Tag Archives: Sleep

News, Politics

U.K: Tens of thousands set for country-wide protests against Government’s ‘bedroom tax’

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London – Tens of thousands of people will take part in a “mass sleep out” tonight to protest against the “bedroom tax” and other welfare changes.

People will gather in towns and cities across the UK, including London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Cardiff, Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds, and sleep on the streets to draw attention to the effects of the controversial measures.

One of the organisers, Rick Victory, 46, of Cheltenham, said: “We expect at least 3,000 people to take part in the 60-plus events.

“We fear that the cuts will push people who cannot afford to move into the private rented sector towards homelessness.

Read more » Evening Standard
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/tens-of-thousands-set-for-countrywide-protests-against-governments-bedroom-tax-8783231.html

Life, Random

Every night in America, about 70,000 veterans sleep on the streets

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Veteran who found his way circles back to help others

By Petula Dvorak

Every night in America, about 70,000 veterans sleep on the streets. For 30 years, Gerard Thomas was one of them.

A paranoid schizophrenic, Thomas took a long time to get back indoors after serving in a stateside military hospital during the Vietnam War.

In and out of prison, mental institutions and straitjackets for decades, sleeping on park benches, in doorways or in the woods, Thomas was living proof of the holes in our social safety net.

He kept looking for help, he said, but like many veterans of that war, all he heard was “No.”

“Back then, people didn’t understand how damaged we were,” said Thomas, 62, who now devotes his life to helping homeless veterans.

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