No help to be had

He’d recently returned to Bexhill and had been staying with his dad – but dad had thrown him out after a row, and it was now 11pm on a cold December evening.

He’d been walking past our house when one of my daughters went outside for a cigarette – and they got talking. He had nowhere to go – so I decided to make some phone calls.

I tried the social services emergency number – as suggested by the 999 switchboard, the Eastbourne and Wealden emergency number supplied by the Rother emergency answerphone, a local vicar and another vicar’s wife (my apologies for disturbing you so late), and an acquaintance who is a very busy member of another local church (again, my apologies for the late phone call).

Basically – no one was able to help.

The emergency contact numbers passed on the young man’s mobile number to the Rother Homeless team (?), who told him they couldn’t help because he doesn’t meet the required criteria – eg specific health issues, has a child with him or is under 18, etc.

My church acquaintance ran through a list of contacts he has – but no sign of an overnight shelter or similar in the area. And the vicar advised that the need for emergency accommodation often occurs, but that the nearest support is in Hove – more than 30 miles away, and certainly not a distance to be walked without preparation through a cold December night.

This young man had been in care from the age of 11 – but has done everything he can to remain independent and not follow the self-destructive path of many of his peers. And he’s always tried to find work to pay his own way and avoid joining the dole queue.

And what is his reward when he finds himself homeless and on the streets of our wonderful town? Zilch. Nothing. A council office closed until January 3, local churches without a support network – and a local police station who warn him that if he turns up again asking for help, they will fine him £60 for wasting police time!

A couple of agencies outside of our town have tried to offer help, but there is a serious shortage of temporary accommodation throughout East Sussex, and a limit to the help available from the Brighton and Hove area.

Do we wait until someone freezes to death on our seafront and we hold up our hands in horror, offering sincere condolences to his/her family and vowing this must never happen again?

God came to Bexhill this Christmas – but there was no room in the stable either!

ANNA CHAMP

Reginald Road

Bexhill-on-Sea