60 Days On The Streets…Interesting.

Regarding the Chanel 4 documentary with Ed Stafford, he lives on the streets for a couple of months for the comprehension of the experience.

Halfway through the first episode, and he’s ‘slightly addicted’ to the way of life, the freedom of it, the outdoors living, the society of other homeless people. I’m not sure addicted is the right word, more like institutionalised, or normalisation.

Geoff, fellow homeless person, is grafting with him. He’s on a roll, made nearly £40, for a hostel. Oh, it’s not for a hostel, it’s for crack. And heroin. For smoking and injecting.

He tells Ed a story about how he does it once or twice a month… which is clearly untrue.

It’s very hard to know what, if any, of his story is true. Maybe Geoff himself doesn’t know.

Next week. Off to London. Where some of the homeless are fake.

What a situation.

It’s so easy to disregard and disbelieve all beggars as a result of tv like this. But that would be a poor reflection of who we are.

And how does this impact our own Good Deed system? Perhaps we’ll have to make a rule. Giving cash to beggars is not a permissible Good Deed, as far as the £5 rewards go. That bothers me. Is it ethical to give money to homeless people and street beggars? Assume they’ll spend it on drugs. Now is it ethical?

Interesting questions. Complicated answers. Is homelessness even a ‘problem’ to be solved or is it just a situation to be understood?

If we give a few moments of time, to talk to homeless people, buy them a tea, sit and talk and listen. What might we learn? About ourselves, as much as anything.