- [Interviewer] George, you're here homeless in London,
tell me about it.
- What do you want to know?
- [Interviewer] Well, how do you survive?
- Days are different.
I mean, sometimes people can be really nice,
come up, give you food or money, other days
people just walk right past, just don't care.
So, other days, there used to be a lot of hand outs,
but there's not so many now 'cause people are
just leaving a mess or being too drunk and frightened.
Jump men put a stop because of that.
There's not a (mumbles) Victoria now.
I mean there are still ones about but they're all
on the outskirts, not central London itself.
- [Interviewer] Now, do you get any benefits?
- Benefits?
- [Interviewer] Yeah, money from the council
or anything, support?
- Not much, (laughs) not much.
- [Interviewer] You do get something.
- Yeah.
- [Interviewer] Now, we're talking earlier.
You did try to go into a hostel.
- Yeah, I mean, I was there like 10 months,
or just over 10 months but
I mean you're meant to have a queue up session once a week.
In the the whole 10 and a half months I was there
I had three queue up sessions in the whole 10 months.
I just felt that they just weren't bothered
about the people in there.
I mean, same with most of the residents that was in there.
Like I say, you're meant to have one once a week.
So, three queue ups in 10 months it's not really a lot.
- [Interviewer] You wanted to get your life back
and get on and get some help.
- Yeah, just even if they moved me on to another place
where I could get better help or something.
But nah, I just felt they weren't doing nothing for me.
I mean, there were times I even asked for queue up session
and there was times they'd make the appointment.
And, I'm standing waiting and then it'd be,
"Oh, we gotta do something, you'll need to hang around."
You'd hang around for like an hour or more
and they were still busy.
Just like they weren't really bothered.
The worst of it is they're meant to be, a Catholic,
it's a Catholic Church that runs it.
I mean, they're all meant to be
Catholics, Christians, that work in therey
I mean hou'd expect them to be a lot more, I don't know,
be more devoted to their job, or I don't know.
- [Interviewer] They might be overwhelmed,
there's a lot of rough sleepers now.
- Oh yeah, yeah, yeah but like you say the hostel's
that's completely different from the day centers and what.
But, for the whole time I was in there they could
have done something, but I just felt
they never done nothing.
- [Interviewer] So, are you getting any help now?
- There's an outreach team that comes round.
They'll see you a couple times a week.
They'll either see me here or where I sleep.
They'll come round and I see them at the day center.
They're trying to refer me into another,
well they're trying to sort things out
with the hostel that I was in.
And, if they can't sort things out they told me
they're gonna try to refer me into another one,
but I just need to wait and see this week what happens.
I'm not sure.
- [Interviewer] So now, how long have you been
rough street sleeping this time?
- This time a month and a half.
Before that it was seven months.
- [Interviewer] Seven months and then you went inside
for 10 months and back out. - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But, it's a long time for them not to do nothing
and then just be put back out in the street.
- [Interviewer] Yeah.
What's your future like?
- Well, in a minute I'm just waiting to hear
from my worker and see whether I get referred into
this one or back in this one or in a different one.
I'm not sure yet, but I just need to wait
and find out by the end of the week.
If it's not gonna touch me by Friday I'll need to ask
them what, find out by Monday or something.
I'm not sure.
- [Interviewer] If you had three wishes what would they be?
(laughs)
- I'm not sure, I'd have to think about it.
It'd be a nice house, enough money just to do me until,
so I wouldn't run out.
Something nice for my daughter.
(mumbles) Shawnice, and I'd give stuff to my daughter.
- [Interviewer] Thank you very much for talking to me.
- No problem.