The penny sit-up was one of the first
homeless shelters, created for the people of
Blackfriars, in central
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It was operated by the
Salvation Army to provide comfort and support to its destitute clients. What made this shelter unique was that in exchange for a
penny, clients would be allowed to sit on a bench in a reasonably warm room all night. They were not allowed to lie down and sleep on the bench.
A penny sit-up was the cheapest homeless shelter at that time. There were more expensive shelters available in London, such as a "
four penny coffin" (where the clients were provided with a coffin-sized box so that they can sleep lying-down).
By today's standards, the penny sit-up would be considered inadequate and callous. However, at the time it was considered a well-meaning, inexpensive, and compassionate attempt to deal with the recent explosion in
homelessness caused by the rapid
urbanisation
Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly the ...
of 19th century England. The Salvation Army believed these shelters provided relief from the harsh London winters and provided new followers of
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
. Others, such as Professor Howard Sercombe of the
University of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...
, have argued that such institutions were more likely to have been designed to control the homeless, or at the very best were a compassionate response to the harsh "moving on" laws of the time, which made it illegal for people to remain vagrant upon the streets.
[Youth studies journal of Australia]
See also
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Homelessness in England
References
*
Homelessness in England
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