There are so many good causes and charities… what makes helping
the homeless one of my interests?
Many years ago, when I was training to be a teacher in Manchester,
it happened to me. Luckily, the council were successful in forcing the landlord
to overturn their decision, and, as it happened just before the Christmas
holidays, my family could take me in while I found another flat for the next
term.
I’ve always had asthma, and the damp and cold top floor of
the townhouse in Heaton Moor was acerbating the problem. I love the vibe of Manchester,
but anyone who has ever lived there will tell you that it never seems to stop
raining!! The rest of the country will be in glorious sunshine, but not the
Mancunians I’m afraid! In these conditions, I caught a nasty chest infection and,
feeling weak and not having a telephone (this was in 1993, so no mobiles!) I
considered walking to the telephone box 20 minutes away to make the call to my
university, to explain that I wouldn’t be coming in.
The landlord had a phone on the landing, one floor down. I
would certainly have asked permission first, but thinking that everyone was at
work, I used their phone to make the call. The landlady (I think she was called
Val, but it was so long ago I’m not certain) caught me in the act. She went
ballistic and screamed at my partner and I, telling us to get out right away.
Frightened, the two of us grabbed what we could and were literally thrown out
on to the street.
It’s hard to believe, as the Ruth of today would not have
been so easily intimidated! To cut what could be a long story short, the
council intervened and explained to the landlady that she was breaking the law,
that we had to be allowed to see out our tenancy and access our belongings.
In my work with the Watford Homeless Project I have had the
opportunity to hear their stories; sometimes stories that start out like mine,
but these don’t have such a happy ending. Some of the community have had successful
careers, families and the trappings of financial success. It is hard to comprehend,
but that guy you see begging on the street in dirty clothes has at times run
businesses, and could probably knock your maths skills into a cocked hat – even
when he is blind drunk!
They all have an interesting story to tell. The next phase
of L4G outreach work (Watford Homeless) is going to be to hear their stories, to listen, understand
and hopefully through sharing and communicating with the community, to help
them to heal. That said, not every rough sleeper is looking for change, to be fixed, or for charity; whilst I will continue with practical support (e.g. fundraising) I
believe that this venture is about developing a mutual understanding between us all, and a different sort of
change.
L4G’s strapline is ‘What if we knew you?’ What if we knew more
about the people in society who only make themselves visible in shop doorways
and night shelters? What if we knew their stories, your stories…. our stories?
