Homelessness not a ‘lifestyle choice’ say charities

Thursday, November 9th, 2023

The Passage, based in Westminster, is among the charities that have refuted Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s controversial claim that rough sleepers were making a “lifestyle choice”.

The Passage, which has Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols as patron, said: “The people we work with have not chosen to be on the streets; circumstances have put them there.”

In a statement, chief executive Mick Clarke strongly condemned the new enforcement powers outlined by the Home Secretary.

“We believe that everyone deserves a place to call home; that no one should ever have to sleep on the streets, or indeed in a tent on the streets,” he said.

“This policy risks demonising the poorest in our society without even beginning to address the real issues facing our country regarding poverty and homelessness,” Clarke added.

Additional reading

News category: News Shorts, World.

The inheritance of Anzac Day

Each year the eve of Anzac Day is given over to the International Day of Multiculturalism and Diplomacy for Peace. This year the conjunction is particularly apposite at a time when the air is full of wars and rumours of Read more

Experts at Rome meet – delve into historical abuses of power

The nature of power and how the abuse of power has been dealt with in the past and present were the focus of an international conference in Rome attended by about a dozen scholars earlier this month. Experts in history, Read more

Gathered around the altar

“Without liturgical reform, there is no reform of the Church,” Pope Francis said emphatically last February during an address to the plenary assembly of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. His remarks came around the Read more

CathNews New Zealand