Plight of homeless

Some of us will be enjoying Christmas and, sadly, there are others whose lives are disrupted simply because they have not been able to find a home by December 24.

This is the date that probably more than one person in Whanganui has been given to vacate their rental property. There are property managers who will say these people do not meet the standards required.

There is minimal emergency housing in Whanganui and, I understand, at present no vacancies. No surprise, then, if some of these people end up on the street to join the multitude of homeless.

Some of our loved ones are not able to live with their families owing to past events. If medication is missed they become irrational and

unpredictable, meaning another person’s life is at risk.

Therefore, because they have not been able to find accommodation and it is unsafe for them to be living with, in particular, a single elderly female member of the family, where do they go?

It might be preferable to have our loved ones housed in a supervised environment, but it is not always possible, as they have to agree to it. They also need to meet certain criteria — for example, a court order because they have physically hurt somebody.

If they murder a loved one, they will go to jail — and, guess what, have a home. A sad sequence of events, wouldn’t you say?