Councillor Jack Hazelgrove expresses the nature of Brighton and Hove City Council's housing committee (Letters, August 19). His letter was bullying, aggressive and dismissive, a situation we have become accustomed to in the past year or so.

The St Patrick Church Family opened a night shelter in 1985 when there was little other provision. This was funded by the Church Family, taxpayers and voters within the city and beyond. The council then invited St Patrick's Trust into a partnership, which we gladly embraced.

With the advent of the Government's Supporting People funding regime, the council moved on and partnership has become a thing of the past. We must all sign up and shut up or lose our funding.

Already the council is cleansing the city of homeless folk without a Brighton connection and is transporting people all over the country.

After having spent £8million, is this the best the council has to offer? This is not a game of statistics. Real people with hearts and souls are involved but so often without a voice.

I invite Coun Hazelgrove to visit our shelter to see first-hand the effects of the local connection policy - people being evicted on to the streets.

-Fr Alan Sharpe, St Patrick's Trust