S: Some have been there … one of them I think it was … above Burger King, there’s like a little room and it’s like 70 years old. No one has done anything with it. What is the point in having all this empty space that you’re not going to do anything with, when you can help so many people? I’ve been told by homeless people themselves between Queen Street and St Mary Street, there’s 50 people living in doorways. That’s just two streets in Cardiff.

JO: that’s … it’s just disgusting, isn’t it?

What is the point in having all this empty space that you’re not going to do anything with, when you can help so many people? I’ve been told by homeless people themselves between Queen Street and St Mary Street, there’s 50 people living in doorways. That’s just two streets in Cardiff.

S: it is. You think to yourself … where’s your compassion for your fellow human being going?

JO: well … it’s funny you should say that because … only … I made a memo about 45 minutes ago … I was just looking down a street and a guy with crutches who looked like he might be someone who’s existing on the street at the moment … skidded … put a crutch down …and lost his footing and fell over ….

S: oh dear …

JO: on his shoulder … and you could see it hurt him … there was no one watching and he was clasping his shoulder … so I was about to go and fortunately two community …

S: support officers …

JO: support people rocked up and started talking to him. So I assumed that they … do you think they would have helped?

S: oh yes. The community support round here is very good because … because so many people have been on the street for so long, they know them by name. They know them by this and that ….

3^rd P: there you go!

S: ah mate! Every little helps. If everyone in the world gave 1p, think how different the world would be. There you go mate. Have a good day.

JO: well … the reason I told you is a young father with his two little girls walked past me .. just at the same moment. And one of the girls had seen him, I think, and asked their Dad what was going on. And he said, “oh, I don’t know. That weirdo over there”.

S: so, he judged him.

JO: yes. He’d just seen a man … or a human .. just fell over and really hurt himself and his reaction was that weirdo … i.e. not something one should have compassion about.

S: absolutely. It gets … my Mum was born in like [ ] … she says literally since the Millennium, she says every year, just the compassion for people gets worse … and this year it’s just exploding as you can see with people trying to do nuclear wars and things like that. You can see compassion is just getting turned away and our animal instincts are coming in like … survival of the fittest … it’s like, it doesn’t need to be that way! There’s enough of us to survive together.

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