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A homeless man built a life underground Hampstead Heath (2020)

theguardian.com

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Re: A homeless man built a life underground Hampstead Heath (2020)

#4
> Van Allen had budgeted £100 for the job, and come in under.

I have a question to people in charge of politics everywhere:

Given how much money governments spend on nonsense, why can't we take some money, and build simple, but quality and stable shelter for people?

If there are 100.000 homeless in a community, and 2 people manage to build that sort of shelter, with what they could get in tools and materials for 1,000,000 // 200 = 5000 Shelters. Oh, and that shelter served 2 people. So to house 100,000 people, this would need 10 Million pounds. And that's before we factor in economics of scale.

Let's acknowledge what a difference the existence of even a simple shelter makes in the life of a person: They have a stable base of operations to sleep, keep their posessions, a postal address, a place to wash up and prepare food. They know that place is there at the end of a day, eliminating some anxiety. They have a place they can heal when they get mildly sick. They won't be sick as often, be in better physical and mental shape. As a result they have an easier time finding jobs. So building these shelters doesn't even have to be a charity...it's literally an investment into a societies economic power that pays dividend over dividend.

So WHY AREN'T WE DOING THAT ALL THE TIME, EVERYWHERE?!?

Re: A homeless man built a life underground Hampstead Heath (2020)

#5

> Van Allen had budgeted £100 for the job, and come in under. I have a question to people in charge of politics everywhere: Given how much money governments spend on nonsense, why can't we take some money, and build simple, but quality and stable shelter for people? If there are 100.000 homeless in a community, and 2 people manage to build that sort of shelter, with what they could get in tools and materials for 1,00…

We have wars overseas to fund!

Re: A homeless man built a life underground Hampstead Heath (2020)

#6

> Van Allen had budgeted £100 for the job, and come in under. I have a question to people in charge of politics everywhere: Given how much money governments spend on nonsense, why can't we take some money, and build simple, but quality and stable shelter for people? If there are 100.000 homeless in a community, and 2 people manage to build that sort of shelter, with what they could get in tools and materials for 1,00…

I agree governments often inefficiently spend money, but

> Professional builders

In a high cost of living area the cost of labour is the main cost of building. If you spend £200 on materials but it takes you a week to build, then you're at £1000 labour minimum.

Re: A homeless man built a life underground Hampstead Heath (2020)

#8

> Van Allen had budgeted £100 for the job, and come in under. I have a question to people in charge of politics everywhere: Given how much money governments spend on nonsense, why can't we take some money, and build simple, but quality and stable shelter for people? If there are 100.000 homeless in a community, and 2 people manage to build that sort of shelter, with what they could get in tools and materials for 1,00…

Because a) he "stole" the land he used (land is really expensive in the UK and especially London) to build the shelter, and b) if the shelters were built officially there are of course rules to follow that I guarantee you this guy did not follow - e.g. fire safety. If the government built shelters out of some off cuts of wood and tarpaulin and then loads of homeless people burnt to death one day in them, who do you think will get the blame?

Re: A homeless man built a life underground Hampstead Heath (2020)

#9

> Van Allen had budgeted £100 for the job, and come in under. I have a question to people in charge of politics everywhere: Given how much money governments spend on nonsense, why can't we take some money, and build simple, but quality and stable shelter for people? If there are 100.000 homeless in a community, and 2 people manage to build that sort of shelter, with what they could get in tools and materials for 1,00…

1. Where are you going to build these? The neighbours will vote against you. Or you can build them in the middle of nowhere, meaning that they’re nowhere near any jobs.

2. This is appalling accommodation: no mains electricity, no heating, no running water, no sewerage. It is cheap, yes. People will assume that it’s part of a plan to _replace_ existing social housing, punish the working poor and generate tax cuts for the rich. (This is not your aim. But people are used to being misled by politicians and special interest groups. So many people assume the worst these days.)

3. If the state can get planning permission for this, why can’t the private sector get planning permission for higher quality housing?

Re: A homeless man built a life underground Hampstead Heath (2020)

#10

> Van Allen had budgeted £100 for the job, and come in under. I have a question to people in charge of politics everywhere: Given how much money governments spend on nonsense, why can't we take some money, and build simple, but quality and stable shelter for people? If there are 100.000 homeless in a community, and 2 people manage to build that sort of shelter, with what they could get in tools and materials for 1,00…

He did this using his own time. A professional builder would charge for the hours spent, and £100 would not allow for many hours of work.
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