Firms should put cash into helping homeless

WE are writing to express our deep concern regarding Business Improvement District FOR Cardiff’s reported decision “to fund and recruit two police constables from South Wales Police to tackle problems including aggressive begging” (Tuesday, September 4).

On the face of it, it would appear a business organisation has been afforded the opportunity to “hire” police officers to address its immediate commercial priorities. Not only do we find this morally problematic, but also take it as a direct intrusion into social policy.

After all, if the BIDFC can elect to pay for enforcement, why can they not subsidise outreach, substance support and homelessness services? We can only suggest a perverse logic whereby assistance and compassion are taken as a further incentive for “anti-social behaviour”.

Austerity connotes a transfer of power from poor to rich, public to private. This agreement strikes us as a particularly distasteful illustration of the outcomes that can ensue. It is especially worrying as homelessness is being directly caused by austerity measures such as welfare reform. A report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission shows that disabled people, the elderly and lone parents will suffer financial losses far greater than the general population under reforms introduced in recent years.

People do not opt for a career in homelessness or begging, and the suggestion that the very act of asking for help, no matter how polite, is aggressive, shows a fear of our most vulnerable on the basis of being poor. In the past homelessness has been seen as a moral failing, but thankfully we are moving past these prejudices. As Shelter notes, there is a complex interplay between personal and structural reasons for finding yourself in that position, both of which can be completely out of your control. For example, homelessness charity St Mungo’s reported that 32% of the women they work with, and 8% of men, said domestic abuse contributed to their homelessness.

Cardiff businesses have an opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of these issues and show some social solidarity. Similarly, South Wales Police might consider whether it is wise to put officers out to tender.

For the sake of the city’s poorest, let us hope that they can rise to the challenge.

Joy Coughlan – Cardiff & Vale Welsh Labour Grass Roots Julie Morgan AM Bethan Sayed AM Shavannah Taj – Wales Secretary, Public & Commercial Services Union Cerith Griffiths – Wales Secretary, Fire Brigades Union Claudia Boes – Women’s Strike Assembly Cymru Peter Davies - Cardiff County Unison Chair IWW Wales