Was feeling a bit low and perhaps a bit insecure the last few days and happened to walk passed a homeless guy yesterday who said a cheery hello and had a sign that said ‘Homeless but chatty’
I acknowledged him and walked by but turned around and went back to sit on the steps in the sun beside him and had quite a long chat. His story was probably very typical of many and did make me think of how you’d cope (or not as my mind was telling me) in his situation. Essentially 5 years ago he lost his wife of 34 years (they were together from the age of 14), she had aneurysm and died more or less instantly and he didn’t get to say goodbye. The poor guy was, and still is, broken hearted.
From there it was drinking to block things out to cope, missing work, losing job. With no income the path of burning through savings, losing house and eventual homeless was a well-trodden one.
After a new low of being arrested for being D&D whereby the judge treated him like piece of dirt, he vowed to get clean and has been on a treatment programme and dry for 21 months. The council offered him a room in a house with 5 alcoholics which he turned down because of the inevitable outcome of that and because he turned the offer down goes to the back of the queue and so chooses to live in a tent on Epsom racecourse to protect himself instead.
It was at least heartwarming to see several offers of food just in the time I was chatting, and apparently someone treats him to a Travelodge room every Sunday where he cleans himself up and washes his clothes in the bath.
Not sure really what the catalyst for all that was, but there are definitely elements of guilt for my lack of awareness and for not really making any effort with anyone in that situation until a moment of vulnerability forced the conversation and made me curious with a rude awakening as to how quickly that can happen to anyone irrespective of your circumstances, solvent or otherwise.
