Folks we are here with Scott who's been on the Streets of London for how long 9 and a half months and could you just tell us what triggered your homelessness basically um I was living at home with my mother um for for a long period of time but I wasn't on the attend agreement I was living at home with family um she was she wasn't very uh she wasn't she was quite ill she had Ms um she passed away made you Hess not right got mental health he's got mental health so why are we at here so you had an accident yeah a bike accident you were on a bike you were probably drunk right you know from from from uh cocaine from Arin from crack tablets um which is quite recently and because because I couldn't afford the tenant because it was privately rented and I couldn't afford the rent the the landlord took the property off me and and evicted me and uh I went to the council and their answer was cuz I chose to live in a property knowing intentionally that I couldn't afford it they're trying to say I made my S intentionally homeless and they're not eligible to help me they've put me on a waiting list um which is basically anything from from six anything from 16 years upwards um for a cancel property which is just it's just ridiculous 16 years is a long time to stay homeless for yeah definitely I'm not I'm not class as a main priority because I'm there's nothing wrong with me whatsoever I I can work I'm fit as a fiddle but because there's nothing wrong with me I am in the lowest band I'm in the lowest priority in my own without being disrespectful in my own country I'm in the lowest possible band I'm not allowed to beat I've just literally just got to stay homeless and wait until something becomes available for me I've not I've got I've been given a keywork art I must admit that there's certain things they are doing to help but there's a lot more they could do it's not there's not a lot of help around they're just if you can be brushed off they will brush you off they won't they're not they don't go out their way to help you anymore the cancer is getting really bad around here really bad Tower hamlets and it's just it's atrocious right right Scot well tell me about your like childhood and your growing up but um well I I had a wonderful childhood I'm going to I must admit I don't I don't swim for sympathy I I had a lovely childhood um I'm a roofer by trade I've got an apprenticeship in flat Roofing I've always worked I've worked all my life I've never sort of like I've never sort of relied on hand acts but since I've become homeless um I've started doing I've thre a little bit of begging here and there just cuz I I find this it's an easier way to bring some money in for yourself to be able to live than other possibilities if you understand what I'm saying um I was working when I was living at home with Mom I was working on different building sites all over London everything was great but when my mom passed away it it it was a big it it caused a big problem in my life a big fault um and there was no help and when was that uh it's just coming up to a year now a year there go that was like a a turning point in your life you say yes big time Big Time it just it closed it closed a lot of doors for me Clos a hell of a lot of doors when I lived at home with Mom um not that I relied on her but when you live at home with your mom life is a lot easier things you you can go home mama need this or and she she'd help when she passed away it was like I didn't know what else to do you have to go and make things happen yourself and if you don't make it happen yourself it just you just get ignored and it's it's it's very very distressing and and and and depressing all right but uh you said you've been addicted to drugs yes yes and that's how that started was again um I'm not making excuses but um again with my mom passing away um I never used to do drugs before my mom passed away um when I like I said when I used to do Roofing um I used to get drugged did at work so there wasn't no time for drugs I didn't I didn't think about it I just I just cracked on my life but when my mom passed away and I had and and I lost my job and I lost my home you end up with so much free time I'm not I'm not condoning it but you have so much free time on your hands and you sort of intervene in circles that you shouldn't really mhm you shouldn't really be interacting with but when you're homeless and someone shows you a bit of love um and and you've not had much love or any like sort of action happen like recently and they show you a bit of love it it will draw you in and obviously I was at a low Point like a low point of steam with my mom passing away anyway um and I was offed drugs and I just um it was an easy way out and um I took it I took the opportunity um no not opportunity that's the wrong way to use I took the I took the position of using drugs um I'm in the middle of trying to get clean easier said than done but again I'm all on my own and it's I'm having to do it all by myself and sometimes if you haven't got someone s like beside you like literally telling you Scott it's going to be all right it's hard to think it's going to be it it's hard to realize there's a light at the end of the tunnel you just keep thinking know I don't care and you just keep you're taking drugs you're doing this you're doing that you got no self-respect you lose little little things like you your hygiene goes downhill you stop brushing your teeth you stop showering every day you have the same clothes on weeks and weeks and weeks on end your socks your feet don't smell very nice it's it's very distressing very very upsetting and uh what about like like charities you get any help from Charities no do you know don't you know about any some of them I'm engaging with um yeah that which ones um some mongos shelter um by all means they'll help you with food and may be clothing but um in the terms of money and sort of progression in life there's no light at the end of the tunnel in that department have you heard about s Martin's s Martin's okay they they own in central London you can get a shower there and food as well i' have i' have to look that up S Martin's forgot the full name but it's start Martin yes not a problem try try then all right Scot well and so you had a job and then all went downhill you lost a job basically yeah I was I'm I was earing very good money at one point at um I was on um what you call Price work um as a roofer and I was I was earning very good money very good money um but it got to a point when I lost my mom and and I become homeless you can't get up from a doorway go to work and then come come back home to a doorway yeah do you understand what I'm saying it's it's not me just saying I don't want to work cuz I to be honest and this is from the bottom of my heart I miss working I miss the little things I used to look forward to my weekend I used to look forward to my pay package I used to look forward to there was loads of Lights at the end of each tunnel but as soon as I became homeless and having no one around around me basically like I said earlier just just giving me that little that little oomph like to tell me it's going to be okay or I can do it or just some sort of like you understand what I'm saying without that you just you you deteriorate you deteriorate that's my opinion all right Scott and if there is any advice you could give to people um who are messing with drugs or yeah is that any advice you would give them um yeah from the bottom of my heart listen guys this is from me and this is my personal opinion it's easier said than done but don't give up don't give up that there there is a light at the end of the tunnel you might not always see it there might be obstacles in the way but I promise you from experience myself being homeless cuz I'm slowly getting back there now I've got a bit more progression in life and things are looking up for me a little bit better cuz I'm trying to help myself a lot more but if you don't give up I can honestly say you do get there in the end you do get there in the end all right scop and uh could you tell us more a little bit more about the place where we are now um it's one of my favorite places that I come to um what is it um it's it's a market basically um but it's a local market it's like a little village um and a lot of the people that come here are how do you call it um splf Market um and it's got It's got a lot of locals here a lot of people a lot of tourists come here cuz it's um it's it's advertised on the Internet it's advertised all over sort of it's very it's quite famous this um Market but there's some lovely people a lot of people from the store know me and they know I'm homeless and I've only got to walk past and I haven't even got to ask I can get any type of food that I like um some of them give me a couple pounds just on on their own gesture from their own heart there're some lovely amazing people in this market they're very supportive and what can you get
here what what can you what can you buy on the market here literally do you know what it's it's full of all different things it's full of antiques there's all different types of food there's all different types of like little presents and souvenirs and antiques and cameras um Chocolat fudge there's it's amazing thing like portraits the um you can do um like there's things like uh fortune telling there's all sorts of like all all little things around and where is it located in London um it's just off a Brick Lane um and it's um the the the barus tower hamlets um but I would um I'd advise to come here cuz um it is it's a wonderful place and like I said the locals are very supportive R here to the homeless very supportive um it's as long as you're willing to help yourself though if you're one of them people that that sort of give up a lot of people will give up on you but if you show that you've still got your self respect and you've still got that aim to progress in life there's a lot of people that still will try and try and help you in the right direction all right Scott and if there's somebody watching this and uh knows you and would like to get hold of you or donate uh how can we get hold of you um I can I'm going to leave a phone number with you um a mobile number um I was um actually bought a mobile phone by the local drug and alcohol service around here um just give you a little Soler it's not the best phone but it's it's it's can you show it it but it's still something that people can contact me on they actually bought it out of their own um what word I'm looking for at their own donations um that are donated by some of the locals if you go into the homeless shelters and the drug and alcohol and and sign up with them and engage with them there are so many little facilities you could you're entitled to so you got the phone for free basically yes and it comes with10 free credit um which is purchased by them as well um they're lovely people but again you have to engage if you don't engage with them they can't help you mhm mhm all right yeah give your phone number Scot please please my mobile number
is yeah so this is uh the phone number for Scott who's been homeless thank you my uh my number is 079
85 32 012 and I'll repeat that 079 085 32 012 all right is there anything else you would like to add um I think that's about it really but like I say please guys my own advice you never give up never ever give up right thanks a lot for that wordss thanks a lot for the interview I wish you all the best thank you very
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