Life in the streets.
методическая разработка по английскому языку (11 класс)

Ведущий 1:

 Good afternoon, dear guests and TV viewers. We are very glad to see you at our talk show “Underground”   музыка, аплодисменты

-Ведущий 2

: Homelessness ……It.is a crucial issue that seems to go unnoticed because apparently there’s more important issue than homelessness. When thinking about homelessness what is the first image that appears in your head? Do you picture adults sleeping under bridges? Do you think of the people whose standing on side the bridge begging for money as the cars pass? Or do you think of the other people sitting in front of the store asking for money? Is that all you see when you imagine someone being homeless?

Ведущий 1: These are the questions to be discussed. And today we are going to look on these problems from different angles. We are ready to start.            Музыка, аплодисменты

Ведущий 2: Let’s turn to a history            Homelessness in Russia has been observed since the end of the 19th century. After the abolition of serfdom in Russia in 1861, major cities experienced a large influx of former peasants who sought jobs as industrial workers in rapidly developing Russian industry. These people often lived in harsh conditions, sometimes renting a room, shared between several families. There were also many shelterless homeless. Immediately after the October Revolution a special program of "compression" ("уплотнение") was enabled: people who had no shelter were settled in flats of those who had large (4, 5 or 6 room) flats with only one room left to previous owners. 

Ведущий 1

In the late 1990s certain amendments in law were implemented to reduce the rise in homelessness, such as the prohibition of selling last flat with registered children.

 Ведущий 2     Since then the world has changed a lot, but nevertheless it’s a topical question of the present and is part and parcel of our life.

Ведущий 1      Homelessness is defined as living in housing that is below the minimum standard or lacks secure tenure. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: living on the streets ,moving between temporary shelters, including houses of friends, family and emergency accommodation ; living in private boarding houses without a private bathroom or security of tenure

How can people become homeless? Where do homeless live? What categories of people can you meet among homeless? What feelings do homeless often experience? What is your attitude to homeless and why?

Ведущий 2     Today we’ve  invited the representatives who maintain law and order. Welcome our guests      -                                                                                                       -аплодисменты

Ведущий 1    Social workers __________________________________________ аплодисменты

Ведущий 2    And we are grateful to ________________________________________________ who agreed to come to our talk show and speak about their problems.  аплодисменты

Well, I think that the first question is Who and How most often becomes homeless? What are the main reasons for homeless?

Let’s ask this question first of all to social workers. You regularly face to face with these people.

Social worker:  I’d like to say so many men, so many fates. Reasons are quiet different. On the first place, of course are poor social and familial relationships

1. If you have very poor or non-existent relationships with your family then you have no one to provide you housing or loans to get you on your feet in troubled times. If you don't  have a partner or an SO, then you can also end up being homeless.
2. Mental illness - If you are a mentally ill person who has an illness that is "treatable" on an outpatient basis, then you are likely to become homeless when/if you have personal or financial setbacks.
3. Poor planning - You see this a great deal in "boomtowns". People frequently move to areas that they are unfamiliar with or simply know nothing about and expect to gain employment immediately. When this doesn't occur or when their employment has issues, they simply haven't planned for this, they haven't saved for this and as such end up being homeless.

Ведущий 2    Do you think that a Lack of flexibility also can play a bad role?

Social worker:  No doubt,   Homeless people are often very inflexible. They want or need conditions to be in manners that are acceptable to them and will actually move out of situations (and back into homelessness) for reasons that could be altered by having a simple discussion or by compromising. There are many agencies willing to help people; but to do so they have to be flexible.

Света:   I want to add that Loss of income and savings to the point of no longer being able to afford a place to live. Ongoing expenses, such as cancer treatments, can keep them homeless as they struggle with  money to pay for it. At least until the state steps in to help.

Unmanageable debt, which may not have been due to bad spending habits, but rather a crisis that may have been life or death

And at last,   A criminal history or recently released from prison can lead to homelessness, especially if the person is unable to find a job that pays enough or a landlord that would rent to he or she. This happens a lot more often than you might think.

(Маша) We can’t help mentioning  that Really homeless people are those who either have sold their places, with many having been cheated in residence exchange, or have found themselves in the street because of family problems, such as divorce, panishment by relatives, escape from drinking relatives, one’s own drinking, or have lost their departmental accommodation due to redundancy or discharge. These three groups are approximately the same in number, some 20% of the total number of the homeless proper.

Влада     It is estimated that 150 million people are homeless worldwide. What can be said about our cities and countries?

(Влад)    According to the Interior Ministry’ data, from 100 to 350 thousand people have no residence in Moscow alone. About 20% of them are Muscovites; 60% are people from other regions in Russia; and 10% are CIS citizens. Actually, almost half of the homeless in Moscow are not at all those people without a permanent address or occupation who are described as “vagrant” in official documents. They do have a place to live and a residence permit (which has been abolished, though). They have found themselves in our big city for various reasons.  Moscow, like any other big city offering various job opportunities, tends to attract thousands of “tramps”. Applying for aid, they usually account for their homelessness by a lack of livelihood or escape from economically unsound territories or just a robbery at a railway station. Every tenth of the temporarily homeless has come to Moscow to solve a particular legal, economic or medical problem insoluble back home.

(Полина)    One third of them are former convicts. According to law, many of them have the right to resume their registration and residence but have nowhere to live while getting this right realised.  In Moscow they can register and stay at night asylums, while in many other regions in Russia there are no such places.

Влада We’d like you to watch a small video and look on these people from the other side

(видео). Now we want to give a word to a person who also was caught in a difficult living situation. George, please

Георгий ( a bagger)     Hi, my name is George and this is my story

My ex-wife in our divorce left me penniless and change the locks on our home. now I will add that she did let me stay in my shed for three months while I moved a massive amount of tools and equipment for my business to a storage unit. I eventually lost aforementioned storage unit because I could not afford it along with all of the tools that I owned and most of my clothing. Throughout the last 10 months since February 2018 I have now lost everything including my 6 acres of land  all of my tools work gear and possessions have been stolen from my truck or I've had to pawn them to pay bills in to eat. Although I have had a bit of challenges in life I never expected to find myself at age 46 sleeping in my truck eating one meal per day on a good day and losing the landscaping business that I so carefully cultivated and worked to build over the last 3 years. At times I've seriously contemplated suicide and ask myself why the hell do I even get up in the morning. This whole time my x it's nice and warm and dry in my old home with my beautiful dog and other pets that she no longer allows me to see.

Софья  Well,  Could you tell us what horrible things you must have done to her to deserve this?

Well in her eyes I was Spacey, forgetful and a lost things a lot. there was a reason for this as I suffer from pretty bad ADHD and I can be a bit scattered as she would put it chaotic. Losing your wallet and your phone once or twice a year does not deserve divorce in my opinion but apparently it does in hers. I'm hoping as I sit here that this year holds a little more promise than the last year for me.

- It’s a horrible story, and I can say this situation isn’t unusual. I think you’ve lived many years together/  Why did your wife change a lot and become so cruel?

Георгий       I don’t really know. Life sometimes is a hard thing to explain. Live and learn.

Карина     What feelings do people experience when they become homeless?

(Кристина) (homeless) Homelessness has many negative effects on a person. We may experience a sense of loneliness, depression, and anxiety. Having a place to call “home” provides a person with a sense of safety and security, which is lacking in the life of a homeless person. Feeling unsafe, in an environment fraught with danger, disease (from lack of bathrooms, close contact with other homeless people with illnesses, and rampant crime, only increases a person’s individual problems.

Амина (homeless)       Frankly speaking, we don’t have a family wishing us well, use of a computer to search for job leads, a friend telling us we can do it. Wishing us luck,  giving advice on how to handle an interview. We don’t have leads for job, clothes for a work.

(Кристина) Those who live at train stations and dumps have developed their own hierarchy. A share of the profits from begging must be paid to the leader. Otherwise, they will be kicked out form their lucrative spot. As a result, the upper echelon earns a pretty good profit and can even afford to buy expensive alcohol. As for the homeless that live at the dumps, they manage a fairly good business themselves by selling “recyclables”. It was rumored that one such beggar had earned a million. They build huts, and even get married and have babies

  (Амина)  Neither the police nor healthcare professionals are interested in these people.  Nor will anyone agree to provide serious medical treatment to a beggar, unless he has a passport and medical insurance. Emergency service technicians are perhaps the only ones who will provide aid, and then return the homeless person back to the park bench. Therefore, beggars are not afraid of jail – at least there, they will be cleaned and fed.

 - May I,   I personally sympathize with  these people, but nevertheless Homelessness is often recognised as a factor which often lead to criminal behavior, spreading serious illnesses and simply unpleasant looks of our streets. We can see a lot of beggars, asking for money

Софья   Well, the representatives of lawgivers may  give us some explanation

What is to be done with those whose presence literally poisons the life of those around them? What is to be done about the presence – on the subway, electric trains or buses – of those who have long lost human form, similar to being in a gas attack? And if we consider that many homeless people have tuberculosis and surely head lice, then the danger is evident for all of us.

( Полина) The government is obliged to protect normal citizens from the dubious pleasure of rubbing shoulders with beggars. But a policeman can, essentially, only temporarily detain a homeless person and then he must let him go.

Влада      Perhaps the article prescribing punishment for vagrancy should be re-instated in the Criminal Code?

 (Влад) Attempts to revive this article have already been made by  the State Duma. They failed for a fairly objective reason: deputies had rightly felt that the problem of homelessness cannot be resolved through punishment alone. 

First of all, counting and officially registering all beggars is necessary not so they can be immediately jailed. It is important to understand why a specific person has found himself living on the streets. Criminal psychologists are confident that only 7% are homeless due to “ideological beliefs”. They, indeed, need to be isolated from society. Others, on the other hand, should be helped.

 Софья     As we can often see  special patrols deliver the homeless to social hotels, bathhouses, and hospitals. This original method of protecting citizens from close and frequent interaction with the homeless has been applied by the police. Can you say that these actions bring any results?

(Влад)  Though time-consuming and often thankless, this method is humane .A fundamental legislative  recipe of how to get rid of the homeless, alas, does not exist. But there is an opportunity to minimize interaction with them on public transport and in other public places, as well as reducing the risk of getting infected by these people. They are given clean clothes and food. After getting medical assistance and being thoroughly “fumigated”, or cleansed of all insects from their bodies and clothes, the poor souls are released. Some return to their den, and already two weeks or so later go back to being covered in dirt and lice.

Meanwhile, some will try to grab on to the chance of being rescued and return to normal life – because all of the beggars are offered a chance, albeit small, to find some temporary job.

 Влада   Who is a modern beggar?

(Полина)  About 20% of beggars are victims of criminal privatization. But their number continues to fall as it is becoming increasingly harder for “blackmarket realtors” to illegally deprive people of housing. Another 10% have left their homes for family-related reasons: such as divorce or a quarrel with relatives. They left everything and went to build their lives from scratch. But they failed and could not return as their relatives did not allow them back. Most of the homeless – some 90% – are men.

(Карина)

However, you also have to understand many are homeless by choice. A various sociology studies was done in United States, why is homelessness a more of a first world problem? Due to the rise of inequality and wealth gap between rich and poor, many have chosen being homeless because of additional benefits that comes with homelessness such as lack of responsibilities, no mortgage, no rent, free food, free place to sleep and many have led to believe, they are happier having simpler lives calling themselves ‘free spirits’. Not all are homelessness by choice of course, but homelessness is becoming more of a trend than a need.

Влада      How long do they stay homeless?

(Маша) It can last anywhere from a day to many years. It can also be a recurring issue, as temporary jobs or housing may come to an end.

If the person has a combination of issues, any one of them can drop them back into homelessness.

Once a person has hit rock bottom, has no money and no family or friends, then it is extraordinarily difficult for them to recover on their own.

*In other words, it is much more difficult than most people (the general public) seems to believe. It’s not often a matter of them going to “get a job”.

София      Nevertheless,     Is it possible to return beggars to normal life?

(Карина) Ministry of Interior  representatives believe that we should at least try. Half of all homeless people have a high school diploma, 20% have specialized secondary education, and about10% have higher education. The MOI talks about the need for preventive measures. We need to create public rehabilitation centers to give these people a chance.

Софья    Then,    What can we do to help the homeless, and to stop homelessness? (гости)

-  get them low income housing,  3 to 5 changes of nice clothes and help them get a job, even a part time job to help them get going

- We can choose to treat the homeless with respect. Homeless individuals in larger cities may include the working poor, so one meaningful way to prevent homelessness is to support reasonable working conditions. Others may not be able to provide suitable housing for their needs. Supporting community mental health and addictions agencies can also help to prevent homelessness. . Organizations that provide hot meals, such as "Out of the Cold", are other good choices.

- give a man a fish, feed him for a day.,                                  teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime. We need to take whatever opportunities we are presented with to give homeless people more employment opportunities. No one buys a home on cash, it's all on credit, and the only way to get that credit-based loan is with a job.

(Маша)     Also job training...people either drop out of high school and work at McDonalds and no offence but working there isn't going to support a family but if they had good job training they could get into a good company where they could work up into a nice job.

(Кристина )      Homelessness is a terrible thing. It really shouldn’t exist today. A country should be ashamed if anyone is homeless. Governments are so rich today, yet they have no money to provide basic needs for their citizens. This is rubbish. Think how much money governments waste on fancy cars and other unnecessary things. It’s a crime. Even in rich countries, there are thousands of homeless. The government tries to sweep them under the carpet. They want to pretend the problem doesn’t exist. The world’s richest countries spend billions of dollars on weapons, but can’t make sure people have a roof over their head. This is disgusting. All world leaders should be ashamed of themselves

Песня

Софья  Well, Our talk show is coming to the end. We’ve discussed a lot of questions and heard different opinions and suggestions in solving this problem

Влада   We are thankful to everybody who came  and expressed his point of view.

See you later