(coughing)
- Satan, I'm cold, I'm not melting you up.
- John. - Yeah, go.
- You're sleeping rough. - Yep.
- [Mark Horvath] Been doing it for a long time.
- Yep, for an awful long time.
- [Mark] Tell me about it.
- First started off in the 80s.
Came unstuck work wise, and...
Ran out of money, it's as simple as that,
and I couldn't support myself.
We always remember when you first start in The States.
I remember mine to this day,
walking around all bloody night,
thinking to myself, wish somebody would help me,
wish somebody would help me, wish somebody would help me.
Someday come the morning and I ended up in Paddington,
St. Mary's Paddington Hospital, cause I'm basically
resting my feet from walking all bloody night.
But, I've now walked from The Totlands,
throughout that area, so yeah, might of some.
Then, I was lucky, or unlucky,
found somebody that took me under their wing
and showed me where the day centers were,
where the soup runs are, where things are going on.
And then I started developing networks,
and that's what I did, I developed my own network.
Sleeping rough, yeah, it's got its good points
and it's got its bad points.
You got your own independence,
but having your own independence, you've got no support.
What else can I say?
- [Mark] So, how do you survive out here?
- You just do, you don't think about it, you just do.
The survival mode kicks in.
It's like, I can smell the rain before it rains.
Food and clothes, I can get without so much problems.
I know where things are.
I stopped using day centers and don't 'em no more.
Keep out of street politics.
- [Mark] But, you don't keep out of social media politics.
- No, I've become a bit of a
campaigner I think the word would be.
I see a lot of injustice going on.
We've just been talking to people about seven weeks ago,
who, it's what with the stupid local no connection,
yet, born within the area.
Yet, a so-called got no local connection.
I just don't get it, I really don't get it.
Except there's a gatekeeper person that's going up.
- [Mark] Well, you're kind of the infamous on Twitter.
- I'll give 'em what I get.
- [Mark] I'm sure all the communication departments,
with all the NGOs and charity, here in the UK know you.
- They do, yeah.
I've done a few things in life, research-wise,
with a few people gonna try to wake up,
and I put 'em together with,
where I'm at in this moment in time, and my thinking is,
there's a big hoot about experts by experience,
but that's past-tense.
My thinking now is citizen research, living the experience
because I'm literally living the experience in the moment,
and I think that's a better way of looking at
all these different homeless sections.
I don't look at homeless sections as labels,
like labels about health, labels about this, and labels
about that, look at the whole thing in a listing manner.
That's the way to do it, that's the way to go forward.
It's about the direct combat's needs in combat situations.
The biggest problems are the people
so-called supporting us in the first place,
'cause they don't talk to each other!
'Cause they're in competition with funding!
- Yeah. - That's what it's about!
It's about money and funding!
Short-term in funding, you see.
Lot's of people moving when the section gives 'em
short-term funding, three years,
I count three markers, how they refuse.
That's recognizant of homeless links.
About time you both woke up out. (laughing)
So, what's going on, they've got a conference next week, no.
- [Mark] Well, you respond to a lot of their tweets.
- Yeah, yeah I do.
- [Mark] So now, does social media give you purpose?
I know it gives you a voice.
- (sigh) Good question, does it give me purpose?
To the best of my ability, I can only speak
from the voice of other people, not myself as an individual.
Obviously I've got my own individuality, but,
yeah, I try to...
I don't know, where in point where I am in the moment.
Maybe that's part of it.
We kinda get lost in your own issues.
I've got quite a few health issues on the go.
- [Mark] I was just gonna say,
you have some serious health issues.
- Yeah, yeah. - And, you need to be inside.
- Well, it is what a lot of people say
that I need to be inside, but...
- [Mark] No, you need to be inside.
You have very serious health issues.
- Yeah well, they'll probably scrape me off the...
scrape me off the streets one day, so.
Or should I say, probably dead then,
but trying to say, told you so, didn't I?
You did not listen, and that's the half the problem.
They don't bloody listen.
Well, there ya go, simple as that.
- [Mark] What's your future like?
- I really don't know, I'm in a void at the moment,
big, big void.
It's my health that's controlling my destiny at the moment.
I don't where it's gonna end up,
really don't know where it's gonna end up, so,
it's back to as it always has been
when you're living on the streets, each day as it comes,
'cause every day's different,
but every day's a Groundhog Day, simple as that.
But it's as simple as that, and you should know, Mark.
You've been there yourself.
- [Mark] If you had three wishes, what would they be?
- Peace on Earth, equality,
fairness.
I don't see a lot of that.
- [Mark] Well, thank you very much for talking to me.
- That's no problem, Mark, must do other chop.
- [Mark] Awesome to finally meet you.
(laughing)
After greeting together for about,
probably five years or more.
- Well, I'm called a lot of things,
Granddad, The Legend, you name it, I don't care.
Yeah, why not?
I've got a big sensation.
I've realized that I may have a destiny coming up,
but this is a ton of speak-out.
Speak up, eh somethings up.
I've been in the background too long,
but I have actually, I've been in the foreground.
I've been there right in the front
of a lot of things going on,
and a lot of people are gonna realize that.
Here I am again now today speaking up on behalf of...
They're saying the loads of people
have lived on the streets, it's gone static,
for God's sake, there are all these people going about
stats, stats, and lost it.
What they forget is, you talk about people
because they're not labels.
Homelessness is just a label.
We're talking about bloody people.
It's as simple and straightforward as that.
That's all I can say.
I'm a human being, mate, not a statistic.
Alright mate, that's about it (laughing) can think, yep.
(cool-vibe music)