Homelessness in Stroud Green

Lololala · November 2012

Here is part of an email I received from the local Lib Dem Councillor about homelessness in the Stroud Green Ward: Hi. I'm one of the local councillors who represents Stroud Green. A few weeks ago you spoke to a colleague of mine who was collecting petition signatures on Florence Road about your concerns about drug dealing nearby - and about the homeless woman who has sleeping and setting fires in the area. Thanks for raising these concerns with me. I've alerted the local community police to this intelligence and the Council's anti-social behaviour team. I've given them your contact details in case they want to get in touch - I hope this is ok. There is a local policing meeting soon and I will raise these issues there too. A good number of local residents have raised concerns about the homeless woman Sally who often takes drugs, lights fires and sleeps under the arches of the Parkland Walk. Over the last few months I have been battling to get help for her - and action to stop her anti-social behaviour in the neighbourhood. Sally is a client of Islington mental health services as she is from Islington and I'm told she has a place in a hostel at Angel. I have been lobbying Islington hard to intervene more - however I'm told she refuses help and the social workers do not believe she is ill enough for them to take her to hospital against her will. The situation is very frustrating as she is incredibly vulnerable - so any evidence of her behaviour is very helpful in demonstrating she needs help. Please do let me know if you see her doing anything that you think would help make this case. If you have any information to add please email him on richard.wilson@haringeylibdems.org or tel 02083417052

ashman · November 2012

Does this have anything to do with the guy outside tesco? The one with the dog, the blue tent he used to sleep in was burnt down i think.

ChangN4N6 · November 2012

Is Sally the Scottish woman? I think there was a discussion on here about her living in a flat nearby 'and not meeding help'. It is sometimes very disturbing what goes on there in public view (and /drugs etc / illegal), there was a row in The Chippy about it with one of the street ppl there last week. Whateva there mental health etc, the authorities do need to get a grip on this for everyone's sake. Chang

gardener-joe · November 2012

Indeed, Chang is right to shift the emphasis ... this is not a story of homelessness but of the inept implementation of mental health policies by the relevent agencies ... especially the police and our local mental health services, who each appear to be unable (unwilling?) to work together in a timely and professional manner ... dithering their way towards another dismal headline it would seem.

[Deleted User] · November 2012

The user and all related content has been deleted.

krappyrubsnif · November 2012

I am finding the SG homeless and the saga of the Parkland Walk lady quite disturbing. Homeless guy burnt out outside Tesco! And no-one seems to care. If it was a fire in someone's house, the world would be all over it. Sally (if it is she - lady with a red hat) is, as of this morning camped out in the rubbish and discarded soafas that have accumulated at the end of Lorne Road.<br><br>Is it because it's perceived as a homeless-on-homeless thing? Or did the tent burn down because of yobs?<br><br><br>

Idoru · November 2012

If society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable members then we're not really doing very well, are we?<br>

Four Eyes · November 2012

Homeless guitar man wasn't burnt alive as I feared when I saw the charred remains of his tent yesterday. I saw him in The Chippy last night. I think his belongings were though. And there was no sign of his dog either.

ChangN4N6 · November 2012

It is definately getting worse . And the fact Lorne Road is now involved makes you think twice. Fire can be very dangerous. Forget cats and WI cakes, Skyfall, babysitters, even park rats etc these are the real issues of SG . Chang

Lololala · November 2012

One morning the lady was sleeping on the corner of Florence and Lorne Rd and started wailing between 4 and 5am which was very disturbing as I woke up and thought someone was being assaulted. I am also concerned about the mess that is left behind on the Parkland Walk. There were lots of tin cans and other rubbish left on the steps going up from Florence Rd when she was sleeping there earlier this summer. Also someone was raped there a while ago so it is worrying that a woman on her own sleeps in that area.

Detritus · November 2012

<p>Sorry Chang I don't agree, the real issues of Stroud Green are what each individual are concerned about in there own life. The homeless issues bad as it is just is not a concern to me, if that makes me someone who is perceived not to care then so be it.</p><p> If there is a woman sleeping on the parkland walk then that is a problem that should be addressed for her own safety if nothing else, but if she does not want help then what can you do?</p><p>The old saying you can take a horse to water but can not make it drink comes to mind.</p>

delaware · November 2012

Agreed but the problem here goes beyond simply her personal safety (which is clearly a mjor issue for her) and damage and fouling of the parkland walk. She has an obsession with starting fires and has been seen starting fires close to houses backing onto the parkland walk, right by the mind building and elsewhere. She seems to carry a gas burner with her. The council and police are aware of this. One has huge sympathy with her condition but the bottom line is she persistently starts fires and has been reported doing so near houses and buildings around the SHR bridge. A large number of people have complained tot he council and police about her but nothing has happened so far.

Lololala · November 2012

Starting fires near to property surely must merit an ASBO. My house backs on to the Parkland Walk so this is a real concern for me. It was very wet this summer so a forest fire would have been unlikely but in a dry summer it could be a real possibility. A lady who works in Body Dynamics also says that she starts fires inside the telephone box opposite the Nicholas Nickleby which apart from being dangerous must cause expensive damage. I have also heard that she was sleeping down a side passage of a house in Stroud Green and that a woman let her small children play outside who discovered her in a terrible state and were quite disturbed.

ChangN4N6 · November 2012

At the end if the day this probably stems from drugs and Imho the state is 2 liberal in laws and lazy in enforcement. Where I grew up a 14 year old would be arrested for smoking after school. Now ppl can shoot up in public view outside a family supermarket and it's just 'resources won't allow the cops to police it and public makes no pressure to punish or reform' . So unless someone dies its 'alright really' . I don't think so. This woman should be taken off the streets and locked away for her own safety . Not to mention the targets of her pyromania . Send the bill to the mps who voted for 'care in the community' then sold off the mental institutes for property development to reduce rate bills (which mysteriously went up). Chang

miss annie · November 2012

So the thing people are concerned about is not that she is homeless or mentally ill, but that she might set fire to someone's garden, leave a mess or upset their children? I'm not judging anyone, I saw her making a fire and called the police straight away, but it's a good example of how people only really notice and want something done about these issues when it affects their lives.

ChangN4N6 · November 2012

Which is fair enough isent it? If she was living like a happy hermit and feeding the missing cats and making cushions the WLM gang would all presumably be tweeting pictures to the guardian and knitting knobwarmers . But she has passed to the dark side and the state needs to intrude IMO. Basically . I object to drug use which is illegal. From that stems everything else IMHO . Chang.

Detritus · November 2012

<p>She is not Darth Vader. If she does not want help then how can you force her?</p><p>I don't like seeing the homeless outside Tesco not because I feel sorry for them for being homeless but because it just annoys me.</p><p>I really have more to do with my time and money than to give it to someone who will drink it or shove it into a vein.</p><p>It is a bike rack outside Tesco not a camp site, and I for one am glad it has gone. It should have been removed weeks ago.</p><p>They get offered help and turn it down, so sorry but I am not going to lose any sleep over them.</p>

Tollington Police · November 2012

Having read the comments with interest, it is important to offer some feedback in relation to Stroud Green Rd, (Tesco side). We have been in consultation with Tesco, the Council and support agencies in relation to the male who has been "living" outside the store. He has been offered support but accomodation that accepts pets is quite rare and proving problematic. We have received little in the way of complaints regarding him and have observed many people donate clothing and food etc. There appears to be a large section of the Community in support of him. Some residents have supplied statements to us in relation to the other male who sits outside Sainsburys. Unfortunately the Legal Team at the Council did not think there was sufficient evidence to obtain an Injunction or an Anti Social Behaviour Order against him. What i will say is, if you are unhappy about the "camp" outside Tesco or any other issue in relation to begging etc on Stroud Green Road (Tesco side, as the other side for those who are unaware is Haringey, though we do work together on occasion) please get in touch directly with us on 020 7421 0559 or email Tollingtonward-ni@met.police.uk. On Thursday 22nd November, we will be outside Tesco after 4pm so feel free to come and speak with one of the Team.

miss annie · November 2012

What time will you be there until? Most of us work and aren't home until much later.

Tollington Police · November 2012

We will be in the street from 4pm till very late, as we understand many residents work and want to make sure we are available for all the community we serve. We hope to see you then.

bilbo · November 2012

<P>I certainly am unhappy about the guy outside Tesco, the guy outside Sainsbury and the woman who seems to think nothing of lighting fires all over the place - last time I saw her she was hanging around behind the sash window shop on Stroud Green Road. After the length of time it took to move on the two that had settled outside Tesco before it seems ridiculous that this has been allowed to happen again. </P> <P>Burning things down seems a particularly unwelcome development. </P> <P>Well-meaning people who donate money and food are only perpetuating the drug habits that need proper resolution - allowing the problem to persist is not helping anybody. Some sort of anti-alcohol or anti-drug bye laws are needed covering both boroughs along the footways. I don't particularly relish the prospect of walking past a fozen or charred corpse one morning which seems to be where we are headed with this. Unfortunately I have to work late on the 22nd so will be sorry not to able to voice concerns - but find it odd that we cannot rely on those who are supposed to be making our streets safe being unable to do so without our intervention. The fact that there is little complaint is perhaps a reflection on how there seems little point when stuff-all is being done about a self-evident problem.</P>

quince · November 2012

A few things seem to be missing from this discussion, specifically:<div><br></div><div>Charity</div><div>Empathy</div><div>Sympathy</div><div>Tolerance.</div><div><br></div><div>Half of you sound like shire Tories whining that a wind farm has spoilt the view. If anybody has a right to be worried about safety, it's the rough sleepers themselves, particularly as the weather gets colder. Who are the real victims here - them or you?</div><div><br></div><div><br></div>

krappyrubsnif · November 2012

If somebody stuck a wind farm in Stroud Green, I'd def be the first to complain.<br>

miss annie · November 2012

Me too, eyesores.

Detritus · November 2012

<p>Quince,</p><p>I have Charity I just object to giving what little money I have to a homeless drug addict or alcoholic, I would rather give to something close to my heart.</p><p>I empathise with them to a degree, and if they took the help that they were offered I might feel even more empathy.</p><p>Sympathy, I am sorry they are homeless what a shame, do they feel sympathy for the people who they frighten when asking for money?</p><p>And tolerance, not a hope in hell I am glad they are gone and wish they stay gone, fat chance sadly.</p><p>And if you feel so bad invite them into your house, problem solved. They have been offered help and turned it down and from that moment onwards any amount of charity I might have had has gone.</p><p> </p>

Ali · November 2012

You could put some windmills up to replace the dying Chestnut Trees opo the WLM

[Deleted User] · November 2012

The user and all related content has been deleted.

yagamuffin · November 2012

@Misscara I've never understood the opposition either, all the wind farms I've seen are things of beauty. They remind me of War Of The Worlds.<div>I would have to disagree about power stations though, while the belching smoke isn't so good they can also be beautiful in there monstrousness. Always making me think of the work of Antonio Sant'Elia.</div>

vetski · November 2012

I like wind farms too, glad I'm not alone! They have quite a few in Spain, where we go quite frequently, and the turbines look so majestic on hills. If our garden here wasn't so tiny, I wouldn't mind having one (if it wasn't for the possibility that at least one of my cats would climb it!).

Mirandola · November 2012

<P>Beautiful swooshy dramatic things. I love them. </P>

bilbo · November 2012

<P>How did we get on to wind farms? </P> <P>They do (or can) look lovely but try sleeping near to one and you'll find out what the objection is. </P> <P>Back to the thread - I imagine if I decided to set up camp on the footway with my pooch I would whisked off under S136 before you could say "civil liberties." </P> <P>I'd have less objection to Stroud Green looking like downtown Kolkata if that was reflected in the rates. I think I find the idea that just because people are not taking the trouble to object to to drug taking etc on the street means they approve rather bizarre - notwithstanding that all of the cases are cause for concern.</P>

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

In this Discussion

Top Posters

Homelessness in Stroud Green

Comments