Following our latest event, we have collected all the points made during the day by the speaker and the audience.
- We live in a society where the gap between the rich and poor is ever increasing and we seem to accept that as normal
- As a society we need to switch our empathy back on. This can be helped by remembering homelessness isn’t something that only happens to other people or is a character flaw. It could affect any person and is an issue of social policy failure.
- We also need to build empathy into our systems, to ensure they act as the safety net for people who are going through tough times.
- Lived experience is really key in creating empathy between service deliverer and user, but class difference continues to be a barrier.
- Availability of good quality housing and support through services and also the community is important but continues to be an issue. Affordability is a problem for many and it seems we are building the wrong type of housing in Manchester (not affordable) and not using all of our buildings to address the issue of homelessness.
- Should we give money to people who are homeless? No right or wrong answer. Think about what you would want if you were in that position. But if you don’t want to give directly, there are charities to donate to. Interestingly most of the panel said they have given money directly (including Anthony who had previously been homeless).
- Politics is the answer but we have become apathetic as a society.
- Differing views about the language we use around homelessness – does it matter?
- Need to think about how we get the film out wider
- Man on tram – homeless people make a lot of money – based on TV and newspaper articles