I was born here in England but my family moved to Canada when I was young. I was there for about 30 years, before I moved to London in the mid-’90s.
There are a million reasons people become homeless. For me it was quite complicated, one thing after another in quick succession. In a short time I went from having a job and a flat to sleeping in a churchyard and being isolated from family who I was too embarrassed to ask for help.
It seems like a lifetime, but I’ve been selling The Big Issue for about seven years now. My last place of employment before I became homeless was working for one of the breweries in London, as a drayman, a person who delivers beer to all the pubs in the city.
The main thing is what happened next – I steadily worked myself out of homelessness with the opportunity The Big Issue gave me. I found that as well as putting some money in my pocket, it gave me my self-respect and confidence back.
I was chosen by The Big Issue Foundation for a Corporate Vendor Placement Programme, so I sold the magazine at Simmons & Simmons, the big law firm at Moorgate. It was great to meet new people and to get to know them all. Ever since my placement, my confidence has developed a great deal. I’ve also spent some time in the company library developing my IT and blogging skills.
After that I got a new pitch inside Liverpool Street station, set up with Network Rail. It’s good for footfall; despite the fact it’s always busy, I still enjoy chatting to customers. A lot of people are coming into London for the first time, so I find myself giving them directions and suggesting places to go.