British politician's formula to help homeless: need work, not just a roof under their heads
One of Dame Louise Casey's aims is to help stop homelessness. She is a British Government official and has worked under four Prime Ministers, including Tony Blair and David Cameron.
She is now the head of the 'Institute for Global Homelessness.' It seeks to bring about a system change in countries and cities to better help homeless people.
DAME LOUISE CASEY
Institute for Global Homelessness
“We do a combination of education, research and leadership. This is to try and make sure cities are able to set a target on homelessness, put an action plan in place and reduce the problem.”
According to Dame Louise Casey, homelessness is increasing and this isn't because of refugees. There are still many slum dwellings in places such as Asia and South America. In Europe, the number of people sleeping on the streets is increasing.
One of her proposals to stop homelessness is something St. Vincent de Paul did. This is not only giving homeless people shelter, but also giving them work.
DAME LOUISE CASEY
Institute for Global Homelessness
“The best thing we can do to dignify an individual is to remove a label 'homeless' and give them the name of a 'journalist,' or a 'charity worker.'” “The solution is more than a roof; it is actually about jobs and about help.”
In following the example of St. Vincent de Paul, she has been involved in the Vincentian Family Homeless Alliance. They are a religious organization attempting to launch more projects to help battle homelessness. One of these projects is the 13 Houses Campaign.
DAME LOUISE CASEY
Institute for Global Homelessness
“Every single congregation would set up 13 houses, which was one of the original things St. Vincent de Paul did. Over the next few years we would just house and house many people who are homeless.”
She believes that although more political action should be taken, there must also be more personal responsibility taken by everyone to help solve this global issue. It is hoped that these projects will encourage more action to be taken in fighting against homelessness.
