Life on the street
Thursday 27 April 2006
Imagine what it's like to live on the streets, with no safe place to sleep and no guarantee of a decent meal.
n2k talks to Michael, one young person who went through this experience and managed to turn his life around.
Not working out
Things just weren't working out at home for me. My mum had married again and me and the new husband did not get on at all. All we seemed to do was argue and fight and I was unhappy all the time.
I thought that there must be another way to live so I went to my gran's for a while. It was OK at first but because I was so miserable I didn't feel like going out and getting a job and just hung out with my mates drinking. My gran caught me stealing from her purse one day and said I had to sort myself out or get out.
Nowhere to go
I tried to turn things around but things ended up getting worse and I left my gran's with nowhere to go. I was quite scared but didn't mind looking after myself. After a couple of nights trying to persuade mates to let me stay, I gave up and spent a first full night on the streets. Even though it was summer, it was still quite cold at night and all you can hear is weird noises that really freak you out.
I hadn't left my gran's very prepared and because the weather was hot during the day I soon started to smell. I really missed having a shower and all the comforts you get at home like your tea and just sitting watching TV.
Nobody to trust
I got to know a few other people on the streets but it's not like having your real friends. It's hard to trust people and you never know if someone's going to want to hurt your or steal your stuff. I was beaten up a couple of times defending my stuff.
Getting help
It was at a temporary shelter for the homeless that one of the volunteers said I might be able to get help from the council because of my age. I went to see an advisor and we started to come up with solutions to my problem.
Apparently my mum had reported me missing and so the advisor recommended that I get in touch. I did and we made friends again.
A new start
I got sorted out with temporary accommodation in a kind of hostel and I'll be hopefully getting a flat soon. I do a computing course at college and I might even go on to university one day.
A year ago it felt as if my life was over and now it's beginning all over again.
