Soup and compassion

Published: 18 March 2011

• ST Mungo’s is not supportive of the Westminster proposal to ban rough sleeping in Victoria (Cathedral rough sleepers and soup run wrangle heats up, March 11). 

We are against any proposals that might stigmatise someone forced to sleep rough and believe this sort of local ban would at best simply move rough sleepers elsewhere. 

We work day and night all year round to house and help rough sleepers, and not just those in the West End. 

We helped 520 rough sleepers off the streets last year, 120 people into jobs, and more than 700 into training or education.

We recognise the great compassion of those involved in providing food to vulnerable people but believe that generosity would be so much more productive if it supported the work of their local day centres and hostels and shelters, and helped people rebuild their lives away from the streets.  

We should respect the concerns of many local residents about the number of soup runs regularly arriving in the area around Westminster Cathedral and the related problems of litter, crowds and noise.

Mike McCall
Executive Director of Operations, St Mungo’s

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