Swindon Greens propose Homeless Bill of Rights

By Jessica Durston - 14 April 2022

Politics

Swindon Area Green Party says it has urged Swindon Borough Council to adopt a Homeless Bill of Rights to ensure homeless people are able to enjoy the same basic rights as everyone else.

The Swindon Greens say their proposal is similar to the successful Homeless Bill of Rights adopted last year by Brighton and Hove City Council.

The party adds that the Bill will enshrine the rights of homeless people in Swindon to housing, shelter, the use of public space, equal treatment, a postal address, sanitary facilities, emergency services, voting, data protection, privacy, survival practices, respect for personal property, and the right to life.

Andy Bentley, parliamentary candidate for the Greens in Swindon North in 2019, said: "With a run of bad luck, any one of us, or our friends or family, could be made homeless. Human rights are for everyone, but all too often being homeless means being treated as a second-class citizen.

"Any policy aiming to tackle homelessness should be based on fundamental principles that set out the rights of the people who are the most affected by it. This Bill of Rights attempts to do just that. Some of these rights already have a solid basis in law, most are just common sense, and all are what each of us would expect if we were in the same situation."

Bradley Williams, Green Party candidate for St Andrew's ward in the 2022 Swindon Borough Council elections, said: "A Homeless Bill of Rights could be adopted by Swindon Borough Council and become the standard against which the Council judges its policies, practices, and outcomes in relation to homelessness. We'd like all current councillors and those elected on 5 May to bring about a policy similar to that adopted in Brighton and Hove in the borough."

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