DEAR News Of The Area,

I HAVE had some close encounters with people living rough lately.

Homeless women over 50 living in their van or car.

It wasn’t till I shared my house and heard the life experiences of these modern-day gypsies, I realised how hard we make life for these people.

The current rental market is locking them out, with a shortage of affordable, available places and stringent rental conditions.

What may have been a temporary solution, to buy a van and set up home in it, often becomes a lifestyle difficult to escape, that goes on for years and years.

This leads to lack of sleep, security, accompanying anxiety and of course lack of access to basic facilities like showers, toilets, and washing machines.

Bad weather or a bout of illness becomes so much harder to bear.

There is often loneliness and disconnection when people shun them and a spiral of depression can begin.

We separate ourselves from them with our labels and concepts.

It was pointed out to me that even these terms – living rough, or homeless – carry heavy negative connotations.

It is easy to think of our folk in vans, as unemployable, unbalanced and perhaps even dangerous.

When in fact they are our brothers and sisters merely struggling in an unfair society.

A society which is led by greed and selfishness and has lost its duty of care for fellow travellers who have hit a bumpy patch.

A few more people are becoming obscenely wealthy while more and more are becoming homeless.

Many of our politicians own 10 houses or more.

As we sit back and watch the telly or plug into our favourite evening relaxation, take a moment to think what would it be like to be curling up in a cramped space alone with everything you own, carefully arranged so you can survive another night in your small cocoon you have managed to keep you safe.

Regards,
Louise CRANNY,
Kalang.