Homeless people were shuttled out of Edinburgh, Scotland, ahead of Taylor Swift‘s “Eras” tour stops, but an organization battling the injustice isn’t blaming her.
The Director of Shelter in Scotland, Alison Watson told TMZ that the capital should be able to host an event of such magnitude without having a significant impact on the city’s homeless population.
Alison makes it clear, however, that the organization does not quarrel with Taylor. Instead, she says they blame “decades of underinvestment in social housing.”
Here is the deal… TS will be in Edinburgh next week, performing three nights at Murrayfield Stadium as part of her international tour.
The homeless community, who would have previously been provided tourist lodgings as housing, is now being forced to leave the city to make way for the expected inflow of people.
Shelter Scotland is naturally angry about this since they hope it does not set a precedent for the city’s other major event, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Alison had earlier stated that a family going through homelessness in Edinburgh should not move miles from their job, school, and community to find accommodation suddenly.
As said, at a season the City Council has declared a housing emergency and the Scottish Housing Regulator has said the city’s homelessness services are going through failure in the system. According to her, the Scottish Government should respond differently.
Still, we’re not shocked that visitors are given precedence… as Swifties spend money on housing, food, and travel, apparently offering a “Swift lift” to businesses around the world.
Granted, it’s still disappointing to see that it’s happening at all. It’s a tough situation, no doubt, but Taylor isn’t taking the heat for it.
