There has been a massive

thunderstorm this morning. It has been the sort of storm where the house shakes as the thunder rolls through and the lightning means you don't need to turn the light on...that is if you want to get out of bed that early.

I was woken by it. I curled up on my sleeping mat again and thought of how lucky I was. I was inside. I was dry and warm and as safe as it is possible to be in such circumstances. Yes, a bolt of lightning could come in through the window but it was very unlikely.

I then thought of all the people living in caravans, tents, under tarpaulins or without shelter at all. It always worries me. Yes, I know there are some people who are afraid of sleeping inside but they are so very few and far between and even they will seek shelter rather than face a thunderstorm. People want shelter, even other animals will seek it. It is there in the first part of Maslow's "hierarchy of needs" - along with air, water, food and sleep, clothes (for protection) and reproduction (for the survival of the species). 

We have about 400,000 more people in this country now than we did this time last year. Next year there will be at least another 315,000. We need to shelter all those people. They need to be provided with all the other things I have mentioned - and much more.  I sometimes wonder if the government has really thought about this. Do those responsible think just in numbers or do they think in practical terms as well? I doubt it.

There is a story this morning about how a "dangerous" detainee, one of those recently released from immigration detention under the High Court ruling, has gone off radar. He is refusing to wear an electronic monitoring device. I have little doubt that he has all the things he needs. Someone in his migrant community will be sheltering him. I wonder if he appreciates all he has. 

Yesterday I passed over a new t-shirt to someone who was making up a bag of clothing for another recent arrival. The recent arrival left with nothing but the clothes she was wearing. "What else does she need?" I added a bar of nice soap in a bag I had made and a pair of socks I had not worn. It wasn't much but it was what I could find in a hurry.  

I haven't met her yet but she sounds nice on the phone. The person I gave the items to phoned late yesterday afternoon and said, "M... wants to thank you. The t-shirt fits her nicely and now she can wash her other pair of socks." 

M....clearly knows the value of shelter more than most of us.