Shocked volunteers ‘kicked out of train station by security’ as they helped homeless
Birmingham England March 6 2018 Shocked volunteers have hit out at security who they say kicked them out of a train station as they treated a rough sleeper on the brink of hypothermia.
The trio from Birmingham – dubbed the Outreach Angels – claim security staff at New Street station made them leave as they attempted to treat the man, found “stumbling” outside the travel hub, Birmingham Live reports.
As the ‘Beast from the East’ gripped the region last week, the women and their army of volunteers took to the streets to help those sleeping rough.
With heavy snow fall and temperatures plummeting to life-threatening levels – it was one of the coldest winter weeks on record.
But as Birmingham City Council activated their Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) – initiated anytime temperatures fall below freezing – some rough sleepers remained on the streets.
The Outreach Angels told how the city centre had remained surprisingly busy – with their band of volunteers handing out hot meals and warm drinks to people who remained on the streets.
And last Tuesday the women – two of whom work full-time as community midwives – spotted one rough sleeper as he stumbled in “bitingly cold” conditions outside New Street Station.
Michala Roche, one of the women behind Outreach Angels, said: “We met this guy and he broke our hearts.
“This poor man we came across has stumbled out of the train station and he was having what looked like a hypo – swaying all over the place.
“People were just tutting at him and walking past, it was a real shame.
“He is a homeless man, we pulled him over and it was horrific.
“The poor man was frozen – he was literally shaking and shivering, it is horrific to see that in this day and age.”
In a message on their Facebook page, the Outreach Angels wrote: “We came across this man outside New Street.
“One layer of clothing, soaking wet material shoes that left wet marks on the pavement as he walked… and clearly having a hypo or maybe even hypothermia kicking in.
“The whole team chucked a quilt around him and helped him into New Street, where we sat him down and completely kitted him out in dry clothing.
“We removed his shoes and socks, cleaned his feet with some wet wipes and got him some dry socks and shoes on and then totally layered him up whilst he had a few cups of sugary tea.
“Unfortunately, the ‘lovely’ security staff came and made us move out of there… we were only sorting this man and had made our other homeless friends walk up to wait at our next hot spot for us to get there.
“The staff had a job to do and totally lacked compassion for the human being we were trying to help.
“This is the battle we are up against though unfortunately, some people forget they are people facing their own battles and deserve to be treated with dignity and compassion.
“We walked with him to our next hot spot, fed him some hot food and soon had him on his way with new dry clothes, shoes, blanket, plenty of snacks and food and feeling a damn sight better than when we met him.
“This is the reality of being on the streets. We manage to have a laugh out there every single week, but tonight hit us hard that this man might not have survived the cold weather had we not bumped into him.”
Network Rail – who manage New Street Station, said they “applaud” the work homeless organisations carry out.
When Birmingham Live told Network Rail of the incident, it came back with this statement.
“The weather is bitterly cold right now and our heart goes out to the many rough sleepers across the city.
“We applaud the amazing work that organisations like the Outreach Angels do.
“Our station staff are trained to act with compassion when dealing homeless people, while making sure the station operates safely.”
