A homeless veteran has been told by a charity to show support for migrant housing. The former soldier, who served Britain in Eastern Europe, was urged to re-write his personal homelessness story to include defence of migrants getting houses in the UK.
He submitted a detailed account of his story to charity Shelter, which included his military service and his subsequent homelessness. He also spoke candidly about suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, which was initially praised by the shelter. They told him it was "exactly the sort of story they were looking for" but then replied again weeks later, asking him to add lines defending the housing of migrants.
Charity's Request Sparks Outrage
As reported by the Daily Mail, the email sent by Shelter, a taxpayer-funded charity, said: "One thing we need to be mindful of is that (for some reason) people conflate veterans being homeless with migrants 'getting homes', so we'd need to address this in the post.
"You could either write something we can include or we could add something at the end like, 'We need social homes. Everything else, putting the blame on migrants, so-called 'affordable' homes that are not actually affordable, telling people to 'save up and buy' is unacceptable. Only social home building will end homelessness.'"
The veteran, who wishes to remain anonymous, labelled their reply "an attempt to turn [his] personal experience into political propaganda". The charity has since issued an apology to the veteran, who grew up in care and served in the Army from 2018 until 2023.
Political Accusations and Apology
Conservative MP Katie Lam, the party's Shadow Housing Secretary, accused Shelter of advancing "an ideological Left-wing campaign" through his story. She added that the charity was using a vulnerable person as a "political pawn".
The former soldier was forced to leave the military due to health issues and knee injuries. After being made homeless, his local authority, Chesterfield Borough Council, asked whether he had "killed anyone in places such as Iraq," a question he found "deeply distressing".
A spokesman from Shelter said: "We truly value people sharing their lived experience of the housing emergency with Shelter. Our approach to working with one of our storytellers was not the right one in this instance, and we are sorry for that.
"Our commitment to telling people's stories in an authentic way is vitally important, and we are taking the learnings from this forward."
A spokesman from Chesterfield Borough Council added: "We recognise why such a question could be distressing for an individual.
"Our officers follow national homelessness legislation and guidance, which recognises that military service can affect a person's housing situation, well-being and ability to cope with civilian life. It is important that we understand those needs so that we can provide appropriate advice and support."
