Hey so @staff it’s really really shitty to flag as explicit a post about my gay uncle who died due to AIDS.
@staff this is unacceptable
Thank you. I didn’t even see a notification – I just came across it while I was scrolling through my blog to see if anything was flagged.
I’m honestly pretty upset about this. It’s also wild considering the history of the AIDS epidemic and how the US government censored PSAs about the epidemic to not mention gay men because it might be seen as endorsing “deviant” behavior. I’m not saying that’s why this was flagged, I’m just saying there’s relevant history here.
Wow. I’m so sorry this happened to your post.
When people ask what we’re so worried about with the new policy this is the answer.
One I ran across on Twitter, and clicked through out of curiosity since that just didn’t sound right.
How did they get that number in the headline?
Thirty eight volunteers targeted hotspots around the borough such as the town centre, railway stations and the local hospital on Thursday night (December 29) and encountered just two rough sleepers…
“However, this was just one night and the council know of at least 12 people sleeping rough.“
I can well imagine that not everyone in that situation would want to deal with the council, or these volunteers going around getting nosy. I doubt I would gladly talk to them. Twelve still sounds very low for the whole borough, and I have personally repeatedly seen more than two street homeless people hanging around just Romford Station most nights. Doesn’t sound like they were even looking that hard.
Also from the same person quoted there, Councillor Joshua Chapman, cabinet member for housing:
“It’s also important to note that not everyone chooses to accept the help or accommodation offered by the council.
“We have actively sought out rough sleepers to make them aware that help is available but unfortunately in some instances they have turned down offers of support.”
I was trying to find an old post discussing exactly that in more detail. But, if people would rather sleep on the street (in this climate, no less) than make use of whatever help/support you’re offering? Maybe you should listen to what will actually serve their needs, instead of getting snotty about it.
They’ve supposedly had to stop doing that to EU-connected immigrants, but would I trust the local council or charity groups given the political climate these days? Hmm.
Anyway, I wasn’t that surprised at the overall slant of the piece, because politics.
What did surprise me some, though?
Investigation work carried out by the Recorder revealed that at least three homeless people have died in the borough in the last year, however no records of their deaths have been kept, and data released by charity Shelter shows that an additional 490 people are now homeless in Havering since the November 2017 figure of 1,956.
Of the 2,446 currently homeless, research shows 22 are rough sleepers and the remaining 2,424 are living in temporary accommodation.
This means one in 105 people are now homeless in Havering, up from one in 129 last year.
(So, now we’re up to 22 official rough sleepers instead of 12? 🤔)
Again, I would be surprised if that weren’t a low estimate. Those figures do include people living in temporary accommodations, couch surfing, etc. But still, somewhere around 1% of people living in this borough are now homeless.
(And this still isn’t as high as some others. One neighboring borough was in the top 10 as of last year, and I really doubt this has improved any more than it has here.)
I knew the situation had been getting worse for any number of reasons, but I didn’t realize just how high the rates had gotten. Or how sharply they’d increased within just a year. And this is before whatever else happens with the ongoing Brexit shitshow.
Oh illiterate honey that isn’t the topic of discussion
always be suspicious when someone tries to derail a conversation by talking about people taking ‘advantage’ of a social safety net. brings this to mind:
The current state of the UK’s benefits system is entirely due to this shitty attitude of “PEOPLE LIE ABOUT BEING SICK AND TAKE ADVANTAGE ALL THE TIME SO WE HAVE TO MAKE THEM JUMP THROUGH ENDLESS HOOPS TO SECURE DISABILITY-RELATED SUPPORT!!” and we’ve got to the point now where even a fucking doctor’s note isn’t enough to convince the DWP that you’re unfit for work. They have to have you assessed by one of their people, and even then, they may decide to throw the assessor’s report out and deny you anyway.
The end result of this is that thousands of people die within a few weeks of being declared fit for work by the DWP, which is to say nothing of the people who die within a month, or two months, or six months, and that’s preferable, apparently, to some hypothetical person possibly claiming benefit who doesn’t really need to somewhere, maybe.
That’s where this kind of rhetoric leads, in case anyone was wondering.
it’s frustrating that every time someone famous dies the inevitable discourse of whether or not you’re allowed to miss them comes out with receipts on how good or bad they were
how about this: every time someone famous dies, there is someone out there who admired them, who looked up to them, who will miss them
there is someone out there who feels all of these things and has no idea about the good or bad things this person has done
this doesn’t mean the fan is good or bad. it doesn’t mean they’re wilfully ignorant or tragically sheltered. sometimes, someone admires a celebrity because of what they happened to have seen and connected with, and nothing else
no matter what horrible or incredible things the celebrity has done in their lifetime, no matter how justifiable or not their actions were, not matter how fucking woke or bigoted their media interviews and appearances were, someone, somewhere, is feeling their loss, because of no other reason than they liked this person, they looked up to this person, this person, in some way, affected their lives and they are feeling the loss of that person in their world. maybe not your world, but in theirs. and you have no idea how small or personal or delicate that world is.
so, how about, when a famous person dies and people start mourning, don’t go hunting for the stories and the quotes. don’t start competing to see who can be the most up to date and contemporary about how problematic the deceased was. unless they’re on such levels as Hitler or Trump, unless they are such unapologetic, irredeemable assholes that no one should relate to them on even a minimal level, please just give everyone a chance to mourn. Just let fans mourn.
They are hurting. They are trying to move on, because they’re already being told by people around them that it’s not a big deal, that it doesn’t make a big difference, but they are hurting and they need to be able to grieve somewhere. And maybe their favourite celebrity said something, or did something, that was wrong, that was perhaps unforgivable, but that doesn’t automatically guarantee that all of their fans knew about it, or understood it. Just give everyone some freaking time, please, before you go at them, because some people need to adjust, and if you don’t allow them that, you are hurting them.
One of the members of our community here was shot and killed and the family can’t afford to cover all the funeral expenses. This family really needs the help and they already lost a daughter two years ago. The muslim community here in Minnesota is raising money but still are very short in terms of funds.
Please consider donating so the family of Mohamed Abdi can put their son to rest and if you can please offer a prayer. May Allah accept him in Jannah and thank you everyone for helping me spread this.
The greatest gift of all has been taken from this earth to lay at Rest In Peace. Auntie Rhea’ and the entire family loves you with all of our hearts and we can’t wait to see you again sweety. If you could help, please anything will do. Thank you so much for placing someone in my life who gave life an entirely new meaning. I love you Chunk Butt always and forever 💞💖💙💕☀️👶🏽
I think leftblr is a little too quiet about sensible drug policy and that’s really telling 🤔
Access to clean needles should be free
Testing kits for fentyl and stricnine and other laces should be free
Narcan should be free (and is given out by a lot of opioid awareness groups thank god)
Access to methadone and suboxone should be free
And this is all like… really basic stuff. I personally want full repeal of the scheduling system and other measures regarding the prison system
Drug addiction is a direct result of suppression of certain populations and the pharmaceutical industry’s push for the normalization of opiate use.
Anti drug policy is almost entirely rooted in racism and it serves to build up our prison system, while simultaneously denying addicts access to safe withdrawal measures. The war on drugs never served to help the people as a whole, and always served to isolate people of color and divide the classes even further. There’s a reason mostly poor people and/or people of color face real time for drug charges.
A lot of you are inherently against drug addicts and supplying them with clean materials because you have no idea how addiction works. If you come off certain drugs like meth, heroin, or spice cold turkey, you could DIE. Needle exchanges provide safety, health screenings, and information on recovery while providing disease free, smooth needles to taper with.
And if we don’t destroy the system that enables addicts (capitalism) then we’re not going to solve the 97% relapse rate that addicts have.
You can’t claim to align with the left if you want addicts to die. It’s a blatant ignorance of why addicts become addicts and it’s an engrained hatred of neurodivergent people.
Not to mention alcohol withdrawal as well! That shit can kill you hard fucking core and you’re in agony the whole goddamn time. Helping people taper off of drugs and alcohol in a safe environment with a lot of support is the best way for most folks to get sober AND STAY SOBER.
They’re still people. They deserve basic human respect. They deserve safety. They deserve to live, for fuck’s sake.
Since it’s sadly relevant, a PSA for anyone attending a Jewish funeral or visiting a home where they are sitting shiva: no flowers, please. We understand that’s your tradition and won’t be offended, but respecting our traditions is a better gift of care.
Urocyon's Jaunts 2.0 
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