Another week, and, many believe, another in a series of homeless people's deaths caused by living rough...
"My nephew was living homeless in Manchester city centre and was on the drug Spice" says Simon Williams "On Thursday night he was taken to North Manchester Hospital, where his family spent the night with him. On Friday morning, he sadly passed away, age 35..."
According to a volunteer worker* at the Booth Centre which deals with the city's homeless, this is the time of year for homeless deaths...
"They don't open up emergency shelters unless the temperature falls below 0° for two consecutive nights" she says "Like, when you're piss wet through and have had no sleep, can you tell the difference between 2° and -1°? Of course you can't!
"The problem is that most people end up with addictions because they are homeless, not the other way around" she explains "We had one die this week. Spice is evil; Christ knows what they put in it but for a fiver a bag it's got to be bad.
"They use Spice because it's cheap, easily available and spaces them out for an hour" she adds "Sadly they usually get aggressive afterwards. Half a bottle of vodka will get them to sleep for the night because they are usually just topping up. The answer, of course, lies in legalising drugs and getting people using clean stuff until they can start recovering."
She estimates that around eighty per cent of British people on local streets are there because of mental health issues... "None of them are homeless out of choice"...The other twenty per cent are people who were living rough but now have hostel places or assisted living. The rest, she says, are foreigners who have come here hoping for something better.
"More and more homeless are gravitating to Manchester because of Andy Burnham's promises of help" she adds "In all fairness they are trying but the job is getting bigger and bigger. Manchester also has a huge amount of centres where people can get food, clothes, haircuts and help with benefits advice and repatriation, and provides places that feel safe and are not judgemental.
"Just giving them a flat isn't the answer" she adds "They need help and social care to get into a position where they can cope with the reality of paying bills, banking, budgeting and more...but the Tories are stripping back funding for social care, the NHS and local councils. They have blood on their hands."
Simon, who is mourning his nephew, says that this latest fatality brings the total of homeless deaths he has heard about to four in the last month...
"There has been no mention of this in any of the local media" he says "Now, either the councils, hospitals and Greater Manchester Police are covering it up, or it is a strange coincidence. This is probably going on in every big city in the country, and, for me, it is just being covered up.
"Homelessness should be a thing of the past; for Christ's sake we are living in 2018 and not the times of Charles Dickens" he adds "When will people wake up and put an end to this? Surely to cover up one death is bad enough, but four since Christmas? In my eyes questions need answering.
"Didn't Andy Burnham, Greater Manchester Mayor, get in on promises to help the homeless?" he asks "Mr Mayor, we need action not false promises...and an end to what I believe is a cover up of the misery on our streets..."
* Update: 30th January 2018 - we have been asked to point out that the volunteer at the Booth Centre does not represent the official views of the Centre
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