Soup Kitchens: A Way Forward (Homelessness and street begging)

Member Name: Deetcm

Product:	Homelessness and street begging
Date:	05/10/08 (126 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: There to provide services to those who most need them

Disadvantages: Bias says none!

To be honest, it had never occurred to me that anyone would be against giving people support who presented themselves as being homeless. This notion was first brought to my attention when I read an article in the Big Issue detailing how the government was against soup kitchens.

Initially, I was disgusted by the sentiments expressed by those in a position to change the lives of those who needed their help most. However, as I read the comments and lines of reasoning, I tried to look at it from a different point of view.

Firstly, it is said that the soup kitchens encourage homeless people to stay in their situation. This, they say, is a bi-product of offering the services of a soup kitchen. For example, those that are homeless develop a sense of dependency on the soup kitchens.

Secondly, by having the soup kitchens, it is suggested that those who access the services are not encouraged to do something for themselves other than rely on handouts to survive. The soup kitchens indirectly promote inertia.

Even though I do not agree wholeheartedly with the views expressed, I do think that they hold some validity. It is important that those amongst us who feel a sense of wanting to do something for marginalised members of society do something which enables them to help themselves.

At soup kitchens, there should be information about other services available and how they can be accessed. For example information about: Emergency and short-term accommodation; access to health care; sources of money; employment opportunities. It is important that soup kitchens don't just exist to fulfil the needs of those running them.

However, I think that closing them all down would be a sad shame and would mean that homeless people would have to resort to other methods - usually crime or begging - upon which neither are favourably looked.

In an ideal world, the soup kitchens would have a representative there from an organisation such as Job Centre+, Connexions, Housing, NHS Direct. This would make the soup kitchens far more effective and less likely to receive negative press.

Summary: Are they really so bad?