IN CONVERSATION :
Doug (In Street. Shrewsbury, West Midlands)
Doug recounts something of the eight years he has spent sleeping rough.
TRANSCRIPT
JO: no … don’t … seriously guys … I don’t want to do anything that makes you feel …
[ ] : No! It’s fine …
JO: if you’re cool with it … it’s fine …
D: I am perfectly fine with it … I like to get it out there .. like … you know ..
JO: people need to understand, yes?
D: [ ] the reality of it …. there are people out there lying … they’ve got homes and stuff, you know …
JO: is that normally people with a drug problem ?
D: drug habit … yes .. usually … yes …. they see us … [ ] I play a mouth organ … I’ve had two stolen ’cause I had a harmonica for £40 .. that was stolen … and I had .. I bought a cheap one for £15 .. that was stolen … so I had to get my old one out like … and then someone … when I had a bad attack .. I had it … and it broke .. it smashed .. it’s all sellotaped up …
JO: is this a medical attack?
D: yes … it’s hypoglycemia .. blood sugar …
JO: it’s a bit like diabetes
D: yes … a little bit …. it’s not diabetes … your blood sugar plummets .. you know … [ ]
JO: someone took your …
D: Hello sir
3rdp: Hello Doug
JO: someone took your mouth organ off you …. that was kind of them, wasn’t it? That’s not what they teach you in school, is it?
D: it’s true that is, yes …
JO: what brought you to this situation Douglas?
D: me and my girlfriend split up, like …. it’s a complicated thing like …
JO: you said you were in your fifties, yes?
D: 53 now … 54 this year ….
JO: hang on …. I wish my exhaust was that loud … so you were with someone living at home, yes … ?
D: yes at home for 20 years … but .. me and the kids … when the kids hit 16 … like … you know … me and her split up … and after a couple of years [ ] got back together … [ ] and it just didn’t work so …
JO: yes
D: I found somebody else … and my youngest son took right against it … he wouldn’t have it .. [ ] but it’s stupid … because she wanted to be with me … I wanted to be with her .. she’s got my flat … and I’m in this mess …. I’ve been like this for eight years now … but I’ve had a couple of other girlfriends … this is what they don’t like … they don’t understand like … [ ] I know it sounds stupid … [ ]
JO: you’re obviously a bit of a ladies’ man …
D: yes … well … I just love women … I just love them…. People say to me … “you always get hurt …[ ] you get hurt” … I don’t care … I’ve hurt a few of them as well like … you know … it works both ways, doesn’t it?
JO: what were you doing with yourself for most of your …
D: I was a bricklayer for most of my life …. I fell off a 70ft scaffold [ ] and it collapsed … I fell … done my neck in … done my back in … done my leg [ ]
JO: so that sort of stopped you from being able to do that …
D: Now I’ve got emphysema .. COPD … I’ve got liver disease … but I’m getting treated for that soon so that should be cured like …
JO: is it … I mean .. my impression is that … what I’ve seen .. what remains of the welfare state attaches to an address …. so if you lose your address, it starts to become really difficult to get help … is that true?
D: it is true, yes … you still can get your benefits …. people say “I’ve got no address, I can’t get benefits” … they’re lying … you can
3rd P: [ ] you can, but … [ ]
JO: it’s difficult … yes?
D: [ ] you need a care address
3rd P: [ ]
JO: are there any agencies or people that are helping … ?
3rd P: there’s just the one .. the Ark …
D: they’re closing those down … there used to be a night shelter here .. they closed that … Telford is brilliant for the homeless … [ ]
JO: Trowbridge ?
D: Telford …
JO: Telford …
D: yes … they’re brilliant … they’ve fantastic services there … they come out at night … look for you … and this bloke Paul … he even does on his own time … you know … he works .. he gets paid for [ ] … but he does it on his own time … and at night … he’s brought me out … well he does it for everybody … [ ] pork pies …
JO: just a decent bloke, yes?
D: six sausage rolls … he’s given me a … I don’t know how they get these … they get these black and white combat trousers from somewhere and they give you a pair of those …. they give you a jacket .. they give you a sleeping bag … [ ]
JO: camouflage for cities …. yes .. no … that’s very good ….
D: [ ] started a fan club for me … rolling in the money, I tell you … you know what …. me and [ ] .. my friend … [ ] last year .. playing a mouth organ … I made nearly £48,000 … but at the time I admit I was a crackhead so ..
JO: yes …. so that’s where it went …
D: yes … but I’ve jacked it all in now … [ ]
JO: well, I’m touring because I’m trying to … I’m trying to decide for myself what needs to be done and what people can do because I think they’ve got more power than they sometimes like to think …
D: yes …. [ ]
JO: and certainly than they are told ….
D: if the homeless got together … all of us … and went down to the council … and protested .. you know … outside …. you know … a decent protest … banners … try and get the press down … or somebody like yourself … photograph it … record it …
JO: I agree. I agree … I’d go further and say local residents with the homeless .. and maybe even business owners … there are some out there who have got ….
D: you would be amazed at how many people have been on the streets in Shrewsbury ….
JO: yes …..
D: loads of people stop and say like “here you are lad” and give you ten or twenty quid [ ] and say “I’ve been in your situation mate … I know what it’s like” … some people say “I’m one pay cheque away from being where you are” …
JO: So people do know some of them …
D: yes …
JO: but I think equally there are people who just don’t give a crap …
D: yes
JO: who don’t see you as humans, you know …
D: I can understand [ ] … yes … because they know … some of them know that a lot of the people here .. they are not homeless … they’re just doing it for drugs … I reckon there’s about 7 or 8 of us genuinely homeless …. [ ] you go round in town … you’ll count twenty or thirty people .. you know …
JO: so you think a majority are actually using the appearance of being homeless …
D: they are not homeless …
JO: homelessness as …
D: we’ve seen them do it … we’ve seen them come to town with rucksacks on their back … [ ]
JO: okdoke … thanks very much .. that’s really kind of you …
D: no worries …. nice to have met you …
JO: you too …
END
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