Oxford's biggest student newspaper, produced by and for members of the University of Oxford, since 1991.
Cacophonous coughs echoing from mattress shanty towns; hands pining for offerings of food and change. Not Dickens though – this is the ever effervescent city of dreaming spires. From travel journals to television shows, Oxford is hailed as a vibrant, beautiful city. What one cannot fail to notice though, especially as it gets colder, is […]
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The Saïd Business School, University College, and Pembroke College, alongside commercial hotels, are partnering with the Oxford City Council to free up 121 rooms to house rough sleepers. In late March, the government told councils it was “imperative” to house rough sleepers. Residents of shelters including O’Hanlon House and the recently opened Floyds Row had […]
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A new charity has been established by Oxford students with the aim of distributing books to the city’s homeless. The non-proft organisation Homeless Oxford Literature Drive (HOLD) was set up last month by Hamza Rana and Alex Haveron-Jones, from Somerville College. This term, HOLD have launched their first book drive where they are collecting donated books […]
Continue ReadingHuman Circles, a newly founded not-for-profit organization has recently raised £600 to fund two new innovative projects to improve mental health in Oxford. The funding, raised from private donors was given to Coffee Ambassadors and Oxford Link. The first is a project that is creating a decentralized platform for peer supporters to provide support to […]
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Polaroid photos have long been the preserve of arty students and Cellar-goers. Homelessness Oxfordshire, however, has subverted this: their new exhibition at the Jam Factory in Oxford showcases images that capture (as best as photographs can) the experience of homelessness. As you walk into the Jam Factory’s boiler room, past a cosy bookshelf and pot […]
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The Jam Factory’s new exhibition Below the Spires aims to bring attention to homelessness in Oxfordshire. Featuring photographs of Oxford from the perspective of homeless people, they hope to dispel some of the myths about what it is like to survive on the streets. Below the Spires offers us insight into the very different ways […]
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Image Credit: Alex Kumar Today at 5pm, a number of homeless people are set to be evicted from a site owned by Merton College, Oxford. The field, which is claimed to be overgrown and unused, has been a place several homeless people have been using as a place to sleep. A photo of the sign […]
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Many food bank users are falling deeper into financial and food insecurity, according to a report released last week. The study, commissioned by the Trussell Trust – a poverty charity with a 400-strong food bank network – highlights income insecurity and the prevalence of food insecurity and material deprivation in the population of food bank […]
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Nationwide, rough sleeping in England has increased by 134% between 2010 and 2015. Oxford has historically had high levels of homelessness with around 55 people counted as rough sleeping in the city at the last official count. Oxford’s homelessness problem partly stems from housing issues: it is the most unaffordable place to live in the […]
Continue ReadingToday in court Oxford University were granted an interim possession order to repossess the Old Mill at Osney, which has been inhabited by Osney Open House (formerly Iffley Open House) residents for the past ten days. The residents have been permitted 5 days, an extension of the usual allowance of 24 hours, to move their […]
Continue ReadingTwo Oxford councillors have come under heavy fire this week for comments insulting the LGBTQ community and the homeless. John Tanner, Labour Councillor for Littlemore, branded Oxford’s homeless “a disgrace”, while Julia Gasper, a parish councillor currently affiliated with the English Democrats and previously UKIP, posted a picture of Jimmy Savile to commemorate LGBTQ History […]
Continue ReadingBalloting for the RAG charities vote which took place last week, closed on Thursday 9th February at 6pm. Oxford Raise and Give supports four charities a year; two national or international, and two local. The charities, chosen in a ballot each year share the profits of RAG’s fundraising activities over the course of the next […]
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According to its website, Oxford City Council’s proposed city-centre Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) “is about creating a safe and welcoming city centre for residents, businesses and tourists”. If you are homeless, however, your life is about to get a whole lot harder. Criminalising a number of behaviours deemed to be anti-social, the proposed PSPO […]
Continue ReadingA senior member of staff at Queen’s has caused controversy after she described homeless people as “down and outs” in an email. Dr Linda Irving-Bell, the College’s Home Bursar, wrote to current undergraduates last week asking students to contribute to a police investigation into people who live in the field near the college’s Florey accommodation […]
Continue ReadingStudents campaigning for seats on Oxford City Council are in a war of words this week over the recent 38 per cent cuts to homeless services in the city. According to a statement from the Liberal Democrats, the Labour-run City Council recently voted down an amendment which would have provided an extra £100,000 for homelessness […]
Continue ReadingA meeting of the Oxford County Council has passed a new budget agreement meaning that 38% of proposed funding cuts to the homeless services sector will go ahead. The decision means a £1.5m reduction in funding for Oxford’s homeless services and comes after months of campaigning in protest from students, service workers and members of […]
Continue ReadingThe head of a local homeless charity has warned that “there will be more deaths on the streets” due to council cuts to homeless services. Oxford County Council has proposed a 38% cut to the Housing Related Support budget. Lesley Dewhurst, head of Oxford Homeless Pathways, made the prediction at a meeting to combat the […]
Continue ReadingWhen a blanket of snow descended on Oxford last week, many students were overjoyed to see the transformation of the city into a magical world of black and white. After a walk in the snow, we could enjoy the luxury of warming ourselves up with a cup of hot chocolate while admiring the dancing snow […]
Continue ReadingWill Upton discusses the down-and-dirty economics of music The number of down and outs on the streets of Oxford is disconcerting and a constant reminder of the precariousness of privilege. I myself was brought down to street level by a wayward paving stone recently, and got up to find someone frighteningly reminiscent of a famous […]
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