Sofa Surfing and Guernsey's To-do List

I like to pretend to be organised so I run a “To-do” list.
 
I write down all of the things I need to do and all of the things I want to do and then, theoretically, I do them. I also write down all of the things I might like to do at some time but maybe not right now.
 
It’s very easy to get swamped or distracted using this approach unless you have a clear understanding of your priorities.
 
What has this to do with sofa surfing?
 
As I see it, the young homeless problem is just another one for Guernsey’s To-do list, joining many other concerns clamouring for the States attention.
 
The problem is that, like the rest of us, the States only has so much time and money and should look to it’s priorities.
 
As when my own list gets overloaded, the States needs to take a step backwards and work out just what it is trying to achieve by juggling all of these balls in the air at the same time.
 
Everything is important and a lot of things are urgent but nevertheless, everything has to be given a number on the list. It’s a bit like A&E. Your broken foot may be hugely important to you, but the three guys having heart attacks will be seen first, as will the builder who has cut his thumb off even though he came in half an hour after you did.
 
It’s all about priorities and I question whether the States or any of us really know what comes where on the list.
 
What are we trying to achieve?
 
In 1943 a psychologist Abraham Maslow came up with what he called a Hierarchy of Needs which is usually set out as a pyramid on the basis that until the base level need is met, you can’t successfully progress to build the next level of the pyramid.
 
At the bottom we have the basics of human survival. Food, water, air, sleep etc. This could soon be a problem if we didn’t look after our drinking water supply or the channels of transport which supply us with food on a daily basis.
 
The next level is about Safety. Personal security and protection against violence and abuse which the States police with a police force and a justice system to bring offenders to book and punishes them or maybe stops them from re-offending
 
At the same level we also have concerns for our health and well-being and safety from accidents and disasters. Thus we need a universal healthcare system, a fire service, adequate housing, a good economy where it is easy to find employment and where you can thrive and bring up a family.
 
Already it is becoming complicated. The infrastructure needed to ensure well-being is already being fragmented. Do we try to achieve minimum basic standards for everybody or go for the best that we can get for the most number of people knowing that some will be left by the wayside?
 
Rather than getting bogged down, let’s just look at the remaining levels of the pyramid.
 
The next level is love and esteem, respect and self respect. The basics of society.
 
That is followed by what Maslow called self actualisation, the ability to become the best that you can be. This is where society learns to flourish.
 
Now, where does the problem of sofa surfing slot into all of this?
 
I’d suggest that it is down on the Safety level in providing adequate housing for us all, but of course it isn’t as simple as that. After all, if we built adequate housing for everyone, how much land would be left for everything else?
 
Maybe the States need to prioritise adequate housing rather than allowing all of these up market developments. Yes, it would call for unprecedented States intervention into the housing market but there is a huge need for affordable basic housing on this Island for our next generation and for many more.
 
Does this take priority over updating the airport or ensuring we have regular fuel supplies coming in?
 
No.
 
But it should be above a lot of other things, including everything covered by Sports, Leisure, and Heritage. These are nice to haves. 

Very important for any civilised society but still not meriting a place above ensuring that all of our Islanders have an affordable roof over their head. 


I might even go as far as to suggest it merits a higher place than Education and I am passionate about the importance of education. 

I am not advocating a system where we featherbed young Jason just because he's too idle to get a job and prefers to steal from his family to feed his addictions until they throw him out. But I do think that we should at least have a hostel where such unfortunates can get basic care and support. A similar place should also be there for Jenny when she gets herself pregnant so that she can get a flat. Basic help and support.

We should also recognise that some youngsters become homeless through no fault of their own and these people too need our help.

But the need for affordable housing doesn't stop with the sofa surfers. We also have the nesters who never fly from home because there is nowhere to fly to. The flyers, who emigrate rather than face years of expensive renting and house prices rising quicker than they can save. I'm sure you can add to the list. 

This is just one example of why I believe that the States need to start again.
 
Instead of reviewing existing budgets and creating death by a thousand cuts, it should do a basic re-evaluation and decide where our limited resources are best spent. Get the basics funded adequately first and then look at the nice to haves. Start with a clean sheet and then begin to allocate what needs spending where, starting at the bottom of the pyramid and working upwards until the money runs out.
 
If we did that then a lot of things might fall by the wayside but it wouldn’t be people. It might be museums, or sports centres, inter governmental trips or tourist development. All very deserving causes but not when the money is running out.
 
I’m afraid the same applies to jobs.
 
Do we need every States department to have so many specialists?
 
Centralise expertise. Look to the basic needs first and then decide how many communication officers we really need and can afford.
 
Many might argue that having a civilised society such as we already have is worth defending but at what cost?
 
Is it not better to scale back or cut the non-essentials to ensue that the basic needs of all Islanders are first met?
 
Will we ever get such a root and branch review?
 
What do you think?
 
Whilst the problems can be ignored or swept under the carpet then the status quo will remain. In the UK it took riots to get people to notice how bad things had become in some areas but even now, little is being done to address the fundamental problems which bred the riots in the first place.
 
What will it take here before we look at what sort of society we are breeding?