When your government condemns you to rot in the streets.

You may or may not know that I have been volunteering at a drop-in for the homeless and under-privileged for a little more than a year now. What we do is pretty simple, we serve food, play board games and have a chat with these people; we basically give them a safe environment where they can socialise without the fear of being judged.
I absolutely love it, I have met some very interesting people with very interesting, though sometimes sad, stories. In the time that I have known these people I have come to realise that a lot of them are veterans like Seth (not his real name) who has served in Iraq and Iran and is now homeless. Seth's health is deteriorating at an alarming rate and I haven't seen him in more than a month leaving me worried and perplex about what might have happened to him. Last time I heard of him, Seth had been arrested for begging.

Seth like many other men and women has risked his life for his country. We may not all agree with these wars but the fact that these people fought for what his government believed in and that they are now left to rot in the streets profoundly disgusts me. The government won't help Seth and when he begs to try to support himself, the government arrests him.

The government has no money to support the disabled, the unemployed, the universities or the homeless but is spending £8 million for Thatcher's funeral. I don't want to throw dirt on the deads' back but I find this highly inappropriate.

So now before I leave the UK I really hope I will see Seth on his two feet, he is a really sweet and caring man and I wish things were better for him and all the others out there.

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