Lee found himself sleeping rough on several occasions in Canada and the US before returning to Britain. After just one night of sleeping rough in London, the St Mungo’s Outreach team arrived to support him into emergency accommodation.
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People often tell me they can’t imagine what it’s like to be homeless. The truth is, I couldn’t either until it happened to me.
When you’re sleeping rough, the first thing you do when you wake up is check if you’re okay. Are you hurt? Are you ill? Do you still have your belongings? Only then do you open your eyes.
You never really sleep. Everything you own must stay close because it’s all you have, and there’s always the worry that it could disappear overnight. I learnt not to get attached to anything because it might be stolen. Even a sleeping bag isn’t guaranteed to still be there in the morning.
Imagine living like that for one night. Then imagine doing it for two years.
Over a decade ago, while I was living in Canada, I experienced homelessness for about a year. I slept on the streets, in shelters and on friends’ sofas. I remember standing inside the place where I volunteered, watching the snow fall and wondering where I was going to go once the building closed for the night. It was so cold it hurt.
Years later, after living in the US for 11 years, I returned to Britain because I needed mental health support. I thought I’d go straight into psychiatric care, but it wasn’t that simple. I spent a few weeks sofa surfing before I ran out of options and found myself homeless again.
I spent one night sleeping rough in London before an Outreach worker found me. I was referred through StreetLink and waited in A&E until the team arrived because it was safer than staying outside. In the middle of the night, I got a call saying, “I’m outside.”
A member of St Mungo’s Outreach team took me to one of their emergency accommodation hubs, and from that moment, things started to change.
The team helped me arrange Universal Credit, register with a GP and open a bank account. Those things might seem ordinary, but when you’ve been homeless, they’re the building blocks that help you start again. Later, I moved into a different service with my own room before St Mungo’s helped me to find the home I live in today.
Homelessness means isolation. It puts your mind through the wringer. You can be surrounded by people all day but still feel completely invisible.
Once I had somewhere safe to live, I realised life had to become about more than simply surviving. Having a roof over your head is essential, but it’s not the end of the journey. I wanted to rediscover the things that made life meaningful.
I started spending time in libraries and at a welcoming local church. I bought a ukulele and picked up making cardboard models again, something I’d loved doing years before.
Today, I volunteer with St Mungo’s and run a creative writing club at one of their Learning Hubs. It’s a space where people can express themselves however they choose, whether that’s scribbling graffiti across a page or writing the first chapter of a novel.
I’m also writing a one-person play inspired by some of my experiences.
If there’s one thing I’d like people to take away from my story, it’s awareness that homelessness is more complicated than many people realise.
If you notice someone sleeping rough, take a moment to think about how they might want to be helped. Take it from there.
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