Members of four community campaign groups from Manchester joined forces yesterday to take part in a national day of action against Universal Credit. The paving stones of St Peter’s Square were covered with chalked slogans denouncing the controversial social security payment system, and a letter was presented to Manchester Town Hall demanding an end to […]
Male sex work uncovered – the pain behind the game
Guest article from Street Support Greater Manchester: ***CONTENT WARNING:This article contains details of sexual abuse that some may find distressing.*** When we think of the stereotypical “sex worker”, we are more than likely to think of the eastern European woman who has been trafficked into a western European country and is working in a brothel […]
Salford Council reveals staggering levels of homelessness
Guest article from The Salford Star: As the Homelessness Reduction Act kicks in this month, Salford City Council is about to publish its new 44-page Homeless Strategy which reveals shocking and staggering levels of homelessness in the city. Included in the report is the fact that Salford has a higher level of rough sleeping than […]
Burnham’s battle to end rough sleeping by 2020 – can he do it?
Andy Burnham’s pledge to end rough sleeping by 2020 played a large part in the campaign which saw him become the Mayor of Greater Manchester ten months ago. Burnham inherited a growing homelessness and housing crisis which has seen the level of rough sleeping rise 13-fold in Manchester since 2010, with the problem escalating quicker […]
The Meteor in print: pick up your copy today
The Meteor is proud to present our first special edition in print, which covers our latest exploration into the increasing crisis of homelessness in Manchester. The growing problem is obvious to anyone walking through the streets of Manchester where rough sleeping has increased 13-fold since 2010. Greater Manchester’s Mayor,Andy Burnham, described the rising numbers as […]
Domestic abuse led to life on the streets for Julie
“I didn’t ask to be homeless love. I never thought I’d go from working, to nothing. I was learning to drive and everything, I was going to get my own car. Half the house was bought – I had bought half my husband’s house, but I had to leave it so he couldn’t find me. […]
Manchester is putting Housing First – and the results look good
This article is part of ‘The Meteor Explores: Homelessness in Manchester‘ series. Decadence, procrastination and occasional nudity. It would be tricky to explain some of our private domestic activities to an imagined third-party observer, but anarchic indulgence is for many the wholly necessary backend to the economically functional front which the aforementioned observer would probably wish […]
Inside the outside: living on the streets of Manchester
“Spice victims!” a well dressed woman said as she walked past us in Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester, where we were sat together, wrapped in sleeping bags at the entrance of a bank. It was late in the evening as late winter was turning into early spring. At this time of year, it is still cold, yet […]
‘Be the change you wish to see’ – Manchester’s squatters are doing just that
The idea that ownership breeds value is essentially true. However, it is not true in the Thatcherite sense, where ownership is the means to the end of an individualistic anti-society. It is true if you develop an area which’s express purpose is to be the collective property of those who inhabit it or utilise it, […]
Andy Burnham describes a ‘humanitarian crisis’ as 42% rough sleeping increase across Greater Manchester revealed
Mayor Andy Burnham yesterday described the 42% increase in rough sleeping across Greater Manchester between 2016 to 2017 as a “humanitarian crisis”. The increase was revealed in the official rough sleeping statistics for England released by the Ministry of Housing Communities & Local Government. Burnham criticised a number of central government policies, which he blames […]