WE’VE all heard reports about lifestyle beggars dropping their cars off before heading into town to collect money on the streets, but do we believe them?
Lib Dem Cllr Ashley Mason appears to. He reckons York looks scruffy because of beggars and is being overrun at nights with these ‘intimidating’ people.
Luke Elliott of Food Not Bombs, which cooks free suppers for the homeless begs to differ. He says the council has declared war on people who live on the streets. The infamous bars on Rougier Street benches were the first shots across the bows and now unhelpful comments threaten to escalate matters.
No one lives rough through choice. Rather than ignoring the problem we should be working with charities to find solutions that help people who are down on their luck, as well as those who would like to see them off the streets for less altruistic reasons.
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