People with personal experience add backing… in OD

…to Big Tees Sleepout
by Dave Robson, Evening GazetteMar 11 2013

TWO people with personal experience of homelessness today add their backing to the Big Tees Sleepout. Dave Robson reports.

MORE than 100 hardy souls have already agreed to sleep outside for the night at Middlesbrough College on Saturday, March 16.

But organisers want more people to sign up for Teesside’s biggest ever sponsored sleepout, with proceeds going to homeless charities.

And among those taking part are two people who know what it’s like to be homeless.

Middlesbrough councillor Len Junier and Middlesbrough Council’s homeless co-ordinator Sharon Caddell have different stories to tell.

Councillor for Middlesbrough’s North Ormesby and Brambles Farm ward since 2009, Len, 52, was homeless twice as he grew up on Stockton’s Portrack estate. Sharon ended up in a Middlesbrough hostel for two years.

And today, they bravely agree to share their stories in a bid to raise awareness of homelessness – and the Big Sleepout.

On sleeping rough, Len says: “It’s a very lonely existence. People often have a romantic idea of sleeping out under the stars but those taking part in the sleepout are in for a very uncomfortable, strange night.

“I’ve been told not to do it because I’m diabetic and I’ve got a bad hip, but I am going to do it. For me, it’s about trying to allay some of my ghosts.

“Being homeless was part of what made me who I am, so I’m not ashamed of what happened to me, though I was for a while.

“What I am ashamed of is we have a society that still allows these things to happen. There are literally hundreds of homeless people on Teesside now and I fear we’ll see a lot more of it the longer the current economic climate continues.”

Sharon said: “People ask why in this age do we have homelessness? I think they imagine that if you need somewhere to live, you just go to the council and there’s social housing for you but life isn’t as simple as that. It’s a complex situation.”

The Big Sleepout aims to raise funds for a range of local homeless charities and food banks, while helping raise the profile of homelessness across the Teesside region.

Businesswoman Joanna Wake, owner of Raw Marketing Company as well as running the Mary Portas pilot in Stockton, has joined forces with Middlesbrough and Teesside Philanthropic Foundation to organise the event.

“We’re grateful to all those who have already committed to join us on March 16,” said Joanna. “We can’t promise them a great night’s sleep but we do promise them an experience that will stay with them.

“But the challenge is all about raising as much money as possible, so we’d urge them to get their friends, family and contacts to sponsor them for as much as they can spare – and we need more people to sign up.”

To take part, sign up, raise sponsorship money and turn up at Middlesbrough College at 8pm on Saturday, bringing a sleeping bag and wearing layers of warm clothes. Hot and cold drinks will be provided, as well as toilet facilities.

Participants must be over 16 on the day of the event and register online in advance. Visit http://www.bigteessidesleepout.co.uk.

Len’s story

“I CAME home from school one day when I was 14 to find my house empty.

My mother had left a note for me and my older brother saying she’d made a decision to get on with her own life on her own.

My father, an alcoholic, was long gone, so we were on our own, aged 14 and 16. My brother just moved in with his girlfriend, but I didn’t have that option.

“I carried on living in our council house on my own and going to school every day. But six days later, I came home and the house was boarded up. I guess news had got out my parents were no longer there.

“I went to a social services office and told them what had happened. They said ‘That’s awful. Come back on Tuesday.’ It was Thursday.

“I did bit of sofa surfing for a few days. Friends looked after me, but that was never going to work long term. I could have gone and knocked on the door of one of the neighbours and Portrack was the sort of estate back then that I’m sure they’d have taken me in, but I was far too proud to do that.

“I hung around with Crow’s fair for a while. I was well fed and had some money in my pocket but we worked 14-hour days and there was the constant threat of violence.

“I spent eight weeks sleeping in cardboard boxes. I used to go down to the river where there were little huts on the old British Steel site and a derelict hospital. I used to break in and sleep on the floor.

“I convinced myself I wasn’t scared but deep down I was. I’m still terribly scared now of mice and rats because I got bitten by them so much.

“I’m not proud to say I turned to shoplifting. Keeping myself clean was another big issue. I’d sneak into the baths when schools were in, mix with the crowd and go for a swim.

“I got to the lowest point when I was 16. I tried to kill myself with tablets but woke up in North Tees Hospital. My mam turned up out of the blue, remorseful about having left me like she did, then dad turned up and I ended up going home with him. I stayed with him for a couple of years but he was still drinking heavily and I eventually made the decision I was probably better off homeless than living with an alcoholic.

“I made arrangements to stay with friends in Primrose Hill for a while, though I was effectively homeless again. I spent 18 months wandering around, staying with friends and family before meeting the woman who would become my first wife and starting to turn my life around.”

Sharon’s story

“WHEN I was 16, I was a typical teenager, I suppose, and wasn’t getting on with my mam and dad.

Our relationship was really strained for reasons which, with hindsight, I’d put down to me. In a fit of pique, I walked out one day and left home.

“I stayed with friends and family members initially but I wound up in a hostel.

“Fortunately, I had an awful lot of support from my mam and dad when I think back. They didn’t want me to leave but I felt I couldn’t live under their rules any longer. You’d be surprised how common that attitude is among young people. I was really lucky – I’d been taught money skills at a young age. So many I come across now haven’t got a clue at all about such things. They are very naive and vulnerable, so they fail quite quickly.

“I spent about six weeks sofa surfing, asking friends, family, anybody, if I could stay with them. It’s quite a humbling state to be in when you haven’t got a roof. I felt like I hadn’t, for whatever reason, as I didn’t think it was an option to go home. After six weeks, I went to a hostel in Middlesbrough and was there for about two years.

“To be honest, it was really lonely and sometimes scary. It wasn’t a bad hostel at all and I had a nice room all to myself but it was a lonely experience. It was scary just because I was 16 and I was still getting used to living independently. It was quite scary sharing living space with strangers and I’d get easily scared at night if I heard noises. There was an awful lot of fear.

“There was also a real stigma of being homeless. I was still trying to go to college at the time, but no one else was in mysituation, everyone else lived with their parents.

“I was really stubborn about not going home. I just thought ‘I’ve made my bed and I’ve got to lie in it’. I’ve got kids myself now and can’t imagine them being in that position. My parents must have been really worried when I think back.

“Eventually I moved into a flat of my own and got a job.”

source

So, this is tonight and I’m taking part. Got everything I need for it, but still looking for donations. If you wish to donate (and I sincerely hope you do), you can do so here

Will