Thanks Wendall for making me me feel grateful. The divide between the haves and have nots is off the scale. A society is best judged by how it treats its most vulnerable. We are failing on all counts.
A great example of the contrast between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots' in broken Britain. The gent living on the beach is very articulate and personable so I hope he gets himself back into work and housing.
Gets on with claiming disability payments and downing cider whilst bumming on the beach. Most blokes like this are sent to one of Bournemouth’s many treatment centres through the courts and they don’t leave once they’ve fallen off the wagon. I lived there for 20 years and worked in housing and homeless services so I’m well placed to make my judgements.
@@joelarama I work with very vulnerable people and I would not be able to do such a tough job without compassion. That said, you can’t have 20 odd years experience in this field without being a realist too. There are plenty of crooks, freeloaders and predatory types who target the vulnerable homeless community and it’s services.
Bournemouth is a place I know well as my late son lived there for 5 years and for some of that time he worked for a homeless charity and witnessed everything that Wendall has touched upon. What I have come to believe is that there is a lot of money to be made out of the drug and alcohol dependent and the homeless. We Are Humans seems to have the right ethos, but many of the charities become businesses who need to fund highly paid managers, which in turn means that they need to maintain a cohort of destitute people to keep afloat! I wish there was an answer, but it is worth noting that accommodation doesn't appear to be in short supply when the government need or want it.
Thanks for your really interesting view on the situation. Before I comment, I respectfully send you heartfelt condolences for the loss of your son. As a local Service User who works hard, pays tax and am self-employed, I totally agree with your view on the addiction services offered to the community. Instead of being treated as a mental health issue with appropriate funding as such, these services are put out to tender every so many years. Local service providers and 'CHARITIES', then compete to offer local Govt. the most economical package, for the cheapest price to choose from. It doesn't matter if Patients have established and followed certain care packages and relationships with practicioners, the whole system periodically resets for the new service provider to set up their new, more economical systems. Personal experience over the years has led me to conclude that the end result is less 'face to face' care between provider and service user. I run a small business and understand the need for profitability for any business to succeed. I'm just not convinced these services are best served by businesses masquerading as 'Charities'. Apologies to anybody concerned reading this but I'm sure if you compare the current service provider's current annual accounts to their first year in office, you will notice a huge rise in profits. Please prove me wrong and I'll forever hold my peace. I understand addiction services are a particularly difficult field of care but strongly feel that to simply offer basic harm reduction to people with complex needs is not a great help to those who really need a helping hand. I dread to think what the future will bring when the current SUCCESFUL Taliban ban on poppy cultivation takes effect on supply lines. I fear an opioid crisis like that experienced in the USA and Canada... Google it... Kensington, Philadelphia... A true WMD if ever I've seen one. 🙏
@@dylskyh4439thanks for your extremely informative comment,I totally agree with you concerning the so called charities,it an absolute disgrace,sadly we haven’t moved on very much since the Victorian times,the disgusting energy of greed generates terrible misery for the most vulnerable in our society,there’s no excuse for homelessness,it makes my blood boil
The majority of homeless in Bournemouth aren’t from Bournemouth, a lot of homeless come here for the summer and then more and more have stayed as the years have gone by, also Bournemouth had a ridiculous amount of rehab houses, where courts from all over the country sent there addicts to Bournemouth, it was so bad there were over thirty rehab/ bail hostels, eventually people had enough and some were closed, those that stayed became homeless and many still remain.
I live in Boscombe and love it, my flat looks over the painting of the owl! Yes there are problems but I grew up in Redditch (another West Midlands guy!) and have lived in London and Devon and Boscombe is much better. You're right about the sense of community, a lot of locals are working hard to improve the area.
I've moved to boscombe from southbourne and london before that a few years ago and like it so much more. I keep hearing about how bad bosc is, but never had any issues, I put it down to it getting better in the not so recent past.
I lived in Bournemouth for 4 years about 10 years ago. There was always an issue with alcoholics. They used to congregate around ASDA causing all sorts of issues. I worked in a bar and often walked through there alone late at night and had to deal with them aggressively begging. After watching this it does seem like it’s got a lot worse. I never saw people camping underneath the pier.
I was thinking the same. I left for uni about 5 years ago but under the pier was always accessible. I remember once I did get threatened by a group of kids under there but it looks more like skid row in this video!
@@cc3 ye i dont remember the tents under the pier when i grew up there (from 0-18 years old) before moving to southampton for uni about 10 yrs back. have loads of pictures from under the pier at night with my DSLR, never felt worried about thieves and no one else was around then
I grew up between Poole and Bournemouth in Parkstone in a pretty well off area. It’s been a tad depressing looking at the state of Bournemouth now although there has always been homelessness and drug abuse it’s easy to see past it unless you’re actively looking out for it. Boscome has always been rough, it’s not really changed by the look of it. I moved to Australia in my mid twenties and went back to visit Bournemouth a few years ago before COVID, even before the pandemic started there was heaps of closed down businesses.
Thank you wendall for highlighting what we are humans organisation is doing for people who are less fortunate than ourselves without prejudice or questions ♥
The amount of homeless people in Bournemouth never fails to shock me, even though I’ve been living here for a decade. I work near Boscombe and you only have to walk for a few minutes before you see someone with a noticeable drug problem, and that’s at any time of the day. People desperately need help, it’s sad to see. As a company we recently raised over £30k for a Bournemouth homeless charity, with over £15k raised in one day from staff donating from their next months wages. But really it’s just a drop in the ocean for what’s needed. The people out there desperately trying to help people get back on their feet should be applauded, great people.
I was living in Bournemouth in the late 90s left a rehab in Boscombe, the problem is many addicts started living there after leaving the many dry houses and rehabs unfortunately many relapse and became homeless and became drug dealers again, its became a dominoes effect over the year's, sad really for the old locals who had the shit put on there door step...it surely has got worse since the 90s, anyway im still 28 year's clean one of the lucky ones.
Leighton the guy on the beach defo has an American twang to his accent. Hes really positive and keeps his spirit up. That is how you should be. WAH are great also. I hope alot of people benefit from that charity.
I spent a month in Bournemouth in July 1983 to learn English. It was such a nice place with clean streets and parks with squirrels. The family I lived with in the Robert Lewis Stevenson Avenue were so kind and the locals were very nice and friendly too. I used to eat a ploughman’s lunch on Sunday while talking to a delicious old lady. I remember also the excellent milk with cream on top. Love ❤ from Belgium, EU.
I went to London to work the first time in January 1982, a week before my 17th birthday. I stayed and worked in London for 6 months, loved it there and came back to work in London in 1993, North Wales in 1994 then London also 1994 and 1995, then I went to live and work in Edinburgh in 1998 and 1999. I have travellled around most of the UK and I feel so sad when I see it now with all the poor people and the homeless and the immigrants The UK is just one big mess these days. I have been there on holiday in 1996 and 2011 and 2012 with my son and 2019 also with my son. I remember coming into Bournemouth really early morning in 1996 on a National Express bus from London, it was the most beautiful weather sunny and warm and I walked from the bus station down to the beach absolutely beautiful. I remember the same when I arrived in Llandudno North Wales early in the morning on a national express bus from London in May 1994. I was housesitting in England 5 times in 2019 and I went to London and Cambridge for a holiday nearly 2 years ago. England is still a beautiful country but it's one big mess with all the drugs and the poverty and the homelessness and all that and it's everywhere. So sad. A fellow Northern European.
Andy from We Are Humans. Never heard anyone talk complete and utter sense, superb video. Have been borderline to being homeless in my life and been very lucky to have friends and family to make a change, well aware of others that dont have that option.
Andy is a top bloke and so was Chris Curtis before he passed away RIP Chris we are humans are the best I live in boscombe I have been here over 30yrs now I was homeless for 3yrs but doing ok now I watch you quite big wedall keep it up mate
Good and useful to see this. I was in Bornemouth for a weekend in 2013. And I also walked to Boscombe pier and back, enjoying the city and the beach walk and the lovely weather and the fish'n chips, oblivious to the fact that there were a lot of homeless people sleeping rough just metres away. Thank you for enlightening me 👍 Tourists seldom get aware of the real life on a short visit.
I really love this video, you always give an honest review, thanks for the link to donate. The beach reminds me of Ventura, California, we have a huge homeless population too, my feeling is they all have a story to tell, and some remind me how quickly they go from losing their job to losing everything within months. Thanks for giving people a voice
@@WendallExplores Glad you got to visit Cali, it’s a great place to visit. The only setback for us is we miss the English people, pubs and of course the food.
I have a son the same age as this guy on the beach; he sounds like a very intelligent bloke and I hope he finds somewhere nice to live. He deserves it; his circumstances are sad. I don't live in the UK anymore, but my family used to holiday in Bournemouth when I was a child.
Thank you for making this and it is so true in Bournemouth, I am currently homeless here in Bournemouth living in a homeless b and b at the moment I w@s made redundant in Covid and unfortunately due to Covid I am also now partially sighted my whole world has changed I once could see and I had a good job a house everything now I find myself in a very different and difficult situation with disabilities I can no longer work due to my eyesight I have nothing to call my own as I had to sell it too survive and you wouldn’t believe the divide between the rich and the poor in Bournemouth and how if your homeless in Bournemouth you are looked down on so much even by the local authorities who are supposed to help you after years of paying taxes this was very interesting for me to listen to and I would like to thank my friend Leon for typing this for me all the best to you
I live here, And the reason for the drug problem in Bournemouth and Boscombe is because there is so many rehabs and detox centres in Bournemouth/Bournemouth.
I respect this man for his honesty and definitely it's tough time for him I know this from my personal experience. First conversation definitely made my day, respect from Lithuania.
Seriously - Sand Banks is wealth and privilege and ‘one of the most expensive places’ in the Unicorn 🦄 Kingdom? Some of those beach apartments look like Council tenancies.
Those homes you showed in sandbanks are mostly empty, they are holiday rentals and second homes, when we were teenagers we would often sleep under Bournemouth or Boscombe pier in the summer, it was part of growing up back in the seventies, we just loved the beach and it was a pleasure to grow up by the sea, back then Boscombe pier was more for locals and Bournemouth pier for holidaymakers, Boscombe pier used to be the main pier growing up but they demolished all the buildings on it late seventies, full of begging and abuse now, lived here all my life, years since I’ve bothered with Bournemouth pier, still go to Boscombe though.
@@gravy106Maybe start your own channel about homelessness and how men in particular suffer with getting help with housing etc. You could get great interviews and show the struggles. Best of luck to you mate and well done for getting away from Croydon. Take it easy and be lucky ❤️💛💚🤙
Went to a wedding years ago, the reception was at a hotel in Sandbanks, wow what a beautiful area! The contrast between extreme wealth and extreme poverty in the UK is shocking 😢
This is a brilliant, compassionate video Oli. Really appreciate the work you do. It's quite scary how anyone could become homeless, especially in the UK. Under the Tories, everything is breaking down, the NHS, social services, the benefit system. Safety nets don't exist. The majority of people don't realise that they are skating on thin ice; anything such as an accident, illness or relationship breakdown could push someone into homelessness. Andy is truly amazing, to set up the charity up like he did is incredible.
I pop into Boscombe most weekends, and it's no where near as bad as its reputation. Yes, it's got its issues with drugs, but I've never felt scared or uncomfortable being there, be it during the day, or having a few drinks in the evening.
Sad to see how prevelant homelessness is across the UK. I think as things worsen, the wealthy will be squeezed more and more out of these small pockets of areas into more overall wealthy parts of the UK.
I'm really thankful I've got a nice flat in Sheffield. It took me five years to get it. Now im settled and can see a future. I want the same for all my brother's and sisters out there.
I lived in the Bournemouth area for 7 years I did security at night between boscombe pier and Bournemouth at night so I got to see a lot of homeless people
I live not that far from Bournemouth and the homeless situation is really sad to see it’s been going on for as long as I can remember seems to be getting worse the guy on the beach seems really nice hope he sorts his situation out
Boscombe has a bad reputation but it's far from a rough place. Straying off of the highstreet into the back roads is less inviting with widespread drug problems. Stay on the highstreet and it's really quite safe.
Lived in Bournemouth my whole life. It's definitely a good place to come to see the contrast between the rich and poor. Slowly becoming a city from the town I grew up in!
Came by your video on Paignton which was really good. Then I scrolled through to where we've lived since 87 & boy how it's changed. Very well done, compassionate & real. Layton was proof of what many of us have done with a bad call but make the best of a bad job. I've been homeless myself twice & I'm female. I monitor the underdog in society & I will say, hand in heart, it's MEN who always, have the raw deal & that's a huge issue that must be at least recognised first & tackled. Much like DV men suffer in silence which I'm also working to change. (btw new subber here 😊)
I was homeless in Bournemouth for about five years, I was addicted to spice and had psychosis and ended up being sectioned. I am now off the hard stuff (including crack) for almost 4 years. Slept in many of the shop doorways, ended up in a few squats and a hostel near the triangle. Was an insane time of my life that I still get some random memories that I completely forgot about. However I am now trying to get back in contact with my son who is 13 now, I miss him loads
One great thing about Bournemouth tho is the amount of soup kitchens, at least 2 nearly every day, bit of a mission because it’s a couple of miles to each one
The first man really shows that it just takes one thing to happen to end up homeless. The fact that we live in a "first world country" yet there is such a huge homeless problem and people living in poverty, while there's millionaires just up the road is disgusting. Years of politicians who dont care about people is causing misery to so many people.
Nearly bought a place on sandbanks for 100k in 1999, an old 2 bed bungalow with a decent amount of land around it, I took advice from family who said the mortgage was to high and it wouldnt rise in value. I took their advice and now am practically homeless myself in 2023. Think I may take my tent and join the "fun". Bournemouth like most UK cities has been decimated as has many of its young and middle aged British men. Good luck to this man, hope he gets a break. God knows we could all do with a break sometimes in life.
I live have lived in Weymouth all my life and the decline of sea side towns is shocking, the rich get richer and the poor just get kicked into the gutter.
It all depends on a person. I arrived to UK from eastern Europe 13 years ago. Now I owe two houses (one is rental), thinking of a buying third one. I have two new cars, wife, a kid. Just living a happy British life. Anyone can make it here. You just need a desire.
People like to talk about boscombe like it’s skid row, I used to live there and it’s not as bad as people say, thanks for showing our town with humility, will definitely pop by the wah cafe when I get the chance
Wow..... there is so much to think about and reflect on in this video. I admire your ability to just approach and talk to everyone. I really think you have a talent that is deserving of support. That last homeless chap really hit the nail on the head: "Don't judge us, get to know us". Really moving. I don't know Boscombe personally, but my dad was there in his youth while he was in training to be a Salvation Army minister, and there remains a decent size S.A. church and center there, but I think they have become too middle-class and I get what the other chap from We Are Humans means - you just give charity and support help without any religious or political motivation. That is best an di share his conviction. Thanks for this an all the amazing videos, I hope you can grow and do this full-time.
I’d be surprised if there is anywhere that would seem rough to me down in Bournemouth compared to what I’m used to. Following this video I looked up Boscombe on Google maps and there’s loads of massive houses there. I wouldn’t like to be a postman round there, I’d probably get lost trying to find the doors
Boscombe (the impoverished placed with many rehab centers) is a dilapidated dump full of problems with homelessness and the worst heroin crisis in the country. Bournemouth is a rapidly declining seaside resort town but is probably the last (aside from brighton) successful seaside town. The town center is slowly closing down its shops, and it's only really relevant in the summer months. I'm surprised to see people living under the pier though, they didn't really live there when I lived there a few years ago. Sandbanks is obviously a haven for the rich where there's a road with "millionaires row - the world's most expensive coastal street". You go past Poole, you'll get to hamworthy which doesn't have a homelessness problem but does have a high crime rate. Hell you go past boscombe, you'll end up at mudeford- a place where the BEACH HUTS are worth £450k!!! It's absolutely insane to see the wealth disparity. It's so bizarre to watch this. The triangle (12:47) did not have many homeless people at all when I lived there 3 years ago, nor did the town center in general. The lower gardens were always a little dodgy but the locals at bournemouth ought to watch out.
What an amazing film such amazing insight to our society now at 52 growing up in the 80s there was nothing like the level of homelessness like now we are obsessed with gdp but that's the problem poorest is massive now per person
Good video as always , l know Bournemouth well & Boscombe always had a rough edge to it even 25 years ago. Use to go to the Academy nightclub in Boscombe many years ago always a lot of Reading people down there in the summer months
Harry Rednapp moved out of the sandbanks a couple of years ago. In the summer its impossible to get onto the peninsula due to the traffic queueing for the ferry.
used too live in the area as a yute ur videos are eye opening too the world too people that think that britain is a posh country keep up the much needed work
I live near Ipswich ( Erwarton ) and I do not think Ipswich treats homeless people very well. I see homeless people on the street and the shopkeepers just want them all to move on. It’s not good. However , if you’re an asylum seeker….you can stay at Novotel .
Leyton is clearly a very astute,and smart guy ….what a stoic attitude in the face of adversity 🤙🙏💪good on ya blue and I wish much better times ahead for you ✌️😎
Bournemouth has next to no social housing .when people are in need of social housing the council send them to a local private landlord who has hundreds of properties in the area to private rent.
When you take the beach from Bournemouth to Boscombe, you miss Christchurch road, the main high street. You'll get a lot more visible crack/smack addicts from there all the way to Lansdowne. 1.5 miles of it, and then north to the train station (Yup, Bournemouth's roughest mile or two). I don't really think of the triangle (where Leyton took you too), as having any addiction problems. It becomes quite nice on Christchurch road if you don't head north. And instead head to Boscombe. The Knyveton Gardens area probably has the most rehabs and crime (although mostly from burglaries. Crack/smackheads are skinny and don't tend to confront people). Locals would suggest, the vast majority of our homeless(not local) came to rehabs, then had to move out, but go back twice a day for blood tests. Forcing them to be housed in this area. I'd be shocked if Bournemouth didn't have 20 times it's worth of addiction, due to rehab immigration. The council allow this many rehabs, and now this is Butlins for smack and crack. If you're into that stuff come to sunny Bournemouth.
That tower block at the beginning reminded of the Golden Gates Units in Maroubra, Australia. A horrible building built two min walk from a stunning beach in Sydney!
You're the new Louis Theroux! Great vid! Great to give the people a chance to be heard and to expose the the growing gap between the have and have-nots.
@ dbobd, some people make good choices in life some make bad. Even if your poor, God will help you climb out of that pit if you turn to him in faith, I know about living on the bread line, working full time as a single woman, no financial or emotional support, it’s hard for a lot of people in this country and the world but you cannot blame those that work hard for a living or appear better off. The Government want people to feel like victims and resent others for having more 🤦♀️🤦♀️ please don’t fall for the socialist/communist trap.
Thank you Wendell for sharing your insights with the community of home less, we are humans who are suffering because of cost living, but very grateful have income & food & I’m good health and happiness, Roof over my head, do enjoy visiting Bournemouth for the sea & Christmas festival ❤etc great friendly people, it who you know & what you know
When you was in Boscombe. You should have gone to the Chaplins/Cellar bar. That place is an award winning music bar. Very good music played there live. Also you should have gone to the 02 and the victoriana arcade. You missed out lots of integral parts. Including Mary Shelleys mansion that is now a doctors surgery and also has a theatre built in for Mary Shelley herself. The theatre is now closed as it is a victims of covid. And is waiting for the right time to reopen. Serious history in Boscombe and you missed it..
Thank you for exposing this as we rarely see anything on the news, but homelessness is real and happening now in the UK on a very grand scale. In my lifetime this is the worst it has ever been and its all thanks to our government and private enterprises blocking people from getting homes, there is more the government could do, how about giving people land so they can build their own sustainable homes offer building schemes and training too, but oh no they would rather offer you an equity loan and put you in more shyt because as people have found out its not sustainable when maintenance put up the annual fee and mortgage interest rates go up, its all backward and only benefits the wealthiest of this society and banks. We need big changes because it really is getting too much, I speak as someone who now has to leave my rent property because the landlord wants to sell, no loyalty to tenants if you add up the monthly rent over 3 years towards someone elses asset and London isn't cheap to rent if you want a decent property - its nasty and its wrong but its all totally legal - I believe its a fundamental right to have a home
A stark reminder of how poverty and wealth can both exist, almost "minutes away from each other! But i really admire the positive attitude shown by the people featured here!!
Perhaps if they stopped housing immigrants in Boscombe and Bournemouth and housed our homeless instead, there wouldn't be people sleeping on the beach. Boscombe is the rehab town of the area.
What? Boscombe is less well off than some areas nearby there but its really not as rough as some might say. Its bohemian and a bit "rough around the edges" but it has character and I've never had a problem there.
My Dad threw me out when i lost my job when i was 17 and couldnt paid him rent and i was on the street for a few nights and its was a nightmare i never want to do that again
The bloke you interviewed living on the beach seems a really sound and switched on geezer. I wish him all the best.
Great guy
he is different once he gets on the meth though.
How you know he truthful? He has son in Cali? Perhaps he come back England to escape child support payments in America.
Cheers mate, lol RUclips comments always quality!! @WendallExplores brilliant work and all the best with the rest of your work mate!!
@@MbisonBalrog assume the worst because he's homeless aye. Classist.
Thanks Wendall for making me me feel grateful.
The divide between the haves and have nots is off the scale.
A society is best judged by how it treats its most vulnerable. We are failing on all counts.
I could just watch a whole 1 hour segment with you and Leyton. Cool dude. Takes accountability and has a right mindset i wish him all the blessings.
I have much more than an hour of footage from our day out 🤣
Post more! Loved this one. My local seaside town. You're doing great work here mate.... @@WendallExplores
Thank you and bless you too!
@@WendallExplores Is there any chance we could see the footage. I'd love to see more of your experience together during that day
Yes sandbanks is lovely but the town is awful
The fella from “ WE ARE HUMANS”, what an amazing person and society. God bless him.
Mad seeing someone walk through where you live and interview someone you have known for over a decade.
hey hope things get better for you
A great example of the contrast between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots' in broken Britain. The gent living on the beach is very articulate and personable so I hope he gets himself back into work and housing.
Leyton is proof of one wrong decision what could happen. What a humble fella who just rolls his socks up and gets on with it.
You don’t know if telling true story
No reason to lie it's easier to be truthful
Gets on with claiming disability payments and downing cider whilst bumming on the beach. Most blokes like this are sent to one of Bournemouth’s many treatment centres through the courts and they don’t leave once they’ve fallen off the wagon. I lived there for 20 years and worked in housing and homeless services so I’m well placed to make my judgements.
@@pendennis123Your judgement is rightfully yours. It’s just a shame that it isn’t a little more compassionate.
@@joelarama I work with very vulnerable people and I would not be able to do such a tough job without compassion. That said, you can’t have 20 odd years experience in this field without being a realist too. There are plenty of crooks, freeloaders and predatory types who target the vulnerable homeless community and it’s services.
What a really beautiful kind soul the guy from “ we are human”. Wish humanity took a leaf out of his book.
The guy with the food set up. What a kind blessed human being. He is so clued up to whats going on in the uk. Blessed .❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Bournemouth is a place I know well as my late son lived there for 5 years and for some of that time he worked for a homeless charity and witnessed everything that Wendall has touched upon. What I have come to believe is that there is a lot of money to be made out of the drug and alcohol dependent and the homeless. We Are Humans seems to have the right ethos, but many of the charities become businesses who need to fund highly paid managers, which in turn means that they need to maintain a cohort of destitute people to keep afloat! I wish there was an answer, but it is worth noting that accommodation doesn't appear to be in short supply when the government need or want it.
Thanks for your really interesting view on the situation. Before I comment, I respectfully send you heartfelt condolences for the loss of your son. As a local Service User who works hard, pays tax and am self-employed, I totally agree with your view on the addiction services offered to the community. Instead of being treated as a mental health issue with appropriate funding as such, these services are put out to tender every so many years. Local service providers and 'CHARITIES', then compete to offer local Govt. the most economical package, for the cheapest price to choose from. It doesn't matter if Patients have established and followed certain care packages and relationships with practicioners, the whole system periodically resets for the new service provider to set up their new, more economical systems. Personal experience over the years has led me to conclude that the end result is less 'face to face' care between provider and service user. I run a small business and understand the need for profitability for any business to succeed. I'm just not convinced these services are best served by businesses masquerading as 'Charities'. Apologies to anybody concerned reading this but I'm sure if you compare the current service provider's current annual accounts to their first year in office, you will notice a huge rise in profits. Please prove me wrong and I'll forever hold my peace. I understand addiction services are a particularly difficult field of care but strongly feel that to simply offer basic harm reduction to people with complex needs is not a great help to those who really need a helping hand. I dread to think what the future will bring when the current SUCCESFUL Taliban ban on poppy cultivation takes effect on supply lines. I fear an opioid crisis like that experienced in the USA and Canada... Google it... Kensington, Philadelphia... A true WMD if ever I've seen one. 🙏
@@dylskyh4439thanks for your extremely informative comment,I totally agree with you concerning the so called charities,it an absolute disgrace,sadly we haven’t moved on very much since the Victorian times,the disgusting energy of greed generates terrible misery for the most vulnerable in our society,there’s no excuse for homelessness,it makes my blood boil
Strange how the government can house the illigal immigrants but not the british.
Spot on!
@@dylskyh4439 also a very intelligent and interesting comment. How are we all gonna come together and fix this mess? I wish I had answers. ..
The majority of homeless in Bournemouth aren’t from Bournemouth, a lot of homeless come here for the summer and then more and more have stayed as the years have gone by, also Bournemouth had a ridiculous amount of rehab houses, where courts from all over the country sent there addicts to Bournemouth, it was so bad there were over thirty rehab/ bail hostels, eventually people had enough and some were closed, those that stayed became homeless and many still remain.
Unfortunately, just getting sober doesn't solve all the problems in their lives and they have no choice but the streets again.
I live in Boscombe and love it, my flat looks over the painting of the owl! Yes there are problems but I grew up in Redditch (another West Midlands guy!) and have lived in London and Devon and Boscombe is much better. You're right about the sense of community, a lot of locals are working hard to improve the area.
agreed. its a meme that people with people like myself who come from bournemouth to hate on boscombe and make it seem really dangerous but it's not.
I've moved to boscombe from southbourne and london before that a few years ago and like it so much more. I keep hearing about how bad bosc is, but never had any issues, I put it down to it getting better in the not so recent past.
I lived In Borthwick St in the mid 90s loved it
I lived in Bournemouth for 4 years about 10 years ago.
There was always an issue with alcoholics. They used to congregate around ASDA causing all sorts of issues. I worked in a bar and often walked through there alone late at night and had to deal with them aggressively begging.
After watching this it does seem like it’s got a lot worse. I never saw people camping underneath the pier.
Really I did
I was thinking the same. I left for uni about 5 years ago but under the pier was always accessible. I remember once I did get threatened by a group of kids under there but it looks more like skid row in this video!
The ASDA car park is still rather rough at night, people tend to avoid it.
@@battenburg6089 should avoid the UK absolute dump
@@cc3 ye i dont remember the tents under the pier when i grew up there (from 0-18 years old) before moving to southampton for uni about 10 yrs back.
have loads of pictures from under the pier at night with my DSLR, never felt worried about thieves and no one else was around then
I grew up between Poole and Bournemouth in Parkstone in a pretty well off area. It’s been a tad depressing looking at the state of Bournemouth now although there has always been homelessness and drug abuse it’s easy to see past it unless you’re actively looking out for it. Boscome has always been rough, it’s not really changed by the look of it. I moved to Australia in my mid twenties and went back to visit Bournemouth a few years ago before COVID, even before the pandemic started there was heaps of closed down businesses.
Thank you wendall for highlighting what we are humans organisation is doing for people who are less fortunate than ourselves without prejudice or questions ♥
The guy that you interviewed is a true survivor loads of wisdom
Leighton seems to have it together more than i do! I hope if i find myself in that position i can hold myself together half aswell.
Glass is always half full, mentality and gratitude is my attitude mate!
The amount of homeless people in Bournemouth never fails to shock me, even though I’ve been living here for a decade.
I work near Boscombe and you only have to walk for a few minutes before you see someone with a noticeable drug problem, and that’s at any time of the day. People desperately need help, it’s sad to see.
As a company we recently raised over £30k for a Bournemouth homeless charity, with over £15k raised in one day from staff donating from their next months wages. But really it’s just a drop in the ocean for what’s needed. The people out there desperately trying to help people get back on their feet should be applauded, great people.
I was living in Bournemouth in the late 90s left a rehab in Boscombe, the problem is many addicts started living there after leaving the many dry houses and rehabs unfortunately many relapse and became homeless and became drug dealers again, its became a dominoes effect over the year's, sad really for the old locals who had the shit put on there door step...it surely has got worse since the 90s, anyway im still 28 year's clean one of the lucky ones.
I live in Bournemouth trying to find somewhere cheap and private to live is harder than life itself.
Leighton the guy on the beach defo has an American twang to his accent. Hes really positive and keeps his spirit up. That is how you should be. WAH are great also. I hope alot of people benefit from that charity.
I spent a month in Bournemouth in July 1983 to learn English. It was such a nice place with clean streets and parks with squirrels. The family I lived with in the Robert Lewis Stevenson Avenue were so kind and the locals were very nice and friendly too. I used to eat a ploughman’s lunch on Sunday while talking to a delicious old lady. I remember also the excellent milk with cream on top.
Love ❤ from Belgium, EU.
I went to London to work the first time in January 1982, a week before my 17th birthday. I stayed and worked in London for 6 months, loved it there and came back to work in London in 1993, North Wales in 1994 then London also 1994 and 1995, then I went to live and work in Edinburgh in 1998 and 1999. I have travellled around most of the UK and I feel so sad when I see it now with all the poor people and the homeless and the immigrants The UK is just one big mess these days. I have been there on holiday in 1996 and 2011 and 2012 with my son and 2019 also with my son. I remember coming into Bournemouth really early morning in 1996 on a National Express bus from London, it was the most beautiful weather sunny and warm and I walked from the bus station down to the beach absolutely beautiful. I remember the same when I arrived in Llandudno North Wales early in the morning on a national express bus from London in May 1994. I was housesitting in England 5 times in 2019 and I went to London and Cambridge for a holiday nearly 2 years ago. England is still a beautiful country but it's one big mess with all the drugs and the poverty and the homelessness and all that and it's everywhere. So sad. A fellow Northern European.
Andy from We Are Humans. Never heard anyone talk complete and utter sense, superb video. Have been borderline to being homeless in my life and been very lucky to have friends and family to make a change, well aware of others that dont have that option.
Andy is a top bloke and so was Chris Curtis before he passed away RIP Chris we are humans are the best I live in boscombe I have been here over 30yrs now I was homeless for 3yrs but doing ok now I watch you quite big wedall keep it up mate
They are doing an amazing job 🙏
Shocking & Bravo for educating the ignorant public 👏
Good and useful to see this. I was in Bornemouth for a weekend in 2013. And I also walked to Boscombe pier and back, enjoying the city and the beach walk and the lovely weather and the fish'n chips, oblivious to the fact that there were a lot of homeless people sleeping rough just metres away. Thank you for enlightening me 👍 Tourists seldom get aware of the real life on a short visit.
I really love this video, you always give an honest review, thanks for the link to donate.
The beach reminds me of Ventura, California, we have a huge homeless population too, my feeling is they all have a story to tell, and some remind me how quickly they go from losing their job to losing everything within months. Thanks for giving people a voice
The view from the cliffs reminded me of the California coast
@@WendallExplores Glad you got to visit Cali, it’s a great place to visit. The only setback for us is we miss the English people, pubs and of course the food.
@@janehoward6395 I’ve been there many times 😉
Yeah I used to live in Westlake... probably why I picked the beach
I have a son the same age as this guy on the beach; he sounds like a very intelligent bloke and I hope he finds somewhere nice to live. He deserves it; his circumstances are sad. I don't live in the UK anymore, but my family used to holiday in Bournemouth when I was a child.
One thing sadly in this country is that men don't get much help with housing.
Thank you for making this and it is so true in Bournemouth, I am currently homeless here in Bournemouth living in a homeless b and b at the moment I w@s made redundant in Covid and unfortunately due to Covid I am also now partially sighted my whole world has changed I once could see and I had a good job a house everything now I find myself in a very different and difficult situation with disabilities I can no longer work due to my eyesight I have nothing to call my own as I had to sell it too survive and you wouldn’t believe the divide between the rich and the poor in Bournemouth and how if your homeless in Bournemouth you are looked down on so much even by the local authorities who are supposed to help you after years of paying taxes this was very interesting for me to listen to and I would like to thank my friend Leon for typing this for me all the best to you
Thank you for sharing your story and I wish you the best 🙏
I live here, And the reason for the drug problem in Bournemouth and Boscombe is because there is so many rehabs and detox centres in Bournemouth/Bournemouth.
60 rehab centres in Bournemouth mostly around the Boscombe area.
I respect this man for his honesty and definitely it's tough time for him I know this from my personal experience. First conversation definitely made my day, respect from Lithuania.
Seriously - Sand Banks is wealth and privilege and ‘one of the most expensive places’ in the Unicorn 🦄 Kingdom? Some of those beach apartments look like Council tenancies.
Those homes you showed in sandbanks are mostly empty, they are holiday rentals and second homes, when we were teenagers we would often sleep under Bournemouth or Boscombe pier in the summer, it was part of growing up back in the seventies, we just loved the beach and it was a pleasure to grow up by the sea, back then Boscombe pier was more for locals and Bournemouth pier for holidaymakers, Boscombe pier used to be the main pier growing up but they demolished all the buildings on it late seventies, full of begging and abuse now, lived here all my life, years since I’ve bothered with Bournemouth pier, still go to Boscombe though.
Andy is amazing! A truly amazing person!
Enjoyed listening to the channel and the participants, very authentic, cheers
This was a great piece. Thank you for highlighting We Are Human. It's wonderful that they refuse religious affiliation.
Yet again Wendall delivers the goods. Excellent vlog. Always interesting and engaging. Keep it up. 👍🏻
I hope Leyton gets back on his feet and gets to see his son soon! Prayers 🙏🏽 & blessings 🙌 to you! Stay safe ❤
Enjoying the content, Wendall! Thank you 😊
Aww bless you I appreciate that
@gravy106 keep us updated! I'm rooting for you, man! Everything crossed for you ! Take care 🙂
@@gravy106Maybe start your own channel about homelessness and how men in particular suffer with getting help with housing etc.
You could get great interviews and show the struggles. Best of luck to you mate and well done for getting away from Croydon. Take it easy and be lucky ❤️💛💚🤙
Went to a wedding years ago, the reception was at a hotel in Sandbanks, wow what a beautiful area! The contrast between extreme wealth and extreme poverty in the UK is shocking 😢
Layton seems like a genuinely nice guy with his head screwed on. Really hoping he has some good luck with commendation
dude on the beach was absolutely charming, genuine and absolutely beautiful he could be a model!
This is a brilliant, compassionate video Oli. Really appreciate the work you do. It's quite scary how anyone could become homeless, especially in the UK. Under the Tories, everything is breaking down, the NHS, social services, the benefit system. Safety nets don't exist. The majority of people don't realise that they are skating on thin ice; anything such as an accident, illness or relationship breakdown could push someone into homelessness. Andy is truly amazing, to set up the charity up like he did is incredible.
I pop into Boscombe most weekends, and it's no where near as bad as its reputation. Yes, it's got its issues with drugs, but I've never felt scared or uncomfortable being there, be it during the day, or having a few drinks in the evening.
some drunkard usually wants to fight at night in boscombe. be lucky if he or his mate is not carrying a knife
I'm from bournemouth and glad I moved my children to cornwall for a better life, its got worse over the years
@@NayNay90. how is cornwall
It must be cold on the beach….the wind would be relentless..
😔
Kinda peaceful though tbh
@@gravy106 a graveyard would be more protective..
Sad to see how prevelant homelessness is across the UK. I think as things worsen, the wealthy will be squeezed more and more out of these small pockets of areas into more overall wealthy parts of the UK.
And it’s all British people! We’ve been thrown on the scrap heap! And all our money given to illegal foreign criminals!!!
I lived in Boscombe for 2 years, got on crack and heroin, horrible time in my life. I’ve now been clean for 8 years.
@ Antony ❤ 🙏 Jesus loves you my friend
@@princebuster93 pls don’t bring him in to it
@@antony9384😂
Nice one mate ,keep it up ,I'm 28 years off brown and crack, spent 6 months in Bournemouth in the 90s dry house
@@Hoxton66 Well done pal 👌
I'm really thankful I've got a nice flat in Sheffield. It took me five years to get it. Now im settled and can see a future. I want the same for all my brother's and sisters out there.
I lived in the Bournemouth area for 7 years I did security at night between boscombe pier and Bournemouth at night so I got to see a lot of homeless people
Brilliant videos lately Oli, fascinating subject matter and professional interviews, good on you bud 👍🏻
Thanks Mick
I live not that far from Bournemouth and the homeless situation is really sad to see it’s been going on for as long as I can remember seems to be getting worse the guy on the beach seems really nice hope he sorts his situation out
ITS LIKE THAT EVERYWHERE IN UK
Cheers fingers crossed!
Good luck to him.
@@gravy106I hope you are ok mate have you found anything yet ?
Very touched by the principals of the Gentleman with the We Are Humans jacket.... Keep up the good work. I love it
The We Are Humans guy is one of a few. Amazing
Top lad is Andy
Leighton is free from the system that's why he's so happy stay where you are and live free all the best for the future 😊😊
Boscombe has a bad reputation but it's far from a rough place. Straying off of the highstreet into the back roads is less inviting with widespread drug problems. Stay on the highstreet and it's really quite safe.
Hi Wendall, got to applaud you on the work, research you do and the kindness you to
people less fortunate than others.
Good for you buddy. 🥰
Thanks John 🤣
Lived in Bournemouth my whole life. It's definitely a good place to come to see the contrast between the rich and poor. Slowly becoming a city from the town I grew up in!
Came by your video on Paignton which was really good. Then I scrolled through to where we've lived since 87 & boy how it's changed. Very well done, compassionate & real. Layton was proof of what many of us have done with a bad call but make the best of a bad job. I've been homeless myself twice & I'm female. I monitor the underdog in society & I will say, hand in heart, it's MEN who always, have the raw deal & that's a huge issue that must be at least recognised first & tackled.
Much like DV men suffer in silence which I'm also working to change.
(btw new subber here 😊)
Excellent Wendall,❤ very moving. Loved the We Are Humans Charity. ❤❤
I was homeless in Bournemouth for about five years, I was addicted to spice and had psychosis and ended up being sectioned.
I am now off the hard stuff (including crack) for almost 4 years.
Slept in many of the shop doorways, ended up in a few squats and a hostel near the triangle.
Was an insane time of my life that I still get some random memories that I completely forgot about.
However I am now trying to get back in contact with my son who is 13 now, I miss him loads
One great thing about Bournemouth tho is the amount of soup kitchens, at least 2 nearly every day, bit of a mission because it’s a couple of miles to each one
The first man really shows that it just takes one thing to happen to end up homeless. The fact that we live in a "first world country" yet there is such a huge homeless problem and people living in poverty, while there's millionaires just up the road is disgusting. Years of politicians who dont care about people is causing misery to so many people.
Nearly bought a place on sandbanks for 100k in 1999, an old 2 bed bungalow with a decent amount of land around it, I took advice from family who said the mortgage was to high and it wouldnt rise in value.
I took their advice and now am practically homeless myself in 2023.
Think I may take my tent and join the "fun".
Bournemouth like most UK cities has been decimated as has many of its young and middle aged British men.
Good luck to this man, hope he gets a break. God knows we could all do with a break sometimes in life.
That home be worth millions now
@@ShaneJames-bb9rb yep, I reckon ! Could have put 6 apartments on it eventually. Damn 😂
jesus christ. whoever told you to not invest in sandbanks i hope you never talk to them again
@@itemushmush I don't ..
I live have lived in Weymouth all my life and the decline of sea side towns is shocking, the rich get richer and the poor just get kicked into the gutter.
Will only get worse
Weymouth has always been a dump, can't compare with bournemouth
It all depends on a person. I arrived to UK from eastern Europe 13 years ago. Now I owe two houses (one is rental), thinking of a buying third one. I have two new cars, wife, a kid. Just living a happy British life. Anyone can make it here. You just need a desire.
The old guy that run "we are humans" Andy, was a great guy.
I've only just discovered your channel on over the last 2 weeks. It's great, I listen while at work.
People like to talk about boscombe like it’s skid row, I used to live there and it’s not as bad as people say, thanks for showing our town with humility, will definitely pop by the wah cafe when I get the chance
Wow..... there is so much to think about and reflect on in this video. I admire your ability to just approach and talk to everyone. I really think you have a talent that is deserving of support. That last homeless chap really hit the nail on the head: "Don't judge us, get to know us". Really moving. I don't know Boscombe personally, but my dad was there in his youth while he was in training to be a Salvation Army minister, and there remains a decent size S.A. church and center there, but I think they have become too middle-class and I get what the other chap from We Are Humans means - you just give charity and support help without any religious or political motivation. That is best an di share his conviction. Thanks for this an all the amazing videos, I hope you can grow and do this full-time.
AWESOME! Another video, I will be enjoying this one a bit later tonight 😀
I’d be surprised if there is anywhere that would seem rough to me down in Bournemouth compared to what I’m used to. Following this video I looked up Boscombe on Google maps and there’s loads of massive houses there. I wouldn’t like to be a postman round there, I’d probably get lost trying to find the doors
Boscombe (the impoverished placed with many rehab centers) is a dilapidated dump full of problems with homelessness and the worst heroin crisis in the country. Bournemouth is a rapidly declining seaside resort town but is probably the last (aside from brighton) successful seaside town. The town center is slowly closing down its shops, and it's only really relevant in the summer months. I'm surprised to see people living under the pier though, they didn't really live there when I lived there a few years ago. Sandbanks is obviously a haven for the rich where there's a road with "millionaires row - the world's most expensive coastal street". You go past Poole, you'll get to hamworthy which doesn't have a homelessness problem but does have a high crime rate. Hell you go past boscombe, you'll end up at mudeford- a place where the BEACH HUTS are worth £450k!!! It's absolutely insane to see the wealth disparity.
It's so bizarre to watch this. The triangle (12:47) did not have many homeless people at all when I lived there 3 years ago, nor did the town center in general. The lower gardens were always a little dodgy but the locals at bournemouth ought to watch out.
I think poor Old Christchurch Road is the worst street currently . Even at midday. Truly horrific what drugs and alcohol can do to people.
Bournemouth has become more dangerous than boscombe. I feel safer walking through boscombe. Just look at the stabbing incidents
What an amazing film such amazing insight to our society now at 52 growing up in the 80s there was nothing like the level of homelessness like now we are obsessed with gdp but that's the problem poorest is massive now per person
Good video as always , l know Bournemouth well & Boscombe always had a rough edge to it even 25 years ago. Use to go to the Academy nightclub in Boscombe many years ago always a lot of Reading people down there in the summer months
Harry Rednapp moved out of the sandbanks a couple of years ago. In the summer its impossible to get onto the peninsula due to the traffic queueing for the ferry.
Thanks for your great insights to the towns of UK …
used too live in the area as a yute ur videos are eye opening too the world too people that think that britain is a posh country keep up the much needed work
Thanks for watching
The chap on the beach has a great voice for radio or voice overs wish him well.
god bless you andy and you wendall for showing us
Come to Ipswich if you can, the homeless here are treated as a way for the charities and organisations to make make money for the employees :(
I live near Ipswich ( Erwarton ) and I do not think Ipswich treats homeless people very well.
I see homeless people on the street and the shopkeepers just want them all to move on.
It’s not good.
However , if you’re an asylum seeker….you can stay at Novotel .
Have watched a few of your videos highlighting how life is here in parts of the UK, and have decided to subscribe! Keep up the good work.
Just watched this Wendall, another great video. Not been down there for a number of years now. ….Smithy
No religion, basic humanity. ❤
Remember Queen Diana used to talk to the homeless in the 80s- 90s?!
Good to see you bro. Remember Jesus always love you. Leighton is a brilliant cook. Shine your light my dear ❤
Awww cheers
Leyton is clearly a very astute,and smart guy ….what a stoic attitude in the face of adversity 🤙🙏💪good on ya blue and I wish much better times ahead for you ✌️😎
Bournemouth has next to no social housing .when people are in need of social housing the council send them to a local private landlord who has hundreds of properties in the area to private rent.
Yeah his name is Dave Wells - a millionaire
When you take the beach from Bournemouth to Boscombe, you miss Christchurch road, the main high street. You'll get a lot more visible crack/smack addicts from there all the way to Lansdowne. 1.5 miles of it, and then north to the train station (Yup, Bournemouth's roughest mile or two). I don't really think of the triangle (where Leyton took you too), as having any addiction problems.
It becomes quite nice on Christchurch road if you don't head north. And instead head to Boscombe.
The Knyveton Gardens area probably has the most rehabs and crime (although mostly from burglaries. Crack/smackheads are skinny and don't tend to confront people). Locals would suggest, the vast majority of our homeless(not local) came to rehabs, then had to move out, but go back twice a day for blood tests. Forcing them to be housed in this area.
I'd be shocked if Bournemouth didn't have 20 times it's worth of addiction, due to rehab immigration. The council allow this many rehabs, and now this is Butlins for smack and crack. If you're into that stuff come to sunny Bournemouth.
That tower block at the beginning reminded of the Golden Gates Units in Maroubra, Australia.
A horrible building built two min walk from a stunning beach in Sydney!
You're the new Louis Theroux! Great vid! Great to give the people a chance to be heard and to expose the the growing gap between the have and have-nots.
@ dbobd, some people make good choices in life some make bad. Even if your poor, God will help you climb out of that pit if you turn to him in faith, I know about living on the bread line, working full time as a single woman, no financial or emotional support, it’s hard for a lot of people in this country and the world but you cannot blame those that work hard for a living or appear better off. The Government want people to feel like victims and resent others for having more 🤦♀️🤦♀️ please don’t fall for the socialist/communist trap.
Looking forwards to this Wendall. 😊👍💥
Thank you Wendell for sharing your insights with the community of home less, we are humans who are suffering because of cost living, but very grateful have income & food & I’m good health and happiness, Roof over my head, do enjoy visiting Bournemouth for the sea & Christmas festival ❤etc great friendly people, it who you know & what you know
We are humans ...take my hat off to you ..I do my bit for the elderly for south london..they deserve better .
When you was in Boscombe. You should have gone to the Chaplins/Cellar bar. That place is an award winning music bar. Very good music played there live. Also you should have gone to the 02 and the victoriana arcade. You missed out lots of integral parts. Including Mary Shelleys mansion that is now a doctors surgery and also has a theatre built in for Mary Shelley herself. The theatre is now closed as it is a victims of covid. And is waiting for the right time to reopen. Serious history in Boscombe and you missed it..
One of the owners is a volunteer with we are humans organisation and has been for 4 years now
Thank you for exposing this as we rarely see anything on the news, but homelessness is real and happening now in the UK on a very grand scale. In my lifetime this is the worst it has ever been and its all thanks to our government and private enterprises blocking people from getting homes, there is more the government could do, how about giving people land so they can build their own sustainable homes offer building schemes and training too, but oh no they would rather offer you an equity loan and put you in more shyt because as people have found out its not sustainable when maintenance put up the annual fee and mortgage interest rates go up, its all backward and only benefits the wealthiest of this society and banks. We need big changes because it really is getting too much, I speak as someone who now has to leave my rent property because the landlord wants to sell, no loyalty to tenants if you add up the monthly rent over 3 years towards someone elses asset and London isn't cheap to rent if you want a decent property - its nasty and its wrong but its all totally legal - I believe its a fundamental right to have a home
A stark reminder of how poverty and wealth can both exist, almost "minutes away from each other! But i really admire the positive attitude shown by the people featured here!!
Perhaps if they stopped housing immigrants in Boscombe and Bournemouth and housed our homeless instead, there wouldn't be people sleeping on the beach. Boscombe is the rehab town of the area.
Thankyou for sharing, not being judgmental or opinionated, good work, bless you for all you do to help as well, stay safe.
Boscombe is relatively rough compared to Bournemouth itself, but it's a luxury compared to rough areas in cities like Manchester for instance.
Bournemouth is more dangerous
Have a look at the price of parking at Rock,Cornwall..
😮
What? Boscombe is less well off than some areas nearby there but its really not as rough as some might say. Its bohemian and a bit "rough around the edges" but it has character and I've never had a problem there.
Enjoyed listening to all the characters in your podcast thanks for posting
My Dad threw me out when i lost my job when i was 17 and couldnt paid him rent and i was on the street for a few nights and its was a nightmare i never want to do that again
Sorry to hear that 😔
Sadly, you did not have a dad ... you just had a biological father. A real dad would not that! I hope you are doing well, now.
How the hell could your dad do that? Was he you're biological dad?
Great video bud. I do like Bournemouth and Boscombe, warts and all 😊