Blog Post Eight

28th — 31st May

After some good news earlier this week that my lungs/chest haven’t looked so healthy for a long time, and being very much encouraged by the doctor for this reason to keep up the running, I decided to do some “hot weather training”. So slow - but I love running in the heat as my joints don’t hurt anywhere near as much. And I met a frog.

I started running because I told the trampoline club to do a 5k in March, and hated it. But along the way I’ve found I am actually starting to enjoy it - probably just as well if lm supposed to keep going at this.

30Th May

Shielding people allowed out from Monday  
Light at the end of the tunnel

31 May

Well it appears the one thing you can’t run through is a stomach bug. So slow but at least I did some exercise!!

The government have just announced that they will start what they seemed to imply is a new project “support workers for rough sleepers”.

Now correct me if I’m wrong but that was the job a number of us have done for years - working with rough sleepers and those at risk of homelessness??

The issue is not the lack of support workers - those I work(ed) with are the most compassionate caring people who were incredibly effective at their work - but the level of pay those staff were given (frankly, still appalling - you think the NHS are badly paid....!!), the lack of access to additional services the clients needed to assist them to not become homeless or to move them into accommodation made the work so much harder to recruit people into.

As much as I wanted to, and it was my first thought when my present job became non viable during covid, I couldn’t afford to move back into that role - I was offered several management positions that were being paid less than a healthcare assistant for the NHS. I couldn’t believe that the support workers pay had not moved on from when I last worked in the role.

Whilst we all want to support the vulnerable, I couldn’t afford to take it as my main job. The government needs to take homelessness seriously - not pay lip service to it - and provide the salaries needed to attract people into the roles, and to provide the additional services clients need to move their lives forward. It has too long been the forgotten sector.