The problem of rough sleeping in central London has got to endemic proportions - with one in 25 of the Westminster population being homeless - residents will tell you, it was only a matter of time before someone was killed like this. Lining every street around the central London area are hundreds, if not thousands, of rough sleepers; almost all have mental health and addiction problems, there are constant fights, and many residents have had to call ambulances to treat overdosed addicts on our doorsteps. Whilst there is much talk of the housing crisis in London - with rising rents and property prices crippling those on low (and even medium) wages - by the time someone is sleeping rough on the streets in the centre of London, they need more help than just a house.
Imagine for a minute, you were made homeless: if you did not have the opportunity to stay with friends or family, had no recourse for state assistance and nowhere indoors to sleep, what would you do? Would your choice be to hide in a quiet park, or sleep in the alleyway next to the busiest streets in the country? Keep a low profile and try get back some sense of normality, or sit on a street corner in Soho begging for change?
Let's be honest here - for someone to be on the streets in central London for months or even years, it's because their addictions and/or violent behaviour has got them kicked out of every hostel and they get more money for drugs begging to tourists - not just because 'houses cost to much'. The presence of so many rough sleepers on the streets of central London represent more than just a failure of housing - there is a deeper failure of mental health and social services that have allowed so many to end up addicted to drugs and sleeping on the streets. Rather than more hostel beds & council blocks, we need more beds in rehab and mental health facilities, and assistive accommodation that helps treat people's problems rather than just putting a roof over their head; being practical, this will never be located in central London.
