EDITORIAL COMMENT

Edges Magazine continues to give the homeless of London a voice. In this edition we read about those who have just arrived in the city in a state of hopelessness and despair. They are desperately searching for accommodation but cannot find any possibilities.

In the last edition of Edges I spoke about the death of Neil. He was only in his early twenties and yet was carrying the burden of chemical dependency. He ended his life in his father's shed. In this edition I also have to announce the death of Lee Hartley. He died on the 26th of June. I offer my deepest sympathy to his family.

On the 8th of November we will hold our Edges Personalities of the Year Awards. These awards are given to young people with whom we have worked over the last year who have made outstanding progress, turning away from crime and drugs. The awards will be presented at the County Hotel in Blackburn and invited guests will include civic leaders and representatives from the statutory and voluntary agencies. This year we feel there are several young people who have made outstanding progress and we thank Edges readers for supporting us in our work.

On the 26th of November we will hold our annual conference at Lancaster University. Our topic will be 'Youth Regained through Social Inclusion'. This year we have a variety of speakers from a wide background.

We are still in the process of setting up our mentoring scheme for people coming out of prison. We hope to place a worker in Lancaster Farms Young Offenders Prison.

Our organisation communicates with excluded people throughout the U.K. In this edition of Edges we listen to Sebastian, he lives in London and continues to live out his life marginalised in the community. This is because of the nightmare created by his childhood. For many years he grew up in an environment of abuse and he still can't get it out of his head.

As a society it is important that we learn how to accept each other. It is important that we discover how to break down the barriers that can alienate certain members of our community. When we stare into the face of someone, often we do not know the pain they are suffering. Beneath the surface there can be many tears.

Once again thank you for all your help.
Please continue to support us.