A video is currently circulating purporting to show a group of kids (armed with a knife) attacking a homeless man in Blackpool. This incident actually took place in Preston.
The video has already gained a lot of attention, although it doesn’t actually show any violence directly happening – it does show what appears to be the homeless person’s belongings set alight by the kids.
Many people are already calling for retribution against the kids involved in this however we would like to call for better education. Firstly that you can’t go around doing what you like in this day and age – everything gets caught on camera and will come out in the end – secondly – that people who have found themselves without a home need compassion and help – not taunting and intimidating. It was only a few weeks ago that a homeless man who was spray painted by a thug passed away bringing this to national attention.
We haven’t shared this video on our facebook page however have included it here for reference only. We don’t want angry comments about how the kids should be punished – that’s a no-brainer – the form of “punishment” we would like to see is voluntary work with a homeless shelter or a soup kitchen to try and teach the kids involved in this attack that becoming homeless can happen to anyone.
Many families will admit that they are literally living one paycheck away from homelessness. There is help out there for those who need it – local councils have a duty of care to protect vunerable people in it’s boundaries and being homeless or being at risk of homelessness is one of the criteria set out by central government.
Local activist Mark Butcher has been calling for an independent headcount of homelessness now and we would advise anyone who feels strongly about homelessness to write a good old fashioned letter to their MP highlighting their concerns and demanding something be done about it. Then follow your letter up… Mark visited the parent of the child who filmed this act and had this to say about the incident today.
We are not seeking to identify any of the children in this video and we ask that you don’t name them or their parents in the comments either – we will say that we will be following up on this article and the work that Mark Butcher is doing at the moment in Blackpool to find out truly how bad the situation is in Blackpool.
