The Seattle Heroin Task Force, formed by Mayor Ed Murray and King County Executive Dow Constantine, has endorsed the creation of safe-consumption sites for injectors, which would be a first in the U.S.

A majority of the task-force members support a place where drugs can be injected safely rather than public toilets, alleys or homeless encampments such as ‘The Jungle’, said Dr. Jeffrey Duchin, the Task Force co-chair.

The idea is that users could visit a ‘supervised injection facility’ where they could get clean needles and anti-overdose medications as well as medical attention and treatment opportunities. The Task Force is working on formal recommendations expected next month, Duchin said, for what a model might look like and what legal hurdles it could face.

But such a site wouldn’t directly address homelessness among drug users. The Jungle’s population dropped by about 200 people after the mayor initiated intensive outreach efforts earlier this summer, but about 120 people remain, the vast majority of whom are addicted to heroin.

Mayor Murray has proposed a dormitory-style homeless shelter modeled after San Francisco’s Navigation Center that would allow pets, partners, storage for personal belongings, and intoxicated residents, unlike some hostels, as a way to coax residents out of encampments.

The model is helpful, said Kris Nyrop of the Public Defender Association (PDA), which also supports safe-consumption sites. “But you need to allow people to use on-site, so they don’t in an alley or back in The Jungle,” said Nyrop, an outreach worker and drug-policy researcher in Seattle for two decades.

He and others suggest the solution may be in an inconspicuous blue building known as “1811.” They’re talking about 1811 Eastlake Avenue, which houses 75 chronic alcoholics who can drink in their rooms and avail themselves, if they choose, of treatment services on-site.

A study published in 2009 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) said it saved taxpayers $4 million a year in housing and crisis services that would’ve been incurred had they been living on the streets. It also reduced their alcohol use by about one-third. A 2012 study by University of Washington researchers also found decreased consumption by 1811 residents. “1811 is a great model, the kind of innovative solutions we should look at,” Duchin said.

Patricia Sully, of the Heroin Task Force, agrees: “1811 Eastlake has shown great results, and there is every reason to believe that a similar model for people who use drugs would show equally impressive results,” said Sully, a PDA staff attorney.

We like a story with a happy ending. So, when a homeless woman who was dismissed as “crazy” finally proved that she really was owed more than £75,000 by the US government, cheers broke out here at SSHG headquarters.

Apparently, Wanda Witter, who is 80 years old, lived on the streets for 12 years, dragging around three suitcases full of documents that, she claimed, proved she was owed $100,000 in pension payments. “They kept thinking I was crazy, telling me to get rid of the suitcases,” she told the Washington Post.

The saga began when Ms. Witter became unemployed in her late 60s and moved to Washington DC to be near her daughter. But when she received unemployment cheques, she realised they were for the wrong amount, so sent them back marked ‘void’.

Her many letters and phone calls to the government pension department got her nowhere – and when Ms. Witter’s daughter moved away from the city, Ms. Witter slid into homelessness.

But this all changed when a social worker, Julie Turner, got on the case and started going through the meticulously filed documents in the suitcases. “She had all the paperwork there, neatly organised, in order,” says Ms. Turner. “She was right all along. They did owe her all that money.”

The cash has now shown up in Ms. Witter’s account, allowing her to rent a small apartment. She also plans to visit her four daughters, scattered across the country, and meet her grandchildren for the first time.

“She needed economic help, not mental help,” says Ms. Turner.

“That’s part of the problem with homelessness in DC. So many cases are written off as being about mental illness. A lot of times, homelessness really is simply about economics.”

Here in the UK, if you want to challenge a pension decision, you’ll need to take it up with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). First, you need to ask the DWP to reconsider – and this needs to be done within a month of the decision being made.

If you get nowhere, you can then take your case to HM Courts and Tribunal Service; again, though, this needs to be within a month of your challenge being rejected.

Liverpool City Council is launching a new forum to tackle homelessness and reduce rough sleeping in the city.

Mark Langshaw, writing in Your Move, Liverpool’s guide to property and culture, reports that meetings will take place twice a year and anyone is welcome to attend, whether they have been affected by homelessness or simply have an interest in the subject.

Councillor Frank Hont, cabinet member for housing, says: “There is, quite rightly, a lot of interest in homelessness, but perhaps some people, do not fully appreciate some of the issues involved and the work which goes on to resolve them.

“This new body will give us a chance to explain what we and our partners are doing and aiming to achieve. But, we know we don’t have a monopoly of wisdom in this area and we are keen to hear other views and ideas. It will also be an opportunity for people to ask questions about this subject.

“How we deal with homelessness is a very important issue so I am hoping that we get a good attendance at the forum.”

The first meeting of the forum will be held at Liverpool Town Hall on the 7^th of September, between 10am and 12pm, when the council’s new Homeless Strategy for 2016 to 2020 will be launched.

To reserve a place at the meeting send an email to adultcommissioningteam@liverpool.gov.uk and outline any access requirements.

A homeless man has left a note on the shutters of a shop – apologising and thanking staff for allowing him to sleep there. The note was found in Preston, where a major crackdown on homeless people has been launched.

Beginning with “Sorry”, the note was left outside Scotts designer clothes store and signed by a man named Chris. Handwritten on a ripped piece of cardboard, he says he had been “moved on from everywhere” else he had slept. “Thank you for not throwing my things away,” he said. “Most people would. I’ve moved the rubbish. Thank you so much. I’m actually homeless. From Chris.”

Earlier this month a campaign was launched which aims to reduce “professional” begging in the city. Backed by organisations including Preston City Council and Lancashire Police, it focuses on beggars who are persistent and in some cases not in genuine need.

But there are concerns that genuinely homeless people are not always finding the support they need. Gary Welsh, of the Lancaster and District Homeless Action Service charity, said: “Especially in a big city like Preston, there’s a danger that genuinely homeless people could be caught up in the crackdown.

The authorities should know who is genuinely homeless. But on the flipside, there are lots of services for homeless people to access. It’s just sad that we are in beginning of the 21st Century and we still have Victorian problems.”

A spokesman for Preston City Council said the campaign was not designed to target rough sleepers. “The Off The Streets Preston initiative is not in any way targeting people like Chris, who is a genuine rough sleeper,” he said. “We are continuing to offer support for rough sleepers and vulnerable people, and working with them to help them address their needs.”

Twelve young volunteers from the National Citizens Service (NCS) got busy in the Bosco garden last week, helping to clear weeds and rubbish, washing pots, and generally making the place look much tidier.

The National Citizen Service is open to all 16- and 17-year-olds in England. It helps them build their skills for work and life, while taking on new challenges and meeting new friends. The scheme runs in the spring, summer and autumn and gives young people the opportunity to have a short time away from home and take part in a team project that will help their community.

NCS brings together young people from different backgrounds and helps them develop greater confidence, self-awareness and responsibility. It encourages personal and social development by working on skills like leadership, teamwork and communication.

Participants develop a social action project to deal with a local issue they’re passionate about, and spend 30 hours putting the project into action in their community. One of the projects chosen by the Sefton team was Bosco House.

Bosco manager, Sheila Howard, said: “All too often, young people are portrayed in a negative light by the news media – all they report on is gangs, drugs and antisocial behavior. So it’s great to see young people doing positive things in their community. They’ve been a great help and worked really hard today.”

One of the NCS volunteers, Dan McCann, said the group was only too glad to help out. “I think that what Bosco does is great. The way they look after people who have fallen on hard times,” he said.

“This is the kind of project that NCS is all about,” he added. “We’re coming to the end of our four weeks together and it’s been fantastic. I’ve had a great time and learned so much, about myself and other people. I’d recommend it to all young people.”

To find out more about NCS, go to their website www.ncsyes.co.uk