Even Church staff running food kitchens for the homeless have to wear stab and slash proof clothing.
Stay away from London
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...austerity-homeless-following-crime-surge.html
I'm 64 years old, resilient and prepared to put my head above the parapet for what I believe in.
But when I tried to stop him entering the church for the safety of those already inside, the dealer lashed out, catching me across the legs with his chain and slicing me open.
Thankfully, colleagues ran out to help and police quickly arrived at the scene.
The man hasn't been seen here since.
The incident may have been defused quickly with little lasting harm done.
But while it lasted it was terrifying.
It was also instructive about the central problem driving homelessness and street violence.
Our kitchen is open five evenings a week and we serve a two-course meal to up to 40 people each night – a total of between 8,000 and 10,000 meals a year.
I take time to speak to many of the homeless people who come to our soup kitchen. I hear a lot of heartbreaking, hard-luck stories about promising lives derailed.
But scratch the surface and almost all of the homeless I meet have one big problem: addiction.
So it was no surprise to me to learn that the dealer who attacked me is a drug user himself, a rough-sleeper caught up in a vicious cycle of selling drugs to fund his own habit.
I was quite literally standing in his way, which made me an obvious target.
Others will doubtless not be so lucky.
Stay away from London
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...austerity-homeless-following-crime-surge.html
I'm 64 years old, resilient and prepared to put my head above the parapet for what I believe in.
But when I tried to stop him entering the church for the safety of those already inside, the dealer lashed out, catching me across the legs with his chain and slicing me open.
Thankfully, colleagues ran out to help and police quickly arrived at the scene.
The man hasn't been seen here since.
The incident may have been defused quickly with little lasting harm done.
But while it lasted it was terrifying.
It was also instructive about the central problem driving homelessness and street violence.
Our kitchen is open five evenings a week and we serve a two-course meal to up to 40 people each night – a total of between 8,000 and 10,000 meals a year.
I take time to speak to many of the homeless people who come to our soup kitchen. I hear a lot of heartbreaking, hard-luck stories about promising lives derailed.
But scratch the surface and almost all of the homeless I meet have one big problem: addiction.
So it was no surprise to me to learn that the dealer who attacked me is a drug user himself, a rough-sleeper caught up in a vicious cycle of selling drugs to fund his own habit.
I was quite literally standing in his way, which made me an obvious target.
Others will doubtless not be so lucky.
