the merger will ensure “maximum value” for British taxpayers, the scales do not appear to tip in foreign aid’s favour. It is vital that we understand how this “maximum value” is defined and measured. The potential risk without appropriate oversight? A conflict of interest waiting to happen. That is aid being directed to countries based on diplomatic or security agendas, rather than to those who need it most. With respect to spending transparency the Foreign Office has a poor reputation, a stark contrast to DfID. In the 2018 Aid Transparency Index DfID ranked 3rd of forty-five
1 JULY 2020
organisations (placing it in the ‘very good’ category, the highest classification awarded) while the Foreign Office was ranked 40th (within the ‘poor’ category). In light of this, it is unsurprising that the merger has been widely criticised by foreign aid agencies. In response to the merger Kevin Watkins, Chief Executive of Save the Children, stated on their website, “During the biggest humanitarian crisis in a century, when the Covid-19 pandemic is reversing hard won gains in child and maternal health, education, and poverty, this is a baffling and deeply damaging move”. I spoke to Oslo based psychiatrist Doctor Peter McGovern who before the announcement of the merger was in the process of applying for DfID funding, specifically mental health grants, to expand an ongoing project in Zanzibar. He was advised last week however that all mental health grants have been put on hold until the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is formed, therefore jeopardising the possibility of providing this mental health work unless other funding is found. Dr McGovern advised that there is no other mental health focused donor similar to DfID to plug the funding gap, putting mental health related aid work at risk. This one experience begs the question of how many other projects will be delayed as a result of this merger? DfID’s website states, “Our work is building a safer, healthier, more prosperous world for people in developing countries and in the UK too”. Does this now need to be caveated with *provided the UK needs something from those countries too.”?
52
JUSTZINE
“
The new office will be referred to as the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. At first glance this may appear to be another pointless Government reorganisation but the merger threatens to politicise and commercialise the UK’s provision of foreign aid.
1 JULY 2020
”
53
JUSTZINE
Shops Reopening By Gemma Mancinelli
1 JULY 2020
54
JUSTZINE
1 JULY 2020
55
JUSTZINE
1 JULY 2020
56
JUSTZINE
1 JULY 2020
57
JUSTZINE
Disclaimer & Copyright Just Zine has made all the possible care to ensure that content is accurate on the date of publication. The views expressed in the articles, photo stories and other editorial content reflect the author(s) opinions and do not necessarily are the views of the publisher and editor. The published material, editorials and all other content is published in a good faith. Just Zine cannot guarantee and accepts no liability for any loss or damage of any kind caused by this publication. All rights reserved and nothing can be partially or in whole be reprinted or reproduced without a written consent. On the Just Zine you might find links to other websites, third- party content and advertising. By reading the publication and using our website you acknowledge that and agree that Just Zine cannot be held responsible and shall not be liable for content of other websites and other resources. Just Zine reserves the right to make changes to any information on this site without a notice. No person, organisation or party can copy or re-produce the content on this site and/or magazine or any part of this publication without a written consent from the editors’ panel and the author of the content, as applicable. The publisher (photojournalismhub.org), authors and contributors reserve their rights with regards to copyright of their work. The copyrightincludes (and not limited to) The content and/or images used in any of the articles of this publication The Just Zine Magazine logo and any of its derivatives The content on the Just Zine magazine and its website are made available on the terms and condition that the publisher, editors, contributors and related parties: shall have no responsibility for any action or omission by any other contributor, consultant, editor or related party disclaim any and all liability and responsibility to any person or party, be they a purchaser, reader, advertiser or consumer of this publication or not in regards to the consequences and outcomes of anything done or omitted being in reliance whether partly or solely on the contents of this publication and related website and products. are not responsible in any way for the actions or results taken any person, organisation or any party on basis of reading information, or contributions in this publication, website or related product. If you have any questions about this policy, you may contact admin@photojournalismhub.org
1 JULY 2020
58
JUSTZINE
JUST ZINE ©Just Zine
1 JULY 2020
59
JUSTZINE