‘I am relentlessly determined to support those who are still homeless and suffering’

There is a huge problem with homelessness in Bristol and the UK as a whole. Every day and night around central Bristol – Broadmead, The Bear Pit, Castle Park and the city centre – I see men and women are sleeping, freezing cold and desperately hungry, on our streets.

As a member of a 12-step recovery fellowship in Bristol, I often hear more bad news that yet another homeless person has tragically passed away – several people have perished on the streets of Bristol in the past few months alone. Despite this, the Government have not shown any desire to step in to help, leaving countless more at the mercy of the freezing cold conditions, so far this winter.

Over the past week, whilst on my daily journey around central Bristol, I have spent time stopping to speak with many homeless people, trying to spread a message of hope by informing them of my online campaign. I’m asking our Government to take action, by using some of our hard earned tax money to save the lives of those people in desperate need on our streets. Some kindly agreed to appear in videos with me, to talk about their experiences and the suffering they’ve faced because of their homelessness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0UBH-uKsjU

Having spent a lot of time with people in 12-step recovery over the past few months, I’ve met countless amazing, inspirational people, a great many of whom have spent significant time homeless. These are highly-educated and qualified people, who were hard-working tax payers prior to their addiction problems taking hold, who ended up at rock-bottom, freezing and starving, clinging desperately to survival each day and night.

Since making it into recovery, having been fortunate enough to find shelter for a sufficient time, they have been able to begin to get well and start rebuilding their lives. The 12-step recovery community in Bristol is huge, boasting a great many people who, whilst maintaining their recovery program, have made it back into work, becoming dedicated taxpayers once again.

This shows me that it absolutely can be done. Therefore, I am relentlessly determined to support those who are still homeless and suffering, campaigning for our Government to act now, to spend British taxpayers’ money to bring people back inside. If we work to get them safe, warm and fed, they to can start to rebuild their lives, joining a 12-step fellowship if needed, and eventually getting back to work.

Over the past year, it has upset me hugely to see the Metrobus project to ‘improve’ Bristol city centre running significantly over the planned time and budget, whilst yards away, people are left dying on the streets. Excessive expenses are being paid out to MPs by taxpayers, despite their already-high wages. That money could be feeding and sheltering people instead.

The UK has rightly sent billions of pounds over the years to help people abroad, saving the lives of those who are in need. Surely we should be dedicating that kind of money to save the lives of those in our country, who are suffering just as much as those in other countries.

With these issues in mind, I have launched an online petition and call on the people of Britain to support me in getting my message to Parliament. Some say it’s an impossible dream, but I believe the British people can unite to send a message loudly and clearly to the UK Government, to save the lives of people in Britain.

Dan Turner is a member of a 12-step recovery fellowship in Bristol. Having immersed himself in the recovery process and started to rebuild his life, he is now determined to help the homeless in Bristol and campaign for the government to save the lives of homeless people all over the country.