Homeless Man Still Sleeping Rough in London. I First Met Homer 4 Years Ago.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 มิ.ย. 2018
- Reconnecting with someone I met in the past that is still homeless happens far too often in the United States and Canada. On this trip to the United Kingdom, I happen to run into two rough sleepers in London that I interviewed in the past.
I was talking to Mervin, a homeless man I first met in 2017, and happened to glance across the street and I could not believe my eyes. From a distance, I was fairly certain it was Homer and sure enough, it was.
I first met Homer in 2014 in almost exactly the same spot [ • Homer has been sleepin... ] at the time, he said he was on the streets sleeping rough for over 20 years. He would go in and out of hostels (UK term for homeless shelters) because he felt like they were prisons. The only thing that has changed is Homer has been sleeping rough for another four years.
Homer says he has housing setup soon. He wants to go inside because his dog is getting older.
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I'm happy to hear that he is getting housing. It's incredibly sad that this man has been sleeping rough that many years. I was touched by his love for his dog. Wanting to get him inside. I pray that he will feel safe in the new housing. I also feel ashamed that human beings can feel such indifference towards each other. I thank God for caring people like Mark. Who inspires people to help the homeless. Please do what you can in your town to help. Even if it's just a pair of socks. Everything anyone does helps.
You can tell this man has just incredible endurance. To survive 26 years on the streets and take care of a dog too is an accomplishment. It was funny when he said his dog needed the creature comforts so he was going to the shelter. It is like he doesn't even need it. He wasn't even cold all winter. He is really amazing. i think it made him think when you said it must be a miracle that he survives. He agreed. Maybe he never imagined God looking out for him and caring about him. The poor are very close to God's heart.
💯
'There's always someone worse off than me'.
The humility of the man is mind blowing.
Here's what gets me. You see news reporters and politicians walking around homeless shelters ( most homeless shelters are now businesses owned and operated by Homeland security) and talking to officials and workers gushing about the clean facilities, the wonderful food, the drug rehab program and on and on. But you will not see any of them walk up to homeless and ask them what is going on. Because they don't want to hear the answer. The homeless will tell you that shelters are dangerous, filthy and the staff treats them like crap. They are lucky if they get an old mattress to toss on the floor. Most soup kitchen are closed. Aclu. Catholic charities, none will aid or advocate for the homeless now. They are not allowed to walk the streets or stop anywhere to rest. Cameras and facial recognition system are everywhere, in stores and gas stations and street lights. People attack them often. But you don't hear that. You don't hear that the homeless are being rounded up and sent far away or buried in jail cells. You don't hear any of that. This channel is one of the few that even acknowledge the homeless. But you will never hear anyone ask how is this shelter. Where are the soup kitchen. What do you eat. What happens when you go to a shelter. You won't ever hear that.
bob barker i know of wonderful people who volunteer their time to run night shelters and hostels and walk in centres. I've seen movies of really dire shelters in places like NY. They are not all good but they are not all dire.
I knew a girl who was homeless in Tennessee. I met her thru another friend of mine. This girl grew up in foster homes her mom was on drugs. She told me that she slept outside instead of at a shelter. At first I didn't understand when she told me that it was safer outside. Then she told me that she got raped in a shelter. When I first took her in she slept outside on my porch in a recliner. She said she felt safer outside bless her heart. Then she finally came inside at night when she trusted me. I took her in and got her off meth. She was shooting it up. That was three years ago. Now she is married and a regular church member. She married a man who truly loves Jesus. They had a beautiful baby boy december 2017. The church was so impressed by her drastic change that they gave her and her husband a van. Now she is expecting another boy September of 2018. She is a very attentive, joyful mother. She is the most successful of all the people I have taken in. She lives two miles from me. She is very happy and healthy and so is her baby. I see her every few days. I just wanted to share this success story. I'm extremely proud of her. God bless Mark and all his work with the homeless. Please pray for homeless people worldwide.
That's LIBERALS for you
@@victoriaevans2512 God bless you. This was such an uplifting story.
I’d just like
To thank you for bringing awareness to the homeless situation in both sides of the Atlantic.........I’m from the u.k and I think you are nothing short of an angel in human disguise, bringing a voice to these people and showing them people care is nothing short of a miracle................I love your channel, even though it hurts me to see these humans in the situations they find themselves in with no one to help most of the time, I still like to see you engage with the homeless people..........deep inside I hope they find some
Strength from your short interventions. It’s hard to imagine just how much of a problem
Homelessness is worldwide and how many people live in these unfortunate circumstances. These people have suffered traumas somewhere along there life line and most just
Need help to try and start again. Thank you for all that you do and the many sacrifices you make in order to do what you do. John, Merseyside, u.k :)
I hope he gets housing very soon 😍
Melvin is a sweet spirit with a smile that shines.
Man you are really awesome... Still smiling after so much happend to u... ❤️
Hope your smile never fades out.. never break down
poor guy
Hope you find peace man
God be with him and his dog😭♥🙏
It's 6 a.m. now here in Spain and still I'm watching all your videos. They are touching for me, as a social worker and as a human being. Keep up the good work for these people in need. It's also heartbreaking the quantity of that people u show in USA. it's crazy, here there aren't so many homeless people. Wathever man just thanks for your work and thanks for sharing it.
Thanks for your kind words
Omg.may god shower mercy on this man.so pathetic. This happening in london.
May God Bless you Homer, where ever you are💖🌷💖🙏
'So how can you tell me you're lonely and say for you that the sun don't shine...Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London, I'll show you something to make you change your mind...' I'm not going nuts, these videos just remind me of the 70's song, Streets of London by Ralf McTell. You realise, however skint you are it's the little things that matter....Closing your front door on the world and having a cuppa sitting on your sofa, cooking a meal and curling up in your bed at night. Everything else is icing on the cake...
Bless him hes so humble
God Bless him please 🙏❤️🌷
I hear a lot of people say the same thing.
Best wishes, mate!
God bless u .
hi hun good videos highlighting this issue in our society yet again, u mentioned st mungos was meant to volunteer for them last yr but didnt end up going forth with it due to unforseen circumstances however looking ro re apply to volunteer with them again asap tbh!
This is my father and I’m desperate to get in touch with him. Please let me know if there is any updates. Thank you x
We will find him Mika. Loved his 3 wished. So lovely to hear his voice again, he hasn't changed a bit ❤
Have you got in touch with him?
@@temptemp4174 hey not yet. Found some info that he was at Tottenham Hale around this time last year but nothing more
@@mikaapellis8205 have you been able to identify any potential family members of his?
@@yaxxee I am his only relative, he was put into care very young
Man he looks so much older. Looks like getting sick and living on the streets has done a lot to him. Crazy,
Exposed to the elements.hes a tough cookie!
...whilst the "good-times" were rolling: nothing was really done...when austerity arrived: the problem grew and still nothing really done
your channel is amazing. I'm blown away by all this. thank you for your work and I'm going to donate but Is it possible to have someone travel with you and set up a gofundme page for each person or something?
This guy will never go in a house. He doesn't want to. Fair play. I think that he needs peace of mind first. I pray that he can have that.
Aww I love Omer miss him.. Used to hang out with him before I left London.. Sure he used to be down Waterloos Bullring 30 years ago!! ❤️ For him and has he still got Brigadier? Woof!
Hi, Omer's daughter has been trying to track him down for a little while now, but it seems nobody has seen him recently. Hopefully he's OK and will get to meet his daughter, as he hasn't seen her since she was a baby.
There's always someone worse off than me a beautiful statement for us to keep going may Allah bless him with what he wants ameen
He's talking about temporary accommodation/emergency housing.
He's right, they're not exactly pleasant places to be in, but they offered a lockable reinforced door and it's the first step into rebuilding his life, so really for his own sake he should brave it for a few weeks at least. Too many homeless people in the UK are just unwilling to step outside their comfort levels which keeps them on the streets
sadly those doors are not always lockable or re-inforcable as I know from my time in & out of them both in England & ROI/Eire & also very few take dogs & that too keeps people out on the streets - very often a dog is a homeless persons only true buddy..
Sleeping rough will age one so quickly due to all the stress and elements and all, I feel five years older.
26 years living like that, couldn't imagine it
26 years on the streets. damn
Can you tell me where in London you found this guy? Or where you think he usually sits? I'd like to go by and help him out.
Hi I spoke to Omar today who I have known ever since he hit the streets. After I had finished laughing at the fact he is referred to as Homer in the video I told him about the comments and he said I could reveal exactly where he sits. He is on the Strand in Central London a few doors down from the Vaudeville Theatre. You could wish to meet a nicer more genuine guy.
@@rustychains4478 hi have you heard from Omar recently? His biological daughter has been trying to track him down for some time.
Britain has to help there own before helping others.
So sad for these people
Hostels, like those run by the Salvation Army provide comfortable rooms with locks and staff that will help service users get assistance, housing, etc. However, a lot of service users bring in drugs, alcohol or try to have overnight guests. These things are against the rules. If SA allowed it would not be a good witness to the world. Drugs in a hostel can get the facility closed. Anyone can go into rehab and get clean, but they have to want it. You can't force people.
Nothing against SA, but I have seen both good and bad SA shelters/services. Overall they do a lot of good around the world but their leadership system is outdated and often a community will end up with inadequate or bad services.
Invisible People I cannot say I have seen many of them. I can only say that I worked in a walk in centre that provided help with assistance, showers, food, laundry, food vouchers, clothing vouchers and also help getting into a SA hostel. I can only say what I have witnessed. As you know homelessness is complicated. Keep up the excellent videos.
It's actually very hard to get into rehab if you don't have money or, in some areas, if you aren't being sent there by the courts after committing a crime. I'll be clean from heroin for five years this coming August and it cost me over $14k for 28 days at a local rehab that certainly wasn't a hotel or resort, and that was with a discount for paying all at once up front. Nearly any addict won't stop with that much money in the bank because they'll think they're still managing their addiction. It's also not about 'wanting' to get sober. 99.99% of addicts want to get sober. It's about finally finding yourself in a bad enough situation that you *need* to get sober. You are 100% right that you can't force someone though
😥
They ought to separate the violent homeless from the regular homeless.
He must be pretty tough.
Anybody knows where he sits exactly? Would like to meet him! He seems a nice genuine homeless.
I spoke to Omar today who I have known ever since he hit the streets. After I had finished laughing at the fact he is referred to as Homer in the video, I told him about the comments and he gave me permission to reveal the exact location of where he sits. He is on the Strand in Central London a few doors down from the Vaudeville Theatre. You could not wish to meet a nicer guy.
Is there an update?
Finland has already figured out the formula how to reduce homelessness. I dont understand why its so difficult for other countries to copy it, its not exactly rocket science.
Finland made it a priority to create housing. Other counties do not have housing.
Population, amount of migrants, etc all play a role and they are low on all
Our politicians are in the pocket of the real estate industry and therefore block all affordable housing initiatives, as they would drive down the cost of housing and reduce the profits of real estate executives.
These videos are always full of comments on how the reasons for people being homeless are 1) the influx of refugees or 2) democrats/socialists making poor policies. Isn't it weird that Finland has been able to reduce homelessness to minimum despite all this - waiting for the on-call racists comments on this
@@Cresanova Your comment is bang on.
Out there by choice
Think how bad the alternative must be
Certain parts of London, Manchester is getting worse Queen Elizabeth just don't give a damn, the elderly is getting the worse end of it especially in the winter
I was homeless on and off from 1996 until 2018. I used to camp out in a tent most night several miles from central London and use a bicycle to travel into central London or to one of the nearby suburbs. And I used to sell the Big Issue for money.
How were you able to change your situation? Hope you have a stable home.
@@Rockerlady I moved into a place called Emmaus Greenwich for 8 months first where you had to work in return for housing and food and a small amount of money. Then I moved into a shared house run by another homeless charity and applied for jobs and eventually got one as an office cleaner. While indoors I was able to apply for identification documents that I needed to get work.
@@angusmeigh5141 Thanks for answering.
Damn he aged so fast :(
There are a fair number of homeless "victims" around the world for sure. But one of the mistakes we make over and over again is to view them as a single cohesive group.
Homelessness is very complex and not all homeless people are "victims."
In free societies (meaning mainly capitalist/democracies) some people will always choose to quasi "drop out" and participate only at the far margins of society. They still utilize main stream resources (begging, shelters, bridges, parks) but in a decidedly non-main stream way. Why they make such choices is not always obvious. Perhaps its just the stressors of modern living or other such reasons but clearly certain people (not all) make "homelessness" their choice of lifestyle - even if this "choice" comes about over a period of time & conditioning.
We need to get smarter about homelessness. Its neither a case of soley "compassion for the helpless victims" of a greedy society, nor is it a case of "they need to just straighten up."
We really should help those who need help and those who would accept help, but for those bent on organizing a new "underclass" society of outlaws or outcasts (something Mark fails to show) we need to distinguish them from true victims and disallow such a new "permanent underclass" to arise as this will undermine society as a whole.
And incase any of us might have missed it, the politicization of "compassion" has turned it into a weapon that is threatening to do some real damage to our civilization. For examples I would point to any liberal/politically left run city in America where you will note a decline in infrastructure and a great increase in blue tarp campers, trashed tent cities, broken down RVs, increased crime, poop on sidewalks and rivers of urine mixed with opioids flowing thru downtown alleys. Come to Seattle, SanFran, Portland, LA etc.. and see for yourself. There is a fine line between helping and enabling. And being "tolerant" was never meant to be meaning "exploitive" and "politically opportunistic."
Bottom line, there are many causes of "homelessness" and we need to be wise and honest about all of them. Just viewing them as "hard luck victims" does NOT present an accurate or in the long run "helpful" picture of the issue.
That was a thoughtful commentary. I agree except for one thing: Mark had, unknowingly, interviewed four years ago an outlaw. He had interviewed a certain Scott in London in this interview:
th-cam.com/video/VmwYKUgyp_M/w-d-xo.html
''Scott was making a bed out of cardboard to sleep rough in Central London''
This is the same Scott who swindled his grandmother out of a lot of money.
www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/grandson-stole-over-15k-gran-12997872
''Grandson stole over £15k from his gran even helping set up a new account to continue the crime spree
Scott Ryder, 27, was only caught when police retrieved CCTV of him using her card to pay for rounds of ten pin bowling''
In the interview with Mark, this Scott says he's from the northeast. Stockton-on-Tees is in the northeast with respect to London. If this isn't the same Scott, Mark should have corrected the comments, but I think this is the same one.
At face value, this fellow looks nice and polite. Perhaps he did get rehabilitated after leaving prison. However, Mark cannot determine if the person is or was an outlaw, or not, in many cases. As you said, some people have done it to themselves to become homeless. His homelessness is the price he paid for having swindled his grandmother.
Dean Miller: you are right in pointing out that homeless people are not a singular homogeneous group, but then undermine this observation by falling into the age old 'deserving' and 'undeserving' categorisations, which serve to justify inhumane attitudes towards all homeless people on the basis that some are suffering from the consequences of their own actions - how do you determine those that are deserving and undeserving without allowing personal bias and hypocritical moral justifications to impair judgement? Moreover, people should be aware of the moral imperative to avoid such judgemental behaviour 'lest ye be judged'.
The sheer rise in the numbers of homeless people across the western world highlights that other political, economic and social factors are the ultimate driving forces behind the current homelessness epidemic. The age old economic argument that providing assistance to people in poverty distorts markets only serves to highlight that our economic system is organised for the benefit of elites, who are bailed out by the taxpayer to the tune of billions every time their criminally immoral behaviour threatens their own economic viability. However, it is the elite's economic and political power that has distorted financial markets across the globe, creating the perfect environment for social issues such as homelessness to become an increasingly visible problem.
The implication of your argument is that what you term 'compassion' politics is the driving force behind this problem, which threatens our civilization. In fact the opposite is the case, as neo-liberal economic ideology feeds into the desires of a financial elite that have no interest in supporting the infrastructure of the society they make their profits from through fair taxation, nor are they interested in the plight of everyday employees beyond their ability to provide a profitable surplus value through their labour. This is the reason that every wage/salary earning individual within the western world is only a few pay checks away from the same kind of destitution. Yes some homeless people are the authors of their own misfortunes, but very real sociopolitical and economic issues are exacerbating the overall problem of homelessness and other issues within capitalist society, and it is the nature of our current system that needs to be addressed. The current level of homelessness is merely a symptom of a much bigger overall sociopolitical and economic problem, which is its cause.
@@Runamokish
The point that you have just made... Is the conversation everyone is afraid to have.. and until it is ...nothing will change.
The things is about being homless ones you have been homless its really difficult to get back in to normal life again being homless is vary damaging for people
Is that ice poseiden?
he’s quite content though so it’s almost like he’s happy living like that?
accepting might be the word you are looking for..
I wonder why he didnt like durham? I live nearby durham.
bcoz its full of snotty snooty students and libtards who think there posh when there not
of course he's still there , no money = no life in todays Real world
what does sleeping rough mean?
Sleeping on the streets.
Its OMAR not Homer!
Do you see Omar?
Bless him Lord Jesus Christ!!!!
When GB opened its doors to "refugees" it exacerbated the problem. Plus those refugees were not always fleeing from terror. They've brought many new problems to GB. Homer seems like a good guy. Hope things work out for him and his new housing.
What has him being homeless for 26 years got to do with refugees? Absolutely nothing! 🙄 this guy is clearly a Londoner.
emtabby Homer and Mark discussed how housing problems were more difficult due to the influx of refugees in GB. So it's been even more difficult for him to get housing now. That is why I referenced it. He should be first in line BECAUSE he is a Londoner, you clearly misunderstood my remark. Hope this clears up your misunderstanding. There are many UNDESERVING refugees there who have bombarded GB's system. That's why he's had to wait so long at the present time. He is MOST DESERVING to be FIRST.
Here's an idea: Instead of trying to justify turning away refugees, focus instead on putting pressure on our Government which is not building more houses to keep up with demand, and sold millions of houses to private landlords.
John Hamelink Well it's not that easy, money is not unlimited, and the refugeees Jan is talking about, have severely drained the funds over the last 20-25 years.
Building houses makes jobs and invigorates the economy. Not building houses does the opposite. The economy of a country does not work the same way as the economy of a family
The videos that god doesn't want you to see
Why don't the interviewer open his garage if you have one to give him chance to get on his feet,he doesn't understand the poor is despised over looked,disrespected you need to be clean for job interview look persentable,needs money for transportation to job search ,it's easy to criticize, and the interviewer is accountable to GOD to help him in a big way keeping up with him ,some times it take longer for others. Shelter's are on a timer with their vacancy. They kill and rape men out there too.
Who gets the money from these videos? I'd like to think it all goes to charity.
This guy wants to be homeless, he had offers of a home but turned it down
CORRIGEEN71 maybe he doesn’t...but refuses them cos he has a dog...wake up.
CORRIGEEN71 Not a home. Halfway home is a dangerous place
I you want to raise money for homelessness auction off your 100K subscriber button
I find it difficult to empathise with this man. He was given a home that so many are desperate for and he basically didn’t care. I nearly ended up homeless myself and realise that a lot, including this man, are unappreciative and still have an entitlement mindset. I’m sorry but there’s love, help and support everywhere but a lot of people don’t want to change. I think what can end a huge amount of suffering including homelessness is a mindset switch to appreciation. This is ultimately what helped me to move forward.
He has free will to choose an acceptable place or not. It is not for you to force on him what he should take. Some gifts are better off not taken. No one is entitled to appreciation either. You either do something someone else needs, or you don't. Some places are dumps and it is safer on the streets. Apparently he knows how to manage the streets though it is hard for him.
Babu I wasn’t implying force of any kind and unsure what you mean by “no one is entitled to appreciation”. I agree with you on your other points though and yes, ultimately he gets to choose the life he wants to live.
Often the places homeless people are offered are horrible places.
Invisible People I understand that but it’s still a stepping stone for those that truly want to move forward and there are other people in parts of the world that would do anything for a roof over their heads. There needs to be will too and some people don’t have the will to change or better their circumstances. I know this man has it very tough but we all need to move forward and take steps to better ourselves.
Joe Betro you dont know what the room looks like so you cant judge him if it looks acceptable or not. you judge too quickly for someone just watching this video without living and seeing his situation in person.
Karma probably bad karma
Bollocks, known him years, he's sound as a pound.
Karma is coming for you be sure of that.
@@keepfitforunfitpunkswithdo3070 hey are you still in contact with Omer I’m his daughter?
@@mikaapellis8205 Hey - thought I messaged yesterday but think I only managed to email youtube! Your mate Amy has my number - give me a ring for a chat xx
😥