I am concerned about the people sitting on the ground outside Sainsbury’s begging for money. They sit on the corner immediately opposite the railings where they lock up cycles. The clear walking space for everyone (both directions) is very narrow. It was worse yesterday when the person put their feet out horizontally just before I tried to walk past. I spoke to Sainsbury security earlier and they said that since the beggars weren’t actually on Sainsbury land they could (would?) do nothing. They are sitting under the awning so I’m not sure who owns what.
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Has begging been de-criminalised in law, or is it just one more thing that the police ignore?
ditto..the one that does that to me now gives me a wide-ish berth.
I think the police have more pressing issues to deal with and as long as nobody is threathened begging is low on the list of priorities.
I do however miss the days when I used to see community support officers on London road..as an older female often out and about on my own I’d feel safer with them around.
Slightly off topic as not homeless but there are a pair (at least I’ve seen them as a pair) of black clad youth on either an electric scooter or sometimes a bike (electric I think) who hang around the area and ride up and down twixt horniman and the station often riding on the pavement who I have been told are known to snatch phones around east Dulwich.
I’ve had them ride onto the pavement behind me on London Rd as I was passing Henwens (The Butchers) but fortunately my bag was on the shoulder nearer the wall…but they gave me a fright because they almost swerved into me.
Locals keep an eye out..this was around 5pm so daylight
Not long ago a “homeless” person asked me could I get him a cup of tea from the front forest hill coffee stall. I said yes paid the lady about 3 quid and I was waiting for this tea to be made. And it wasn’t. There obviously getting the 3 quid then giving the person the cash same as in the local chicken shops. I mean when you genuinely pay for someone’s food and drink and they just pocket the money it doesn’t fill you with amazing confidence to do it again does it ?
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Yeh - thinking about it, that three quid probably gets them a couple of cans of something strong from the off-licence or, if they con another 4 good people, that might be enough to score a wrap of one of those new generation mind-bending drugs.
The coffee vendor shouldn’t aid and abet this stuff when they can see that it flies in the face of people’s good intentions.
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The way I hedge myself against these sort of approaches is to sponsor a room at Centrepoint. £12 a month for a young person, likely a care-leaver, who would otherwise be homeless and cut adrift. I’m confident the money is going to a good cause and is helping the recipient, and it has the double effect of immunising me against appeals to my kind heart from random street people, who may or may not be telling me the truth. So I don’t walk around feeling like an ungenerous arsehole, or resenting the person who has ‘bamboozled me’ (because, really, I know that 9 out of 10 requests are really for money to buy something unwholesome) out of a couple of quid.
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