Author Archives: wendy
Homeless man dies in the cold – where is the Care?
Homeless man Daniel Gauntlett dies frozen on doorstep of empty bungalow in Aylesford
Homesless Daniel Gauntlett died outside this bungalow in Aylesford
by Chris Hunter
A tarpaulin, a pillow, a dirty old jacket, a carrier bag and a few worthless items strewn over the veranda of a boarded-up bungalow.
This is where homeless Daniel Gauntlett tried to find shelter through a bitterly cold winter and where, on a freezing night on Saturday, he finally succumbed to the cold.
Mr Gauntlett, 35, was found the next morning by a passer-by who spotted his body from the pavement.
His belongings still left where he died, residents in Hermitage Lane, Aylesford, reacted with sadness to the news and said Mr Gauntlett had become a familiar sight in the street.
And they said the sadness was compounded by the fact he died outside an empty bungalow due to be bulldozed.
Police had reportedly been called previously after he tried to break into the bungalow. And so Mr Gauntlett, had taken the fatal decision to abide by the law.
Derek Bailey, 80, who lives next door, said Mr Gauntlett had not appeared to be in ill health.
Carers in Nottinghamshire will get more support
£1.7m boost for Notts carers
AN extra £1.7m is being proposed to support carers in Nottinghamshire by the county council’s adult social care and health committee on Monday, 4th March.
Around £1m of the additional money from NHS Nottinghamshire County is planned to be spent on a range of support measures to improve the lives of carers in Newark and Sherwood, Mansfield and Ashfield, Gedling, Rushcliffe and Broxtowe.
A further £500,000 will be spent directly by the NHS on carers, including doubling the current funding of £300,000 on breaks to provide respite for those in a caring role.
Family unpaid carers have to fight for everything
Truth and lies about poverty, benefits and welfare
Abstract
A new churches’ report (published by by the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Church of Scotland, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church, through their Joint Public Issues Team) shows how evidence and statistics have been misused, misrepresented and manipulated to create untruths that stigmatise poor people, welfare recipients and those in receipt of benefits. Ekklesia has not been involved in the commissioning or production of this report, but as a thinktank working on welfare issues and advocating a major shift of public policy towards the needs, concerns and skills of marginalised people in society, we are pleased to endorse and publicise it.
