Stuart Polden
Stuart Polden 40, thought it was a good idea to stage a protest in the Melbourne central business district to highlight the plight of the homeless, but it didn't work out the way he had hoped.
He woke on Tuesday night when a group of drug addicts and "blow ins" arrived at the camp and tried to hide stolen bicycles. He called police and returned to his regular camp under the rail viaduct at Enterprise Park.
The homeless have a bad reputation and don't receive a lot of sympathy from the public. There's a perception that they would rather save their pension money to buy drugs and alcohol, rather than pay rent.
It all comes down to cheap accommodation for the poor - there isn't any.
Boarding houses used to fill the void for needy people in the past - a cheap room was available for displaced men and women down on their luck at a reasonable rent they could afford, but not any more, they went out of fashion and no longer exist, replaced with flats and units that cost the earth.
So who are the homeless?
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