Homelessness & Food Poverty in the UK/USA

I made this short video taking a brief look at the poverty striking the UK and USA at the moment. My aim was to spread awareness of the issue and hopefully encourage people to vote more accordingly in the coming UK general elections.



For those who can't understand my dodgy accent and the way I pronounce numbers, here are my notes for the video below. It is hard getting exact figures for homelessness and poverty because there are 'hidden homeless people' who don't show up on statistics and there is of course a general stigma associated with homelessness.

Number of homeless people sleeping rough in the UK = 2014- 4700
2013- 3862

People given 3 days emergency food =
2014- 913000
2013- 346000

1 in 6 Americans live on incomes that put them at risk for hunger. Over 14 million American children rely on food banks for assistance. A report from the U.S. Conference of Mayors found that only 11% of those requesting emergency food assistance were homeless. Over 200,000 Americans are sleeping rough.

In the UK Only 3% of the 900,000 given emergency food were given it due to homelessness. Over 30% of those were due to benefit delays and over 20% were because of low incomes.

UK population- over 63, 489, 000
US population- over 320,000,000

I'm trying to refine my presentation skills in front of the camera and I'm a bit rough round the edges so to speak, so please forgive me! All honest criticism and feedback is greatly appreciated.

a reply to: TechUnique

In the days of old

When US empire or English empire would rape and pillage far away land

At least the benefits and riches would flow back to regular American or British people

NOW things are so very different

Real unemployment is 20-25%

Real inflation is about 8-9%

Any further questions ?

My brother in Bridlington ended up on the rock an roll (Dole) unemployed. So When he went to sign on and the guy in the dole office said that he would be better off getting Pension credits, his wife is retired. That way he would not have to sign on and would be better off than being on the dole. Just another way of manipulating the unemployment figures. Same as labour did by putting people on to sickness benifits. Its all a scam by the liars in govt. Camoron saying that he has more people in work and not on benifits, just scamming the public as they always do.

Great video! What a good looking guy you are and...LOVE the accent!

Homeless numbers are growing and it is so sad. Between the high cost of living and lack of jobs, I don't see it getting better anytime soon. It doesn't help that illegal immigrants are taking millions of jobs either.

It's no longer Welfare...it's Warfare.

originally posted by: Night Star
Great video! What a good looking guy you are and...LOVE the accent!

Homeless numbers are growing and it is so sad. Between the high cost of living and lack of jobs, I don't see it getting better anytime soon. It doesn't help that illegal immigrants are taking millions of jobs either.

Thanks, I'm flattered =]

Can you really blame the immigrants for wanting a better life though, or do you think it's more a case of the Government letting them in, so to speak?

a reply to: TechUnique

Coiuldn't care less about your accent its about where your heart is that matters to me.

You are so right to bring up this sugject because it will be swept under the carpet when England votes for many. But its ludicrous that with the wealth of a tiny minority residing or making their cash in this country this situation arises.

Going backwards in time when my mother was a probation officer she could always get a hostel for a homeless person. Often they had to be of the religious persuasion e.g. the catholic and judaic hostels would only accept their own - which in a christian country made my blood boil but then dwhat do you expect. It was the Salvation Army who never judged and always helped in whatever way they could. Many of these hostels have gone with precious little to replace them.

What really gets me is the way many of the people here so love the royals yet don't get exactly how much it is to keep this bunch of usurpers living in luxury whilst others live on the streets.

This election is very important, probably one of the most important but it depends on what the parties manifestos give us as we, the public seem to have precious little say when it comes to the interests of big business which selects our politicians by backing them financially into parliament - which is anti democratic IMHO.

Good thread though. S&F for ya.

a reply to: Night Star
The immigrants are being handed jobs.

Illegal immigrants will not be able to get jobs in the UK.

Repeat - illegal immigrants will find it hard to get anywhere in the UK, they are illegal.

The government let them in for a reason - that reason is not for this thread. But it seems you have fallen for the bait and are directing your angst towards the immigrant.. not the government who let them in and then spend our taxes on luxuries.

There are loads of jobs out there. The government has failed in educating and promoting family values which means most people are to bloody stupid to even fill in an application form.

EDIT: Great thread again TU.

a reply to: TechUnique

That was a good video, and you presented it well. Your delivery improved a lot after the first minute too, maybe in future vids you can find a way of hitting your flow straight away? Maybe if you do a couple of takes perhaps so you feel more confident on the second one?

Also it would be useful to display some of the relevant figures on the screen.

As for the issue, i'm wondering how the figure for rough sleepers is qualified as i expected a far, far higher number.

And the figure on folk given emergency food only represent a part of the problem too, loads of people go to churches, temples, mosques etc for food parcels and hot meals and i wonder if anyone counts how many folk go there too? Ten or fifteen years ago i didn't know anyone who did that (junkies aside), but now i know of several old acquaintances that have had to at one time or another.

a reply to: skalla

Appreciate the constructive feedback! Very handy mate thank you.

I also fear that the real statistics are a lot worse. I had to go by what is available and estimate a rough figure. I know that in reality there are at least a few more than what is said in the video.

Peace

Anything you can do to bring the word to the masses is a plus in my books.

Thx for taking the time out in making the vid.

Peace

While listening to the radio the other day..the reporter stated that 1 in 20 USA children live on less than 2$USD food per day..WTH are they eating??..or not eating This is disturbing. They also had other stats that had to do with how much money most people (avg american) has on hand..I want to say they said more than 75% have absolutely no savings, and do not have any assets to liquidate in case of emergency. While we struggle a little bit..we do have a small savings for retirement and buy food before bills--I have been a master at juggling when things get paid in a bind so we have no bad credit or shut-offs. It's sad--that so many live like that

originally posted by: and14263
a reply to: Night Star
The immigrants are being handed jobs.

Illegal immigrants will not be able to get jobs in the UK.

Repeat - illegal immigrants will find it hard to get anywhere in the UK, they are illegal.

Really, Who do you think cooks your Asian food....trust me, Cash in hand illegals.... I'm a business man, (hypothetical scenario here) i can get illegal cash in hand employees for £6 maybe less an hour to fullfil a contract for me. I can have them work 12-15 hour shifts, 7 days a week and stick them 10 deep in a property i have just purchased, say for £60+ a week per head...they pay their own gas and electricity through a PAYG meter.
£60 x 10 =£600 a week, £2,400 a month on a £500 a month mortgage..? or i can get UK legal employees for £12 an hour where they go home to there families at the end of a 40-50 hour week ....

decisions decisions.. Hmmm

I know this through experience. saw a lot of people make a lot of money from Migrant Workers.

a reply to: Soloprotocol

All anecdotal - I wouldn't believe a word you say unless you can show me evidence which fortunately for you isn't available.

I am aware there are restaurants employing illegals but these aren't the jobs which UKIP fans claim are 'being stolen from us'.

Stuff like this is what you talk about
But what you say is not rife - at all. It's a closed community behavior, it's rare but publicised in the media so people get riled up and angsty - once again misdirecting their anger.

Just because you throw in a few random figures does not make me take your post seriously. If anything it makes me feel you are grasping at straws to promote a nationalist agenda.

Sorry for hijacking the thread and going off topic but sometimes BS needs calling out. If you want to discuss further PM me - otherwise back to the homelessness - which is most certainly not a product of individual legal/illegal workers but a product of our government destroying our morals, discipline, education system and parenting skills.

originally posted by: and14263
a reply to: Soloprotocol

All anecdotal - I wouldn't believe a word you say unless you can show me evidence which fortunately for you isn't available.

I am aware there are restaurants employing illegals but these aren't the jobs which UKIP fans claim are 'being stolen from us'.

Stuff like this is what you talk about
But what you say is not rife - at all. It's a closed community behavior, it's rare but publicised in the media so people get riled up and angsty - once again misdirecting their anger.

Just because you throw in a few random figures does not make me take your post seriously. If anything it makes me feel you are grasping at straws to promote a nationalist agenda.

Sorry for hijacking the thread and going off topic but sometimes BS needs calling out. If you want to discuss further PM me - otherwise back to the homelessness - which is most certainly not a product of individual legal/illegal workers but a product of our government destroying our morals, discipline, education system and parenting skills.

I worked for three companies who benefited from illegals, believe it or not. What i say is the truth.

All the Managers got in on the housing of immigrants scam. one of the companies i worked for..Structural steel industry.. had between 40 and 100 Hungarian and Polish migrants employed and housed locally, some in Houses and some in Caravans, trust me, one house had people sleeping in the Garage. Nightshift jumped into the dayshifts bed and so on.
The Hungarians had a Capo who would teach his fellow Hungarians to weld back home then bring them here to work for the company i was employed with at the time. he was charging £600 per head for the guarantee of a job. They got 2 weeks to prove themselves within the company, The Scots guy got the afternoon.

They were on £3 less per hour than us and all overtime was payed at the normal rate...no time and a half or double time sunday etc..My overtime went from whatever you want to wok to zero within 5 months.

I got to be friends with these people so this is not a racist view, this is the truth. When i saw the conditions some of them lived in i was appalled that my fellow countryman would take advantage of people like that. One in particular was a farmhouse on the factory property...Rats, Rats and more Rats and a semi collapsed roof on said property..Still £50 a week per head and there was at least 14 people in that house.
I also did work for a local Asian food takeaway...4 illegal at any given time in that shop. all housed above the shop.

a reply to: Soloprotocol

Well that's total b*****ks because to weld structurally you need to be coded to 4872 or 9606. Then you need to pass the CE marking audit.

That wouldn't be easy employing illegals would it?

Like I say we're hijacking this brilliant thread with a point we will disagree with each other on forever.

I read and starred this hours ago. Here's a flag and a comment not because I have anything particularly interesting to add but, this issue needs more attention.

originally posted by: and14263
a reply to: Soloprotocol

Well that's total b*****ks because to weld structurally you need to be coded to 4872 or 9606. Then you need to pass the CE marking audit.

That wouldn't be easy employing illegals would it?

Like I say we're hijacking this brilliant thread with a point we will disagree with each other on forever.

BS...All you need is a guy to check the welds and sign them off as we had every morning....you know, they guy with the magnet and white stuff he brushes on.

I personally have made welds from Mastic and painted over them because they got missed on the line to save me time. Next time you are in a Tesco or ASDA or Parkhead forge or the Fort or XSCAPE look up, because it might be coming down.

Citizens groups need to get going in every town and community, overturning city councils, donating land and getting yurts going, or hemp cob rammed earth and other beautiful but inexpensive homes built, with greenhouses, and volunteer to get heritage organic seeds, and create aquaponics, with mechanics and volunteers from the community setting up solar and wind and different systems, then focus on getting people into happiness, developing skills, learning things, taking courses to become counselors, practical nursing, job skills, create a commercial kitchen on the eco farm so small ethical businesses can start.

And if people don't get together, then do it informally within the city or town, by connecting neighborhoods and backyard aquaponics, where you keep half and donate half, and workshops in garages, and donation of commercial kitchens.

Monopolies by the elite are not free enterprise and impoverish everyone.

And people must not rely and wait upon the government to step in, they're evil and don't step in.

Cottage industries, starting up businesses from crafting to food production and health products to services, and pledge to buy form one another and not from China or foreigners, and not from big corporations.

and get some in print media and alternative news going that is run by the communities.

Thats how we have to do it, and when people start to realize they can solve problems if they care to do this, they won't vote in these evil overlords, thinking, well they're the most qualified and have the most experience, we can't possibly vote in a a weak inexperienced person.

Get strong.