Elis John James £115 fine
Donation protected
This is the story which triggered this fund: http://www.bathchronicle.co.uk/news/homeless-man-jailed-three-weeks-955683
I first met Elis 'John' James about a year ago when he used to come into the church in Weston, Bath where I teach yoga. Most weeks, whilst I was setting up the yoga mats, we used to have a chat chat, he'd sometimes use the toilet, come and shelter from the rain, and I'd make him a drink if he wanted one. I got to know a little bit about him and his story which led him to Bath. He told me he didn't want to go into a hostel, he would rather be homeless and go where he wanted to go.
Then, I read the story in the Bath Chronicle about him being put in prison and fined £115 for sleeping in a hotel doorway in Bath.
Lots of people have said to me that maybe he wanted to go to prison for somewhere to sleep over the festive time, of course that's possible - we don't know. But it seems non-sensical to fine someone who has no real means of paying it back.
I am not condoning breaking the law, but it's Christmas and it's the time of year where our thoughts often turn to those who are not as lucky as ourselves. So I wondered if anyone else would be interested in raising the money to cover his fine. Of course he may not want our help, and in which case all of the money would go to Bath homeless charity, Julian House. And to clarify, if Mr James agrees, then this money will only be used to cover his fine - if we raise more than £115, the surplus would go to Julian House.
Thank you. And Happy Christmas.
I first met Elis 'John' James about a year ago when he used to come into the church in Weston, Bath where I teach yoga. Most weeks, whilst I was setting up the yoga mats, we used to have a chat chat, he'd sometimes use the toilet, come and shelter from the rain, and I'd make him a drink if he wanted one. I got to know a little bit about him and his story which led him to Bath. He told me he didn't want to go into a hostel, he would rather be homeless and go where he wanted to go.
Then, I read the story in the Bath Chronicle about him being put in prison and fined £115 for sleeping in a hotel doorway in Bath.
Lots of people have said to me that maybe he wanted to go to prison for somewhere to sleep over the festive time, of course that's possible - we don't know. But it seems non-sensical to fine someone who has no real means of paying it back.
I am not condoning breaking the law, but it's Christmas and it's the time of year where our thoughts often turn to those who are not as lucky as ourselves. So I wondered if anyone else would be interested in raising the money to cover his fine. Of course he may not want our help, and in which case all of the money would go to Bath homeless charity, Julian House. And to clarify, if Mr James agrees, then this money will only be used to cover his fine - if we raise more than £115, the surplus would go to Julian House.
Thank you. And Happy Christmas.
Organizer
Lucy Aston
Organizer
