Hi everyone, I'm new and have not posted before but this story caught my eye and I must comment. Homelessness is a subject close to my heart as I've been there twice over the years and my experiences of hostels may interest you. The first time was thirty years ago, it came about after a disasterous marriage ended followed by a breakdown and I lost everything. I was a decent, well educated bloke which shows that it can happen to anyone. I was so glad of a place in a hostel, it was a whole lot better than shop doorways and it wasn't a terrible experience. It took me a few months to get on my feet and then I was off to start a new life. Ten years ago my life went wrong again and I was glad to be offered a place in a hostel - little did I know how things (or people) had changed! Peoples' attitudes are now so different, a sense of entightlement that I have never come across. Instead of being grateful for a roof over their heads they are aggressive, greedy, disrespectful and when confronted, resort to abusive behaviour. Theft within is rife - food, clothes, pillows etc followed by the obligatory fighting when discovered. You almost have to sleep with an eye open and take everything with you when you go out. Forget about rules, they are all ignored and the idea of a 9 - 5 warden is a joke. Night time is the worst when the cans and the cheap cider come out, different ethnic groups turn on each other and the noise is unbearable. I begged to be moved and I thought I had got lucky, but the next one was worse! I used to feel sorry for people in nearby houses, even if they didn't hear all the night time noise they had to look at the dreadful mess out front. During fights furniture got smashed and would just get left outside, blokes too lazy to wait for an empty loo would relieve themselves up the wall. Neighbours must have complained to the council but nothing ever changed. It's not just the blokes, some of the families were the biggest offenders. So when the council tells you that it's going to be mainly for families don't be fooled! I see that their children will keep going to their old schools and how do you think they will get there? Some of the mothers were unbelievable - demanding (and getting) cabs to ferry their kids to school 'cos it's too far'. You good people of Honor Oak are right to be worried. My life has turned around now and I can work and rent a half decent flat but I would NEVER want to live anywhere near a hostel (especially one with 100 beds). An earlier poster made a suggestion which was maybe tongue in cheek but it really made sense to me. Living in the old offices at Catford Town Hall would be a great place. When you're on your uppers and genuinely trying to dig your way out you need every bit of help you can get. I lost count of how many times I used to visit the housing office, Citizen Advice, job centre, social workers, library etc. Living in the middle of it all would have been great and it looks like a palace compared to my old hostels. The homeless can't afford to be picky but I reckon that being stuck up on the hill (away from beady eyes) would be a disaster. I don't have children so I'm not in the loop re school places but just reading the posts I can see there is a big problem. I'm grateful for the help I've had over the years from local councils but if I've learnt one thing it's that they don't listen to the very people who pay their wages. So, good luck.