JLFS

How terrible is that....

bobd22

I think they reviewed that a year or so back when they clawed back money from some poor sods family that gave his life in Afghanistan, a disgrace to say the least.

Domino

I remember having to send a signal to a recruiting officer who was in contact with the parents of a guy killed in a UK car accident on leave, he was told that the guy had been paid for Y days but had died at day X and therefore the RN was looking for the overpayment to be refunded.
The guy concerned responded that he was not prepared to do it and that if he felt the need for the money the captain of the ship could go and ask for it.

To the best of my knowledge it was quietly dropped.

ISTR there was a section regarding pay on the "standard" death report form sent to the authorities.

Domino

you mean after all these years they have still been doing it

The other disgrace is the UK insurance system which takes many weeks/months to pay out on death, requiring original of death cert etc.

that is why when the RN stopped the tot a large sum was paid into the "Tot Fund" which for 5p a day enabled membership so that in the event of death (under any circumstances) a sum of money was paid out in 48hours.

It is the initial period after a death where bank accounts are frozen, etc etc that cash is needed. This is what leads to the problems for servicemen and their families, some of the youngsters who go missing are also from ex service families where they have lost the bedrock of their existance.

Meanwhile, as banks are taking over empty/repossessed homes there are people who are living a poor existance.
Remember it isnt just those living on the streets, its also those who are bunking down on a mates settee, staying for a couple days with relatives etc etc that have to come into the homeless category.

So, Spain isnt the only place where there are problems, as Dave has found out. Perhaps more people should go and find out more about these people living on the edge of civilisation.

jackytoo

Back in the good ole UK are we...why am I not suprised Fortunate it wasn't about gay homeless or it would have been declared off topic and butchered to bits

Anyway if you must, check out the UK homeless laws. Any valid resident of the UK has a right to demand accommodation from their Local Authority. There are also lots of shelters. however, if they are pissed or drugged out of their minds they won't let them in. The charities are a national industry and are there to perpetuate their existance by conning pensioners and the Government out of money! (I am not speaking about the volunteers who do a good job, only the very highly paid charity workers).

Anyone remember the woman who slept for years under the arches next to the Savoy. Everyone used to give her ciggies and a couple of pounds when they were going home. They did a documentary on TV about her and some well-heeled woman gave her a start...she f***ed it up of course! (the homeless person)

So that's it...anymore on the empty homes and squatters in Spain??

Domino

Jacky, I know and admit to being a little bit out of date, but local councils used to use the following excuses -
1. You made yourself homeless, i.e. you could have stayed in your military house - after your enlistment term had expired ?
2. You have no ties to this town/city, you have lived for the past X years in Portsmouth, Aldershot, Harrogate etc go back there and find accommodation.

the former is ridiculous but true
and the latter is also ridiculous but true, even when one or both of the couple have mother/father, other relatives living in that town

funny they didnt use the same restrictions when they came to provide housing for the Nepalese who wanted to live in the UK after their service in the Ghurkas had finished - alot of their time was spent in Hong Kong.

Sorry Jacky, in many ways the backup systems for ex servicemen are more like that from the Napoleonic Wars than a modern society
Why do you think there are so many charities for ex servicemen and women, all duplicating the work of other "civilian" charities ??

cricketman

[QUOTE=jackytoo;9965386]Back in the good ole UK are we...why am I not suprised QUOTE]

Yes it is the threads that require a little knowledge of Spain that show how little British expats know about the country they live in

Lynn R

I'm sure I've heard it said that the majority of people are only one pay packet away from potential homelessness. So many people (either because they are on very low incomes or have relied too much on credit) haven't been able to save any money, and it only takes something like being made redundant or a relationship breakdown for their whole life to fall apart. Single (or newly single) people without children are particularly vulnerable as they don't get as much welfare support.

My stepdaughter could have been in this position last year, in the UK. She had been living in rented accommodation with her boyfriend. They split up and he moved out, leaving her to pay all the rent. Then she was made redundant. The landlord was not prepared to rent to anyone on Housing Benefit (and her application for Housing Benefit was taking weeks anyway). She was very lucky and found another job (and her boss, who owns some investment properties, included a rented house as part of her salary package) just in time, or she could have ended up homeless.

Not everyone who ends up in that situation is there because of alcohol, drug or mental health issues.

Lynn R

Shortly before Christmas I did see the President of the local Neighbourhood Association (who is a gitano himself) going up to the house in question, and possibly because of that and increased patrols from the Policia Local, things have improved somewhat since then. I hope they keep it up!

I think you are right, they are more likely to take notice of those from within their own community rather than foreigners, and they certainly aren't too fond of the police!

cricketman

Yep and they wont take orders from payos

I have fairly distant relatives who live in Alhaurin El Grande in a neighbourhood surrounded by Gypsies. They are always complaining about their neighbours, saying stupid theaving Spanish this and that.

They are the ones who paid hundreds of thousands of euros to live with the gypsies. They only stick their noses up at them so no wonder their house gets burgled, cars damaged etc

bobd22

Yes Jacky back in the good days they even used to give housing priority to ex forces etc. Believe me if in the UK you could get some one from the local authority to show an interest in an homeless serviceman he would need to be on drugs to live in the hovel they may offer him. In my experience it is slightly better for females if they come from a DV background which I can understand. The UK has changes as well as Spain .

bobd22

Probably the best hope is the SSAFA hostels but they are limited

angiescarr

A lot of answers to this post go on about Spain "not having a pot to piss in". But if money that's been paid to support banks all over Europe was used instead to support mortgages either mortgagees falling behind, or new mortgages there would be an upsurge in the economy straight away. People who feel secure spend..and earn more. It's a simple fact that Europe has just given the bankers who've****'d us all to turn us round and do it again, instead of putting money into many smaller but more important and productive industries. Homebuilding and ownership is one important pathway to this improvement.

bob_bob

Where was this? When I worked as a volunteer we found we could normally sort out housing benefit within 48 hours.

There also seem a few here who seem to associate mental illness and alcoholism with being homeless, something that is far from true; while there are some cases they are in the minority. In fact many folk with mental health/substance abuse issues hold down steady jobs and function well in society.

bobd22

All that was said is there are various reasons including these and others for being homeless. By the way those truly abusing substances in my experience which is innner City Estates in the North east do not either function well or hold down steady jobs. Recreational drug/substance abuse by the better off in society is a different matter.