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(05-03-2022, 09:46 PM)Duffers Wrote: That’s what? Couple of hundred meters? So bleak and moody, nothing but beggars and crackheads everywhere. Must have been asked for money six or seven times, by about the fourth I’d given up trying explain that we now live in a largely cashless society.
What the fuck happened to Birmingham? Don’t recall it ever being this grim.
Birmingham.
Manchester.
Glasgow.
Etc., etc., etc..
Sadly, they are all pretty much the same.
When lockdown came in March 2020 and I had to go and close the office, it was me, the beggars, and the odd police car or van. Walking through town was like being in a zombie movie.
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There’s a definite Eastern European vibe at all of the traffic lights in town, not a fan of giving to organised crime - pretty sure the poor sods doing the begging don’t see any of it - the spots are definitely controlled and allocated.
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(05-04-2022, 06:35 AM)CA Baggie Wrote: (05-03-2022, 11:03 PM)Kit Kat Chunky Wrote: Birmingham is spending a fortune to house these people. Most of the independent hotels are closed, and rooms filled from Social Services.
You have to question if some people choose to live on the streets - as extreme as that sounds.
Spoken like a true Tory.
Gets pop corn.
One of my friends is far from being a Tory and sits on the board of a charity providing hostel accommodation in Worcester. There are dozens of individuals who're banned from hostels because of their consistently anti social behaviour, there are dozens more who cannot cope with even the light organisational regime of a night shelter. Street homelessness is largely a product of substance misuse and mental health problems - it's no coincidence that it's got progressively worse as mental health units have been closed.
And yes, Birmingham is spending a fortune keeping all the hotels on the Hagley Road going.
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(05-04-2022, 07:23 AM)Protheroe Wrote: (05-04-2022, 06:35 AM)CA Baggie Wrote: (05-03-2022, 11:03 PM)Kit Kat Chunky Wrote: Birmingham is spending a fortune to house these people. Most of the independent hotels are closed, and rooms filled from Social Services.
You have to question if some people choose to live on the streets - as extreme as that sounds.
Spoken like a true Tory.
Gets pop corn.
One of my friends is far from being a Tory and sits on the board of a charity providing hostel accommodation in Worcester. There are dozens of individuals who're banned from hostels because of their consistently anti social behaviour, there are dozens more who cannot cope with even the light organisational regime of a night shelter. Street homelessness is largely a product of substance misuse and mental health problems - it's no coincidence that it's got progressively worse as mental health units have been closed.
And yes, Birmingham is spending a fortune keeping all the hotels on the Hagley Road going.
I think you meant underfunded and services slashed over the last decade under the banner of austerity by this Conservative government. Something you said didn’t go far enough and wasn’t really austerity.
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Beggars in Brum? You'll be telling us that there's a Bull at the Bull Ring next...
Clarnet v2.0
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You've probably walked through what is the worst part of town these days Duffers.
Really don't get the hype around looking down on Birmingham, it's a great city and it's homelessness problem is no worse than most other major cities.
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05-04-2022, 09:03 AM
(This post was last modified: 05-04-2022, 09:07 AM by Spandaubaggie.)
(05-03-2022, 10:03 PM)Duffers Wrote: Was just surprised to see it all looking so run down to be honest.
In town for a funeral tomorrow and one by one it feels any ties I had to this city are being cut.
Wow, what a weird coincidence. I had this very same chat to my Mrs at the weekend.
I was in Brum on Friday evening for a session with a mate I hadn't seen in years. I got in early (about 6.30pm) and got off at Moor St and did exactly the same walk as you. As I just passed the Odeon I turned to a bloke and his Mrs beside me, of similar age, and said: "What the hell has happened to New St? What a dump.
They were old Brummies who'd moved out but were back for the weekend.
It's OK top end of New St past the ramp, but that area has been decaying since the Bull Ring was built. I think Covid exacerbated this.
I'd guess many cities are facing the same issues.
You are right though. It just isn't what it was, and not in a good way. However, all around St Phillips is nice now.
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The area around the library and Chamberlain Square is great.
Whilst I was saddened at the loss of the old Brutalist library I can't see how it could have been integrated into the regeneration.
Paris in the 80s was magnificent. By the 90s a lot of the tourist areas had changed beyond recognition, and not for good.
Progress, eh.
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I guess the thing with being homeless, and in need of handouts, is that busy areas tend to be more logical.
I've no doubt they'd be happier out of the way somewhere but then they'd probably starve.
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