News Archive
Providence Row is a charity working to provide support and hope to homeless people in Tower Hamlets and the City of London.
Homelessness can be a state of mind
08 April 2010
On Tuesday 30th March we gathered leaders in the homelessness sector to debate the above motion.
The discussion was both considered and high spirited, with John Bird, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Big Issue, and Jeremy Swain of Thames Reach trading views and verbal jabs, much to the audience’s delight. Providence Row’s Jo Ansell, the Passage’s Mick Clarke, Providence Row Housing Association’s Fiona Humphrey and Jenny Edwards from Homeless Link also stated their views.
Much of the discussion focused on the role that mental health plays as both a cause and effect of homelessness. Jenny Edwards of Homeless Link warned that it was time for society to change its perception of homeless people in order to tackle the issue of rough sleeping.
The debate was chaired by Helen Rice, CEO of Blackfriars Advice Centre, who engaged a lively audience with the panellists to challenge their views and policies.
Jo Ansell, CEO of Providence Row Charity challenged the panel and the audience to rethink the importance of simply finding accommodation such as hostels as the solution to homelessness. ‘A hostel’, she concluded, ‘is no substitute for having a home and a sense of belonging without which people are left feeling isolated and lonely’.
You can see this lively debate on homelessness via youtube
We would like to thank Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer for hosting this successful event.
 and Fiona Humphrey (CEO of Providence Row Housing Association) (2).JPG)
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