Friday 5 December 2014

Lewisham Labour Council picket by Homeless persons Union about misery of hostals and rough sleeping



4th December 2014
Lewisham protest planned as anger mounts over social housing crisis
"Social Housing, Not Social Cleansing” demonstration at Lewisham Council offices on 4 December 2014.
Lewisham Housing Action Group, a growing band of concerned local groups and individuals, is planning a joint action to protest at the lack of social housing in the London Borough of Lewisham.
The group plan to congregate at 12noon on Thursday 4 December outside the council offices at Lawrence House (1 Catford Road, SE6 4RU), carrying banners and calling on Cabinet Member for Housing Damian Egan or Mayor Steve Bullock to come and meet them face-to-face and hear their demands.
Organised by Lewisham Homeless People’s Union, the peaceful protest aims to highlight the increasing number of people living in insecure, temporary and emergency accommodation in the borough – a housing crisis that is mirrored in boroughs across London, where similar protests are gathering momentum.
Because of the lack of council housing, 500 families will spend Christmas in a B&B in Lewisham.
Some are not even lucky enough to get inside a B&B: a recent street count found 13 people bedded down on the streets of Lewisham on just one night.
Jaime Mills, Lewisham Homeless People’s Union, said: “xxx
John Hamilton, People Before Profit, said: “One of the scandals is that all these new tower blocks going up in Lewisham are unaffordable for local people. The priority should be building council houses for rent rather than creating an expensive ghetto for docklands workers renting from foreign landlords. Until all Lewisham's existing homeless families are housed with secure tenancies we will oppose buy-to-let unaffordable projects.”

NOTES FOR EDITORS

Lewisham Homeless Persons Union (LHPU) is a community of people who are homeless, have been homeless or is affected by homelessness.
Contact Jaime on 07443 590 674 or lewishamhpu@gmail.com

Lewisham People Before Profit is a local political party, which operates under the slogan ‘Public Need Not Private Greed’. Housing is one of its key concerns. It's direct action in 2012 stopped the sell-off of any further Council homes.
Contact housing@LPBP.org.uk
Click on the Drop box to see the film of Thursdays action 

Isabelle H (@IsABellUseful)

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