- [Invisible People] Barry, we're here in London.
- Yep.
- [Invisible People] You've been sleeping rough
since you were 18. - Yep.
- [Invisible People] Now in a hostile.
Still homeless, still sleeping rough.
Tell me about it.
- Sleeping rough.
It was difficult,
but you learn to deal with it.
You just
drink and drink and drink until you fall asleep, basically.
- [Invisible People] Now why do you drink?
- To get me asleep.
- [Invisible People] To forget the day.
- Forget everything.
Basically it's just one of them things you do.
All your problems
seem to go away.
But they're back there the next morning,
so you just start drinking again.
- [Invisible People] Creates a vicious cycle.
- Yeah, definitely.
- [Invisible People] The next thing you know
you're addicted. - Yeah, oh yeah.
- You're still sleepin' rough. - Yep.
I'm basically a fully blown alcoholic.
Doctors have told me
unfortunately not to stop drinking,
'cause it will kill me,
but I am working on it.
- [Invisible People] Well it's like our friend inside,
he hasn't had a drink today and he was shaking.
- Yeah.
I've just give him frequent (mumbles)
- [Invisible People] So now you're
going into detox soon though?
- I'll give me self six months.
I'm gonna go into detox and rehab
and get me self clean.
- [Invisible People] Good.
Good. - What else you wanna know?
(Barry laughs)
- [Invisible People] So you've been in and out of hostiles?
- Yeah.
I've done a few.
Probably most of London actually.
(everybody laughs)
- [Invisible People] So and you're saying,
some are good, some are bad.
- This is the best one I've been too.
It's among those is the best one that I've been too.
And move out of there.
Key workers.
(police siren)
Key workers.
They're brilliant.
Doesn't matter if it's not your key worker,
but it's a key worker
and they always look after ya.
And they always care about ya.
Yeah, it's brilliant man.
I love it.
- [Invisible People] And you have garden
and nice common area, nice TV.
- Yep. - Some good friends.
- Yeah I've got loads of mates.
Got loads of mates.
Some people that I know.
Some people I don't know
but I've bonded.
As I say, I've only been here what seven, eight weeks.
But...
I don't know, we'll just get on.
But it might be the drinking thing.
Do you get what I mean?
It might be the drinking thing, how we get on.
- [Invisible People] Yeah.
Now if there wasn't,
if you weren't in this hostile,
which is a wet hostile, where would you be?
- On the streets.
I'd be in me sleeping bag now.
- [Invisible People] You were telling me earlier
somebody set your sleeping bag on fire.
- Yeah, now I bought another one.
- [Invisible People] Yeah, but that's still horrible
that somebody-- - Yeah, yeah it is.
Where I was keeping was right by a night club.
And...
Somebody decided to urinate on me first.
- [Invisible People] Oh my gosh.
- And then...
And then somebody decided to
do a number two on me.
- [Invisible People] Oh my gosh.
- And then
someone tipped petrol on me and set me on fire.
- [Invisible People] I'm so sorry.
- It wasn't nice man.
It wasn't nice.
But, I managed to get out of me sleeping bag
before I got burned.
Somehow.
- [Invisible People] See people don't see that side
of rough sleeping. - No.
- [Invisible People] Don't see how hard it is.
- People don't care.
- [Invisible People] Now how did you first
end up on the streets?
- Right...
First...
My 18th birthday.
My 18th birthday...
Yeah it was me 18th because me sister was 21.
18th.
We had a little celebration at me mum and dad's house
and me dad turn round to me and goes up
50 quid, do 'em.
- [Invisible People] Wait, wait, wait.
They kicked you out?
- Yeah, kicked me out.
- [Invisible People] Gave you 15 quid.
- No 50. - 50, okay.
- [Invisible People] Truck was going by I didn't quite--
- Kicked me out.
I was basically the bad egg of the family.
- [Invisible People] Yeah.
- I used to do stupid things. - And now you--
- That I shouldn't have done.
And now--
- [Invisible People] Well you take responsibility for it.
- Yeah.
- [Invisible People] It's still kickin' a kid out
with 50 bucks on his 18th birthday.
That ain't cool either.
- No, but
I respect what he done because
at the end of the day he was...
He was thinking of me and he wanted me to grow up
instead of being stupid.
- [Invisible People] But then you've been
sleepin' rough ever since.
- On and off yeah.
But unfortunately my dad's dead now and
the last words he said to me
was I'm sorry for what I made ya.
- [Invisible People] Wow, that's powerful.
- And I go shut up you muppet.
(laughs) I did.
And he goes, look, I'm sorry for making you an alcoholic.
- [Invisible People] Wow.
- Which I still look in the skies.
I'll look up at the clouds
and sometimes I'll see his face
and I'm happy with that.
'Cause he give me the kick in the ass that I needed.
- [Invisible People] So now you're also a client rep here.
You have a voice. - Yeah.
- [Invisible People] So and you said
nine times outta 10 they listen to you.
- Yeah I think so.
Nine times out of 10 they would.
- [Invisible People] So if somethings goin' on?
- Things are changing.
Hopefully soon we'll get some bath plugs. (laughs)
- [Invisible People] 'Cause you like to take a bath.
- I do, I do.
But, hey, this is--
- [Invisible People] You said you had dodgy knees.
- Yeah.
It's a slow process but it's a process that's
beginning to happen. - Good.
- [Invisible People] It makes you?
- Makes me feel good.
- [Invisible People] So you can and that they make changes.
- Yeah, yeah, definitely.
They make, you know, a lot of changes.
- [Invisible People] If you had three wishes,
what would they be?
- Three wishes, this is a tough one.
See my kids.
Stop drinking.
And have a decent life.
- [Invisible People] Well thank you very much
for talking to me.
- Not a problem