- [Interviewer] Richard, you're
sleeping rough in London.
Tell me about it.
- Yeah, about seven months ago,
I had a massive nervous breakdown
and within six weeks, my whole
life spiraled out of control.
My relationship broke down, I lost my job
and then I lost my accommodation.
I'm suffering now from PTSD
from my time in the Royal
Navy, the Royal Marines.
I served in the Falklands at 18 years old,
Sierra Leone when I was 21,
and the first Gulf War at 28.
I was wounded twice and lost
my best friend, Dave Walker,
to a grenade which
wounded me and killed him.
That's what the PTSD really is all about.
His name was Dave Walker
and we called him Whiskey
because of Walker's Whiskey,
and his catchphrase was, "Hold fast."
He'd say, "Hold fast, son," with a smile,
and I have this tattoo
that says hold fast,
and that's my tribute
to Dave Whiskey Walker,
(voice cracks) my best friend who I lost.
Yeah, and now I'm out here now,
just trying to raise a
few pennies, excuse me.
Trying to raise a few pennies,
just to get a hostel for this evening.
It's pretty cold out here
tonight and the cold gets to me.
- [Interviewer] It's getting really cold.
- I'm 55 years old, I'm
not a young man anymore,
so, you know, I like a few
creature comforts, like a bed.
That would be great.
And maybe a hot shower
and a bit of breakfast,
and that's it.
- And people don't understand
that hostels here charge.
- No, they don't realize; they
think the hostels are free
and they think because I'm armed services,
the charities'll just come
and pick me up off the street,
put me in a three-bedroom
house and a car and a job.
Doesn't work like that, you know.
The guys coming back from
Iraq and Iran and Afghanistan
without any limbs, they take
priority, and rightly so.
Those guys, it's fresh for those guys.
For me, I've been out
the service 14 years now,
over 14 years, so I'm not
really a top priority anymore.
I'm on a list but those
lists are very long
so I just have to wait my turn.
And in the meantime, I'm out here trying
to raise a little bit of
money, trying to get a hostel.
Maybe if I can get in three nights a week,
I'll count myself lucky.
But they charge anything
from £18 to £26 an evening.
Some you get a breakfast, some you don't.
Some are dormitories,
some are single rooms.
The best ones are the single rooms
but they're the most expensive.
And that's about that, really.
- [Interviewer] So people
think people begging for money
and pan-handling make all kinds of money.
- Yeah, they think--
- [Interviewer] And you're
getting rich out here.
- I've heard people say they
think I earn £500 a week.
I'll be lucky to earn £12 a
day, let alone £500 a week.
That's just ridiculous; it
just doesn't work like that.
There's a lot of good people out here
with a lot of good heart
and a lot of empathy,
but money's scarce for everybody.
I don't expect to be given
£50 and £20 and £10 notes.
I don't expect that; £1
and 50p, I'm very grateful.
If I can get 20 people
to give me 50p or £1,
do you know what I mean?
So I just have to wait
and see what happens.
- [Interviewer] You were saying
you feel invisible out here.
- Yeah, a lot of people,
I feel like if they don't
look at me, in their mind,
I don't exist, I'm not
their problem, you know?
There's so many people on the
street in this country now,
in absolute abject
poverty, and people just...
I think they've been numbed to it.
They don't feel that much empathy anymore
because they see it everywhere,
especially in London.
They just walk straight past,
"Oh, there's another one,
there's another bum."
Or they think we're drug
addicts or alcoholics.
Well, everyone's got a story, right?
- [Interviewer] What would
you want housed people
to know about sleeping rough?
What would you want normal people--
- It's cold out here, right,
and I don't feel secure.
It's always the threat
of violence from drunks.
The abuse, verbal and physical.
I've been spat on, urinated
on in my sleeping bag.
Been told that I'm a
dirty stinking drug addict
or an alcoholic, or, "Get
a job," things like that.
But it's bloody cold out
here and when you have to...
I don't get benefits
either; I've been sanctioned
because I don't have a bank
address, a bank account,
and I don't have any photo ID
because that was all stolen out here,
by another homeless guy.
So I just wish some people
that are very comfortable,
never been hungry, to just
walk a mile in my shoes,
just to feel what it's like,
and maybe their attitudes would change.
Maybe.
- [Interviewer] If you had three
wishes, what would they be?
- No more war.
No poverty.
And love.
- [Interviewer] Great wishes.
- Yeah, love, yeah.
No war and no poverty and a bit of love.
- [Interviewer] Great wishes.
Thank you very much for talking--
- You're welcome.
I hope somebody listens.
(gentle music)
