CLLR John Beesley is turning a blind eye to the simple fact that most of the homeless people in Bournemouth (and Poole and Christchurch) are local people who have fallen through the cracks of society. BCHA, Bournemouth’s largest homelessness charity, has evidence that 95% of the beds at St Paul’s are used by local people. The agencies working in our area need more resources from the local councils to keep local people from becoming homeless in the first place. And, we need more low-cost and appropriate council flats and bedsits to offer to those who desperately need them.

Homelessness is not a ‘lifestyle choice’, it is the end of the road for people who cannot function in our normal society.

There are many reasons why people become homeless: top reasons include relationship breakdown and not being able to afford rent.

The vast majority of local tax payers want the problem of homelessness solved, but recognise that a sound bite about sending people ‘back where they came from’ is not going to achieve this aim. The fact is that we do not want people rough sleeping and we expect our local councils and central government to use our taxes to actually solve the problem by providing housing for them. Have you considered the loyal tax payers who are so close to the edge themselves that they cannot help their son, brother, or cousin who is on the brink of homelessness? These people might not have the ear of the local councillors, but surely they deserve the reassurance that their tax money will help pay to get their family member back off the streets.

KATE MELLOR, Trustee, Routes to Roots, Poole's Homelessness Charity, and Executive Director, Quaker Homeless Action