Northampton Hope Centre CEO urges people to think twice before giving to 'homeless' people that might not really be

Charitable souls in Northampton are being encouraged to change their approach when it comes to people who beg, with encouragement to find help seen as a better alternative to simply donating money.

The suggestions come from Robin Burgess, chief executive of The Hope Centre Northampton, who is concerned that people are misinterpreting what they see into thinking that homelessness is worse than it really is.

His concern comes from accounts of individuals that are seen to be 'on the streets' but are not actually homeless. These can include people who beg at cashpoints.

People are then reportedly donating money under this wrong assumption, which could ironically worsen the person's troubles.

Mr Burgess said: "We should firstly be kind and compassionate wherever we can. People who beg have got their needs and I am in no way suggesting you should be anything but kind to them.

"Those needs can be because they are desperately poor, they may be addicted to drugs or alcohol, or they may have other challenges that lead them to beg.

"But there are cases where kind-hearted people are told the person is homeless so they can have money, as in one example that happened; 'Hope Centre is full, so if you give me £8 then I can get into a hostel for the night'.

"In reality, Hope doesn't provide accommodation, so there's no way for us to be 'full' and there is not one hostel that would charge £8 for a night.

"Similarly, I have spoken to people who beg near cashpoints saying they are homeless. I've told them 'if you go here by this time you will have a bed for the night', they thank me, then half an hour later they're still there asking for money to 'have a bed for the night'."

The CEO stressed that this should be no pretense to judge or harass people who beg, saying that pointing them towards help is the best thing to do.

He argued that addiction or mental health challenges might be clouding the person's judgement of what they should do. Alternatively, they may be truly uninformed that resources like council accommodation are there.

However, he said that 'most of them' do know the resources are there, thanks in large part to groups like Hope who do regular outreach to these groups.

Along with outreach, Hope has services to help with accommodation, addiction, mental health, food poverty and more. All of which the CEO said should be prioritised over giving money that 'you don't know where it's going'.

Mr Burgess said: "People often misunderstand or confuse those on the street with people who are homeless. It is an understandable assumption. If I weren't informed on it I might make the same assumption.

"But homelessness is much less prevalent in Northampton than some people would suggest. People can be 'on the streets' for all kinds of strange reasons and you don't know why they are there necessarily.

"It is your choice ultimately. But encouraging them to find help is the best thing you can do for them."

For further information on services for homelessness, addiction and more then you can visit the Northampton Hope Centre's website.