See you on the streets

MONDAY 31st OCTOBER: CALL OUT FOR A MASS SLEEP OUT

CRITICAL MASS (BIKES) MEET AT WATERLOO 7PM

PEDESTRIAN CONTINGENT MEET AT HIGH STREET KENSINGTON TUBE – EVENING STANDARD HQ 6.30PM

THERE WILL BE A NEARBY (PUMPKIN) SOUP KITCHEN AND STREET ENTERTAINMENT, BRING YOUR SLEEPINGBAG, CARDBOARD, AND WARM CLOTHES!

TUESDAY 1st NOVEMBER: ON MASS REGISTRATION OF HOMELESSNESS

9AM OUTSIDE WESTMINSTER HOUSING OPTIONS SERVICE, 101 ORCHARDSON STREET, NW8.

THIS ACTION IS TO SYMBOLISE THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF CRIMINALISING SQUATTING ON THE ALREADY STRETCHED HOMELESSNESS SERVICES

http://www.squashcampaign.org/2011/10/out-of-the-squats-and-into-the-streets/

THIS CALL OUT EXTENDS TO OTHER CITIES TO TAKE ACTION OUTSIDE THEIR REGIONAL HOMELESS PERSON UNITS WITH MASS SLEEP OUTS, SOUP KITCHENS, AND OUTDOOR ENTERTAINMENT. FOLLOWED THE NEXT DAY BY ON MASS REGISTRATION OF HOMELESSNESS.

BRIGHTON MAY DO SUMMAT DETAILS TO FOLLOW

S.N.O.B. Statement regarding Clarke’s anti-squatting amendment to the Legal Aid Bill

28th October 2011

It has been kept noticeably quiet that the government are attempting to pass a new law this coming Tuesday which will criminalise homelessness and the vulnerably housed by making squatting in the majority of empty buildings a “criminal offence”. In a move which bypasses democratic process, they are burying the new legislation in an amendment to the Legal Aid and Sentencing Bill, without allowing any meaningful public debate on the specific proposal. Findings in a recent public consultation on the issue of squatting showed that the vast majority of respondents were opposed to criminalisation and this underhand push completely ignores these findings.

As it stands thousands of otherwise homeless people have somewhere to live – however temporary. Despite common misconceptions (often propagated in the media and repeated by politicians, such as Mike Weatherly), people already have legal protection against others squatting their home. Stories of people occupying their house while they are on holiday are, almost without exception, invented by the media and the law is already adequate for these situations. The proposed amendment to the Legal Aid Bill is clearly not intended for these situations and has far reaching implications.

People who squat are looking for shelter and a home, not a criminal record. They are careful to do so in a manner that makes use of wasted buildings which have been kept empty for long periods of time, often protecting them from disrepair. Displacing other people from their homes is contradictory to the idea that housing is a basic human right for everyone. Squatted buildings have also been used for community projects, art exhibitions, free libraries and free shops, as well as campaigns against gentrification and many other positive community-involving examples. This move by the government is targeted at criminalizing all of this.

The law will also target some of the most vulnerable in our society – further increasing the problems of mass homelessness, streets full of empty properties, and the associated loss of community. At the same time the government’s program of unjust and unnecessary public cuts disproportionately affects the poorest and most marginalised in our society. Many are forced into homelessness by rising house prices, economic uncertainty, and fewer jobs; this proposed act would seriously affect thousands of people, forcing many of them onto the streets, into overflowing prisons, or into an already overstretched housing benefit system.
The government, police and the press try to associate squatting with criminal activity, mindless anti-social behaviour, and ‘immigrants’, in order to drive a wedge between people who squat and the rest of the society. Such slurs and misinformation must be rejected as they have no place in a democratic society. Criminal behaviour is no more likely to occur in squats than in any other form of housing. The contribution of the squatting movement throughout history has played a significant role in the struggle for better living conditions, and has a positive role to play in the future.

S.N.O.B calls on everybody to consider the rights of people to housing above the greed of property owners and speculators. There are more empty buildings in this country than there are homeless people, and S.N.O.B believes that it is disgraceful that people should be forced to live rough or in hostels when there are so many empty buildings which could be used for housing, but are left rotting. We believe that this amendment should be critically challenged, and the full impacts considered. It is essential that we raise as much awareness as possible about this amendment whilst the government tries to force this bill through quickly and quietly to avoid public debate.

We therefore call upon everyone from all walks of life, including human rights groups, trades unions, students, anti-cuts groups and everyone affected by the recession and austerity measures, to actively oppose the Legal Aid and Sentencing Bill.
Housing should be a right, not a privilege.

Squatters Network of Brighton (and Hove actually)
snobaha@gmail.com