Are 'anti-homeless' spikes heartless?
Activists in London have been softening the sharp metal objects designed to keep the homeless from sleeping on the streets by covering them with mattresses and pillows.
Activists put a bed, pillows, and a miniature library atop the spikes designed to deter the homeless from sleeping outside storefronts in London.
Five hundred forty-three.
That鈥檚 how many people slept on the streets of London in autumn 2013,. And 15,500 people were or in temporary living circumstances in the city during 2012-2013. Recently, some London shops and businesses have taken drastic measures to prevent the local homeless from sleeping or lingering near their establishments: They have installed metal spikes outside their buildings.
The sharp objects rise a couple inches from the ground, baring silver teeth. The prongs are spread several inches apart from to prevent anyone from lying down, or even sitting.
But now, a group known as 鈥淪pace, Not Spikes鈥� has taken it upon themselves to do a bit of redecorating. The group has placed mattresses complete with sheets, pillows, and even books, in order to make the spikes more welcoming. 聽
The group鈥檚 mission is to聽鈥淸Turn] travesties of urban design into hospitable spaces,鈥� . The group was formed to protest the fairly recent use of spikes to deter the homeless in . 聽
Behind these spikes is a history of protest. Selfridges, a department store, in Manchester installed the shiny objects outside their storefront in December 2014. The company claimed at the time that they were, 鈥減art of a number of measures to reduce litter and smoking outside the store's team entrance," said a spokesperson for the high-end department store . But the store agreed to remove the spikes a couple of months later, after an online petition gained over 10,000 signatures in a couple of weeks . Tesco, a supermarket chain in London, installed spikes and then , also in response to protests.聽
While the rate of homelessness in London has been , the number of people sleeping on the streets of England鈥檚 capital is much lower than in was in 2005. In 2013, that fewer people were sleeping on London's streets for multiple nights in a row, due to 鈥淣o Second Night Out鈥� policy, which provides an emergency place to sleep and contacts friends, family, or services either domestically or abroad. However there is concern that this policy is driving the homelessness rate up in surrounding suburbs, which lack the capital and infrastructure to provide for out-of-town residents.
The high rate of homelessness in London can be attributed to a , including rent and housing prices, and increasing landlord repossessions; additionally, only seven of London's 33 neighborhoods met their targets for affordable housing in 2013.
Leslie Morphy, chief executive of , a British charity for single homeless people, that the solution to homelessness, "is not rocket science. We need to think longer-term, allocate resources more effectively, and pick up earlier on people in difficulty."
For now, these activists are trying to let the homeless sleep where they are able to find space. 鈥淩egardless of whether you own, rent or even have a home, the streets are ours," Space, Not Spikes says on their website.