The Act makes it illegal to sleep rough and/or beg. Whilst I do not wish anybody to have to sleep rough or beg, the people who are forced to do so should not be persecuted in any fashion, let alone from a legal stance. The Act was written at a time when wealth defined whether you were a criminal or not, thus segregating the poor from the rich, as a wealthy person would never find themselves in that position. The Vagrancy Act is out of date common law and needs to be vanquished so that Councillors cannot try and force Police to enforce such legislation when they are on a power trip, such as in the case of https://news.sky.com/story/outrage-as-council-leader-asks-police-to-clear-homeless-before-royal-wedding-11194599

Rough sleeping has almost doubled in the last year, but, the number of supported beds for homeless people has plummeted. There is also not enough affordable accommodation for people to move on to, making matters worse. As a result, despite the goal of no second night out, rough sleepers are waiting an average of 12 weeks before some form of accommodation is provided. We therefore urge BHCC to fund resources to expand the amount of support accommodation available for homeless people all year round, not just when temperatures hit 0c and ensure that the existing budget available is spent. PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION BEFORE WEDNESDAY 31ST JAN 2018 so that we can take the signatures to the council at their next meeting. Please share this with family, friends, work colleagues, school mates, members of your clubs etc - it really does have an impact.* *My first petition to BHCC received 4,111 signatures. On the 6th April 2017 the Housing Committee passed the petition with 100% of the vote, which was then carried to the resources committee - who reserved £135,000 for night shelters. This funding has gone to finance a night shelter which the council opened on the 10th Dec 2017 in the Brighton Centre. Many thanks to all those who signed up, you made a big difference to some of the Brighton and Hove rough sleepers!

It is so tough being homeless. But the worst is during the Winter. At night you are fighting for your life. So we urge all City Councils to provide appropriate accommodation. This does not need to be a struggle, but for many it currently is. By signing this, you could save a life. A basic human right is the right to life. So why wait. Please, for the good of all. Thank you

The footpath on Platt Lane in Keyworth is used by many walkers and only half of it has footpath. The speed limit on the section of the road without the footpath is 60mph and even if the speed limit was lowered it would still be dangerous as it has many blind bends. It is only a matter of time before someone is injured or there is a fatal accident.

The changes, giving LA’s the money for refuges, will lead to refuges being closed because local authorities that are already stretched will be unlikely to want to pay for a woman and her children who have come from out of town( for safety reasons). The LA will want to use the money elsewhere, meaning more women will be killed and injured at the hands of abusive partners. It will also lead to more emotional trauma for children living in abusive households

Sign the petition to show Blackpool council that they should allow homeless people to take shelter in Blackpool Foyer during the winter season.Homelessness in Blackpool is getting higher and higher, and there are 38 empty flats that are clearly available. For three years now the Blackpool Foyer has been closed,which has 38 flats that can be used to accommodate young homeless people between the age of 16 to 24 during the winter season.The Blackpool Foyer can be very useful over the winter period rather than an empty building with no purpose. I seriously think Blackpool Council should be considering using the building to help the homeless in partnership with Great Places Housing Group and other organisations.

Orbit wish to start charging a fee unfairly onto a few residents for an area they have no control over, the fee would only be applied to tenants not other local people who also make use of the space which has been Orbits responsibility for years but they now wish to charge for

Shelter Scotland estimate that 5,000 people sleep rough on Scotland's streets throughout the year (1). The main route to homelessness is the loss of a tenancy. In Glasgow alone, 39 people died between May 2016 and March 2017 (2). This risk is far higher in the winter. And this situation is completely avoidable. In France since December 1956, there has been a “winter break’’ to help protect residents from being thrown out into the cold from the 1st of November until the 31st of March. This covers all tenants, people in temporary accommodation, and people living in any temporary shelters from being evicted or such temporary structures from being destroyed (3). The “winter break” law helps reduce the risk of people having to sleep rough during the winter, and reduces winter deaths. Help us win this for people in Scotland too. We are calling on the Scottish Government to implement a similar law against evictions during the winter. We do not want anyone sleeping rough this winter and any more winter deaths in Scotland. We want a #WinterBreak for evictions in Scotland. https://scotland.shelter.org.uk/get_involved/campaigning/homelessness_far_from_fixed/why_this_matters http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15284726.Death_on_the_streets__Shock_figures_reveal_horrifying_extent_of_homeless_fatalities_in_Scotland/ https://www.verdict.co.uk/winter-truce-france/

Mellish Street Community Centre has been a central part of The Isle of Dog since the NHS built it in 2005, in one form or another. The building was left as a legacy by the NHS to the Community and today it is used by a local charity named the Docklands Community Organisation(DCO) which is a consortium of a host of Voluntary organisations all based on the Isle of Dogs. The organisation provides a host of activities but not limited to: youth groups, after school supplementary education clubs for local school children, fitness classes, adult education, health education, gardening projects and much more. It is important that Tower Hamlets Council recognise and support its status as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) so that it cannot be sold on for unsympathetic other uses without the community knowing and first having the chance to buy it. Granting Mellish Street Community Centre as an Asset of Community Value status gives the local community the time it requires to raise the funds required to save the centre. The Centre was left derelict for number of years. Residents from the local community invested over £70,000 to bring it to a habitable state and have been maintaining it. In addition, the ACV registration should be taken into account when planning applications on the building are made and can be grounds for refusal where this would strip the building of its use or result in demolition. Community centres such as the Mellish Street Community Centre play a pivotal part in community life, providing activities and a focal point for the community. Among the benefits that come from activities in community buildings are: less social isolation, healthier living, more education and better training, better support for young families and the elderly and access to local democracy. Mellish Street Community Centre serves an important purpose for the local community and we will do everything we can to save it. This petition is asking Tower Hamlets Council to grant ACV status to the Mellish Street Community Centre, to give us, the Isle of dog’s community, the time we need to raise the funds to save the community centre, for us and for our children. We also seek the Council to grant the Docklands Community Organisation to enter into a long lease and seek a Community Asset transfer and/or Community Right to Reclaim Land so that we can have the Community Right to Build a new permanent community centre with ancillary provision to meet the needs of Islanders within the meaning and spirit of the Localism Act so that the site can be developed at no cost to the Council.

Tower Hamlets council is evicting over 100 vulnerable residents from Hopetown women-only hostel in Whitechapel. The council is closing the hostel and cutting women-only hostel beds in the borough by one third. They have issued eviction notices and are forcing residents to move to mixed gender accommodation or sending them miles away out of borough. Hopetown Hostel in Whitechapel is one of the last women-only hostels in East London. Most homeless women and non-binary people are survivors of violence or abuse. With refuges closing their doors and a housing crisis, gender specific hostel services like Hopetown provide a vital space for survivors. Tower Hamlets council are treating survivors and other vulnerable women appallingly and are putting them at risk.

The Whittington Hospital Board have decided to appoint Ryhurst, a subsidary of Rydon, to co-ordinate and manage the proposed Estates Strategy. This is the company that refurbished Grenfell Tower, prior to the devastating and tragic fire, and more locally the Chalcots Estate. There has been no community consultation regarding this irresponsible, insensitive and crass decision to appoint Ryhurst. We do not want to see parts of the Whittington Estate, covering community and in-patient health care across Haringey and Islington, sold off. Ryhurst will be entitled to share the proceeds with the hospital - to pocket OUR health funds, paid out of OUR health taxes. Staff could lose jobs and health service provision could be cut.

Bield care homes provide care for more than 160 people in Scotland, all of whom are about to lose their homes. Most of these residents are elderly and have complex needs, including dementia. My 87 year old Grandmother is a resident of Bield. Leaving her house of over 50 years was a massive wrench. She has said that "having to start over again is terrifying". She feels the situation to be "just hopeless". Other residents have said that they feel "completely forgotten about" and are "fearful of what their future holds". The thought of my gran and others having to find new accommodation and to go through another long settling in period, doesn't bear thinking about. The impact on my gran's and that of other residents' mental health would be catastrophic. For a person living with dementia, having familiarity of surroundings and trusted faces contributes to them feeling safe and secure. How sad that for so many of Bield's residents all that they know is about to be taken away from them. Bield's overarching values include "Dignity" and "Caring". Their slogan is "a home for life". They plan to close 12 care homes. This is also believed to be affecting 200 staff. Several of these homes will be giving notice to their registry body close to Christmas, so time is of the essence. We implore the Scottish Government to take action against these closures in order to spare these residents further distress. Bield Care Homes planned for closure: Woodlands - Bo'ness (Falkirk) Thornton Gardens - Bonnybridge (Falkirk) Grantsbank - Dunfermline (Fife) Gillie Court - Dunfermline (Fife) Finavon Court - Glenrothes (Fife) Lochar Lodge - Pollok (Glasgow) Milfield Gardens - Jedburgh (Scottish Borders) Langvout Court - Biggar (South Lanarkshire) St Andrews Court - Broxburn (West Lothian) West Port - Linlithgow (West Lothian) Haugh Street - Edinburgh Craighall Gardens - Edinburgh