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The plight of the homeless hospitality workers sacked

A surge of unemployed restaurant workers are sent,

Onto the streets of London, unable to pay their rent.

Trafalgar Square at night is silent and empty.

But for the homeless rough sleepers, there aplenty.

 

Hundreds of tents and cardboard box encampments appearing,

Life under lockdown hundreds of catering jobs disappearing. 

The city day centres have closed ,no place to wash or shower,

No toilets ! Behind bins and bushes to defecate,the homeless cower.

 

Cafe closures ,no unsold sandwiches to devour at the end of the day

The newly homeless feel vulnerable as in the back streets in the dark they lay.

Jake a  sacked chef, for six weeks on a pavement has laid his head,

Awaiting a call for a room,but the battery on his phone's gone  dead.

 

The hospitality homeless are ill-equipped to be there,

Distressed,shell-shocked suffering financial despair.

The drive to get the rough sleepers away from this deadly germ,

Might transform how we deal with the problem in the long term.

 

 

 

 

 

 

🌷(2)

◄ The tooth will out

Advice from a homeless victim ►

Comments

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jennifer Malden

Wed 29th Apr 2020 17:40

The whole Corona business is a total disaster for almost any kind of business, shops, restaurants, pubs, cafès, manufacturers, private schools, hairdressers etc. etc. It's more important obviously to save lives, but many people are desperately worried, with no decent future in sight. No-one knows either how long the lockdown or semi -lockdown will have to last either. Very well described. Jennifer

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M.C. Newberry

Wed 29th Apr 2020 12:59

As a long term resident of central London, I am getting a daily
virus email update from Westminster Council about services, help and advice available. Anyone who chooses to remain in the area
can make use of these offers. Can there be anywhere that has
a more committed effort to keep its inhabitants out of harm's way?
Sadly, the appeal of the area for its "bright lights" means the problem
of increasing numbers using the streets of one particular zone of the
city in more numbers than anywhere else. Cause and effect come
into play and problems create more problems.

<Deleted User> (18118)

Tue 28th Apr 2020 14:35

Very powerful writing on an important issue.
The plight of the very vulnerable in this crisis is often overlooked.
Your poem paints a disturbing but true picture.

Hannah

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