A controversial and inhumane way of 'managing' London's homeless population was brought to the attention of twitterers by Worldview Media at the weekend: spikes have been placed outside a building owned by property company Property Partners, to deter people from sleeping on the property.

As a Mental health nurse in London I have all too often seen the result of isolating and mistreating our city's homeless. We should be offering practical and emotional support to help the most vulnerable to get back on their feet. We should not be sending them the message that they are pests that need to be warded off. 

London is lucky to have some of the most prolific charities working tirelessly to help vulnerable people link in with services and get the support they are in need of. As a society should we not be doing more to help these people instead of isolating them further?

We should be looking after our vulnerable population not ostracising them by moving them to places that are less intrusive to our lives, so that they are out of sight. The next time you walk past a homeless person, think about the fact that they have had lives, rich and interesting lives that were thrown into turmoil due to circumstances that are often out of their control. 

For those people who are not sure if they agree with this petition I would say if it is a problem for a homeless person to stay in that area, then perhaps a more human approach could be adopted – a person telling another person to move along is more humane than installing spikes.

Humans deserve to be treated like humans regardless of their social situation.

You never know what is round the corner. Support the silent population.