- [Interviewer] Adrian.
- [Adrian] Yep.
- [Interviewer] This time for real.
(both laugh)
- [Interviewer] We're here in London.
You're out on the streets.
- [Adrian] Yep.
- [Interviewer] Selling Umbrellas. Trying to get by.
- [Adrian] Yep. Been out here for a year now.
Was out here 12 years ago.
Used to be homeless when I was 16 years old,
to when I was 21.
Got quite heavily addicted to drink and drugs back then.
Hence why I was probably on the streets so long.
Then I managed to get off all the drugs and the drink.
Started knocking on doors selling door-to-door sales for
anything the marketing company sold at the time.
And then worked my way to be an Area Manager
and Tier Leader.
Then from there, after about three years
went over to a rare fine wine commodity broker in the city.
Specializing in Bordeaux's.
And then working at Bank Scotland as their
Merchant Banking Business Development Manager
for Merchant Services.
And then, unfortunately with all the banking crises,
not this February, the February before,
they got rid of a lot of people. So I lost my job.
Couldn't afford the rent on my flat, and the housing benefit
wouldn't pay it because it was too expensive.
So I ended up out on the street.
So I lost my partner, as well,
because I lost my job and my flat.
So I've been out here now for about a year.
I did get in to a hostel. Saint Mungo's charity hostel.
Was meant to help me but,
I got a little bit behind with the service charge
because the rent was so much.
They basically turned around and told me that
if I didn't the money within a couple of days
then they would throw me out.
I explained that to get it I'd have to go begging,
and I didn't want to do that because it was illegal
I could get arrested.
And they turned around and said,
well look you've got until tomorrow afternoon
to find the money,
and I couldn't do it
so I lost my place in the hostel.
So it's a bit...
A bit surprising when they're meant to be there to help you.
You know.
Try to get you to go do something illegal
to keep a roof over your head, you know.
Yeah, so I can't get back in a hostel environment,
so I'm in a bit of a catch-22 at the moment of what to do.
- [Interviewer] Why can't you get back in the hostel?
- [Adrian] Because they keep shutting them down
at the moment.
They're shutting them down left, right, and center.
The rolling shelters that used to be somewhere you went for
three weeks, and then they found you a place.
They're closing all those down.
All the hostels are closing just left, right and center.
All the fundings being stopped by the local government.
Yeah, they're just...
It's just, so many people on the streets,
and so few places now.
And where I lost my place in St Mungo's,
which is the biggest hostel one around in London,
I can't get back into St Mungo's now.
- [Interviewer] So um, where'd you sleep last night?
- [Adrian] I sleep in the archways
down near Waterloo Station,
on some cardboard with my duvet.
I got a duvet and a pillow. It's sort of like me bag.
Two changes of clothes. That's it.
- [Interviewer] It's no way to live.
I mean and it was raining like crazy today.
- [Adrian] Oh yeah.
It is dry under there unless the wind blows a bit,
and then the rain sort of comes down
if it rains really heavy.
But, it's mainly dry in there.
There's a few of us that sleep under there,
so it's a bit safer. You know.
Because if you sleep on your own sometimes
it could be quite dangerous, you know.
One of my friends, the other night,
a load of guys come out drunk the other night,
and pulled all the cardboard out from underneath him
and that, and gave him a kicking.
- [Interviewer] Yeah.
And another guy got his head all stamped the other day
when he slept on his own, so...
- [Interviewer] Wow.
- [Adrian] Yeah you just gotta try and
stick together. - Stay to your side.
- [Adrian] Yeah, very, very.
- [Interviewer] So what's your future like?
- [Adrian] At the moment I don't know.
I've been speaking to an employment team down in St Mungo's,
To try and see if I can get some sort of funding
to set up a market store somewhere.
Because I do a lot of artwork.
And I want to put my designs onto T-Shirts.
- [Interviewer] Great!
- [Adrian] I've set up a Facebook page and everything,
and put dummy T-Shirts on there so...
Of what they'd look like if I was making them.
- [Interviewer] Okay.
- [Adrian] And uh...
- [Interviewer] Email me and I'll link to it when I put
this video up.
- [Adrian] Yeah.
And then there's um, it's like all my designs are on there.
- [Interviewer] Yeah.
- [Adrian] Sixty people Like it so far over the last month,
and there's thirty thousand people that actually see it now.
- [Interviewer] Very cool.
- [Adrian] Got people asking where they can buy the T-Shirts
from and I've had to sort of make up excuses
saying I'm just really busy at the moment,
you know. - [Interviewer] Cool.
- [Adrian] Because obviously I haven't got any yet.
(laughs)
- [Interviewer] Well if you had three wishes,
what would they be?
- [Adrian] A flat. A housing association flat.
Where permanent tenancy, or as good as permanent tenancy,
long term, a lot cheaper as well.
It's only about 400 pounds for a flat,
rather than that of 1200 where it would be private.
- [Interviewer] Right.
- [Adrian] The money to set up my T-Shirt store
in Camden Market, a thousand pound grand I need for that.
I haven't really got another wish. That's it, really.
Just a flat and a job, you know.
- [Interviewer] Cool. Just a flat and a job. Good wishes.
Well thank you very much for talking to me.
- [Adrian] You're welcome. You're welcome.
Thank you very much. Nice to meet you.