STORIES

In the beginning of 2012 Richard made a decision to give up 19 years of working for a removals company to permanently care for his mother and move into her flat. In July 2012, however, his mother had an accident that left her in hospital for 12 weeks and in September 2012 she sadly passed away. Since Richard was unofficially living at his mother’s flat, he was immediately asked to leave with nowhere secure to go to.

Totally Soul destroying”

Although Richard was able to stay with a few friends here and there for a couple of months, by February 2013, he was officially homeless. “You feel guilty asking friends all the time” he said, “there is only so much you can put them through.” When asking him about his experience of being homeless he said, “on top of my mother dying it was horrible, totally soul destroying and a very lonely time.” Richard often slept in a tent in Manor Park and in 2017 an incident there led him to finally getting the support he needed. “One day some youths who were drinking started throwing rocks at my tent and being verbally abusive to me”, he told me. Richard managed to keep them away but they left threatening to come back and burn his tent with him inside. That same day when Richard returned to his tent in the evening, he found it lying in the river along with his sleeping bag. Calling the only contact he knew who might be able to help, they put him in touch with the Whitechapel Mission.

However, even though he was now entitled to work in the UK and access state benefits, Aref simply did not know how to find a job or access this help. His temporary accommodation soon came to an end and he found himself on the streets.

“Before I was homeless, now I get room. It’s good”



Aref describes his experience of homelessness: “Very difficult: no shower, no sleep, no good food, nothing; winter is cold.” Thankfully he found his way to the homeless charity Crisis Skylight. Crisis referred Aref to GrowTH’s shelter and Aref was grateful to get a bed. In his words, “Night shelter is good; for everything help. Before I was homeless, now I get room. It’s good.”

Looking Forward

With the resettlement assistance of his Advocate Worker, Aref moved into a room in a shared house in South East London. Now settled, he is taking classes at a local college to learn English. In Iran he worked as a mechanic. In the future, he hopes to get a job in that field in the UK.