End Homelessness Now! Project #14

This is Tony, he has been homeless for some twenty years now. Tony’s circumstances changed when he lost his twin brother who died horribly in a car accident. The loss of his twin brother was felt very deeply and he turned to alcohol, drinkin’ excessively.

Consequently his drinkin’ and subsequent alcoholism affected his marriage and relationship with his wife and daughter, of which a divorce and exclusion resulted. I do feel though, through talkin’ with him, there may have been other problems too.

Tony told me also that he does have a hostel room for which he showed me his key, but he stated that he doesn’t like stayin’ there ‘cos when he does his room gets broken into and his belongings stolen or taken. As a result he sleeps rough on the streets.

Tony suffers with Psoriasis which is a chronic autoimmune disease that appears on the skin. It occurs when the immune system sends out faulty signals that speed up the growth cycle of skin cells. Psoriasis is not contagious, but there is no cure for it either.

At the moment he is goin’ through a detox program and tryin’ to get his life back in order. He is desperate for a home and wants to put his life on the streets behind him once and for all.

I bought him some cigarettes and left him with a couple of quid.