Homelessness In Portsmouth

July, August and September …….

I have still been scouring the streets for homeless people over these last few months but due to work and issues at home I have not had the time to go on the computer and log all that I have seen.

I have has Liam, Harriet and James out with me, obviously not all at the same time.

There has been many new homeless people that I have met of which most I do not think are homeless, just begging on the streets hoping for people to give them money. This is not good for the genuine guys.

I have seen many of the regulars but have seen more just one off beggars. The real rough sleepers are suffering through this as passers by give to only one or two beggars and they are usually the ones that can be seen clearly by the public.

The police know who the genuine ones are and move them on but if it is just one off beggars then the police probably don’t know them and they can just pick up there few bits and move before the police see them and blend into the crowd.

The winter is coming and my blanket, duvet and clothing storage is getting bigger which is a good thing, just need to start collecting more soup and non perishable foods.

Throughout this year since Christmas I have been buying most of the food stocks but I cant keep doing this as I am suffering financially too the same as most people. If you or any one you know can spare a tin of soup or bag of crisps then please let me know, everything is a help. Thankfully I have a local bakery that helps me out with bread whenever I go out and that is a great help and very much appreciated by myself and the homeless guys.

As the winter draws in I will be going out a couple times a week and hope to keep this diary going on a regular basis.

TUESDAY 26^TH JUNE 2012. Tonight we see TINNY, JIM, PAUL, IAN and his brother MARK and SEAN.

I was in a rush to get out this evening as I finished work later so I never had time to butter the rolls and make up a flask of soup so I just filled the flasks with hot water and took out cuppa soups and we buttered the rolls as we went along.

I picked up Courtney and we went to meet Jim at the end of the Eastern road, he came in my car.

We headed straight for Portsmouth Harbour where we spoke with Tinny and Jim. Jim said last week that he and his friend Kevin were hoping to go back to Liverpool but unfortunately they didn’t have the money. Jim said that they haven’t received any benefits and that was the money they were relying on to go back. We gave Jim a coffee and food then he moved on. Tinny was in his usual place so we went over and spoke with him. He has got himself in a bit of bother with 2 woman who he likes a lot, the story was quite funny I must say.

We moved on to see Paul in Osborne road, he was in good spirits, he said that when he is on his feet he hopes to have a woman like me by his side, this was very sweet but he said also I was like a mother to him ha ha. He also said he would like to take me to dinner when he has sorted himself out, so sweet.

As we were talking to Paul, Ian came along with his brother in tow. I have heard a lot about him but never met him so it was good to put a name to a face.

We moved onto Albert road to see Sean, we had a chat and gave him some food. He told us that he has lost the spot where he could have had his caravan put. Looks like it will be staying up north for a while yet.

Eventually we headed home.

TUESDAY 19^th JUNE 2012. Tonight we see JIM, TINNY, PAUL, JIM (from palmeston road), FRANKIE and a new lad called GRANT.

Again I met up with my friend Jim, He really enjoyed coming out last week and wants to come out when he can, I am happy with this as he had a very gentle approach to people and the guys seemed to take to him as well which is always a plus as we need these guys to gain our trust. They get a lot of abuse being on the streets, as I said in previous weeks so it is nice for them to have a friend who they can trust and talk to.

We went to the hostel first and dropped off the left over bread then went to Portsmouth harbour to see Tinny and Jim. Jim was saying that he and kevin were hoping to go back to Liverpool to find work next Monday so we may not see them again, hopefully they will have a better chance in Liverpool.

When we finished with these two we drove around for a while then we went to Osborne road where we found Paul. He was looking quite well considering and he was pleased to see us as I haven’t seen him around for a few weeks.

We moved on to Elm grove and stopped to see Frankie, she was very sweet to us , she thought Jim and I were a couple but we set her straight telling her we have our own partners. Frankie kept wanting to kiss Jim, think she has a soft spot for him. As we were giving her food a friend of hers came along to take her somewhere else, Frankie got up and started hurling a load of abuse at a security guard in the co-op and also the shop staff. Jim and I decided to move on as we didn’t want to get involved with this sort of thing, we did try to ease her away but she wasn’t having any of it so we went on.

We went to Albert road where we see the other Jim, we have seen him a few times before, he was in the Marines for many years then ended up on the streets as he could get a job in the civvy world, absolutely terrible. He didn’t look too good but I suppose rough living does this to you. We also spoke with a new guy called Grant, he occasionally stays with his mother but spends most of his days and night on the streets. When we finished chatting with these guys I took Jim along the seafront so we could get an ice cream, we parked up by the fun fair got an ice cream and walked towards old Portsmouth to see if we could find anyone else.

We headed for home after that

TUESDAY 12^TH JUNE. Tonight we see JIM, IAN, SEAN, TINNY, CHRIS and met a new homeless woman called Frankie.

Tonight I had a good friend called Jim come out with me, we met at the end of the Eastern road where he left his car and jumped in with me.

Jim has not done this sort of thing and really enjoyed the evening, he said it was an eye opener and didn’t know what to expect.

We headed straight to the hostel where we delivered the rest of the bread and rolls that I had left over from the bakers. A local bakery give me bread whenever I go out and they have started giving me savouries such as quiche, sausage rolls and pies etc.. At the end of the bakeries working day they throw away the stuff that is left over so I take it off their hands and put it to good use. There is nothing wrong with the food but the bakery by law cannot sell it the next day. Still this is still very generous of them so if you are reading this thank you so very much from me and the homeless guys, we really appreciate it.

When we delivered the bread to the hostel we went to Portsmouth harbour where we see Tinny, Jim and Chris. We gave them soup, bread and butter, cake, pie and coffee etc and I introduced them to my friend Jim. They all were very polite and chatty. The homeless guy Jim was trying his hardest to understand our conversation but did have slight difficulty as he is from Hungary and doesn’t know much of the English language. We managed to find out where he and his friend Kevin were sleeping, (Tesco’s car park). They have both managed to get some bedding so they never required anything I brought out for them. They were both down the job centre and library every day trying to find work but no success at all.

When we finished with these lads we moved onto the hot walls, along the sea front and around a few other roads but found no one about unfortunately, we even went down Palmeston road and Osborne road to find no one about.

We went to Elm Grove and found a lady called Frankie, she is a self-harmer, she had cuts all up her arms bless her and she told us that she has been homeless for 5 years. We asked her if she had seen Ian or any of the others but she said no. She was a bit wary of us at first as she has had a lot of people verbally and physically abusing her when she is sitting around on the streets. She told us that she had somewhere to heat food if she needed to so we gave her a few bits to eat now and for later.

We went down Albert road and see Ian and Sean, we gave them a few bits and had a nice chat.

Sean tells me that he has found somewhere for his caravan to go if he can get it down here from up North, problem is Sean can’t drive bless him.

We headed back to Jims car then went home. Jim apologised for being a bit quiet, he said it affected him more than he expected. 

TUESDAY 5^TH JUNE 2012. Tonight we found 3 new homeless men, GARETH, JIM, KEVIN and we also see Tinny.

The weather was awful this evening, windy and very wet but we carried on regardless. At the end of the day we are only in the wet and wind for literally minutes at a time, not like the poor homeless guys who have to sleep in it !!

I picked Courtney up then we headed to the Hard interchange, we sat with Tinny for a short while, even though it was raining, he was feeling a bit low this evening, think it was the miserable weather ! We gave tinny some meat rolls, crisps, cakes and coffee etc and had a little chat with him, trying to cheer him up. I asked Tinny about the big building that was opposite him as it was empty and would be ideal for the homeless guys to do up, he said it was privately owned and had security guards there all the time. I told him I would look into it but couldn’t promise anything. Courtney and I carried on round in the car to the Gosport ferry end to see if the other regulars were about but they weren’t. There was a young guy who we got out to speak to, he was soaking wet, been begging most of the day and had nothing dry to sleep in now. We gave him some hot soup and food. His name was Gareth, he used to live in Wiltshire and has been in care most of his life, he said he has had to fend for himself since he was little which I found very sad. He was a chatty person. Another guy came along to where we were chatting then Gareth said it was time for him to give the pitch to someone else now, he was moving on for the next homeless guy. This is the usual way the homeless guys work, they share a pitch to beg or sell the big issue.

Anyway, Gareth moved off then this other guy asked me if I had any food, he was foreign, his name was Jim. He didn’t look homeless but he said that he and his friend, Kevin, had only been on the streets for 1 week. They travelled down from Liverpool as they were told that they would find work down here. When speaking to him his friend came along so we fed and watered him as well. They are both from Hungry. It felt so guilty as I didn’t bring any clothes or bedding out this evening and they both were very cold and had no shelter from the rain either. I advised them to have a chat with Tinny as he may be able to point them in the right direction for a nights shelter out of the rain, I did tell them about the hot walls as it was kind of closed in…

Courtney and I carried on our usual route but found no one else apart from a very drunk homeless guy sitting in a door way, this frightened Courtney and she didn’t want me to stop the car. He was a bit of a state and had a black eye, he did look a bit dodgy so we carried on. I’ll come back and see him next week as I don’t like leaving people if they need help but I was worried about little Courtney’s feelings at the time.

END OF APRIL AND ALL OF MAY.

My apologies to everyone. I have been out several times to see the homeless but not written anything up so again I am sorry.Work has been extra busy and also I have spent a few days here and there working in Wiltshire so I have not had the time to write anything up.The times that I have been out young Courtney has been with me, we see the usual crowd and also a few new guys, one of which had only just got out of prison. He had somewhere to stay but had no money for food or anything, he approached me as I was talking to another new guy, he asked if I was the soup kitchen, this made me chuckle a little as I only got a Volkswagen polo of which I fill with sandwiches, flasks, crisps etc…. he was a nice polite lad, we fed them both, I forgot their names though as my memory is not very good ha ha.We also approached a lady, she had to be in her late 50s early 60s. She was extremely rude, Courtney and myself walked over to her and softly asked her if she would like a sandwich, she was eating a banana at the time. She stood up walked over to me and told me to f**k off and leave her alone, so we did! She picked up all her bags and walked in the opposite direction. I must admit that we have never experienced anyone like this, she was defiantly homeless as tinny said she is known around here but doesn’t talk or walk with anyone, a bit of a loner I think and probably been verbally abused by others all her street life, that could be why she had an attitude, protection. I have been on BBC Radio Solent again as a drive time guest, 17.15 Friday 1^st June, Steve Harris was the presenter, lovely guy, not bad looking either looking at his pics on BBCi Player ha ha !!!. I was talking to him about me wanting to raise money so that I can do some charity work in Morocco later this year. It is something I have always wanted to do and I can do it as soon as I raise at least £600. I’ll be going out with a group of volunteers, the money I need is £125 to secure my place, £125 a week for accommodation (at least that’s what I think it is for, the charity just gave me these figures), and £150 for return flights. It’s not too bad but now im looking for ideas to raise money so if anyone has any ideas please let me know!!! I will be working in orphanages and also working with the street children of Morocco, it will be heart breaking but knowing I can help, even if it is only for 2 weeks will be a blessing and experience.That’s all for now but I’m hoping to be able to write up tomorrow as I’m out this evening seeing the guys and girls on our streets living rough .

TUESDAY 24^TH APRIL 2012. Tonight we see CHRIS, ZOE, LEE, TINNY, JIM AND IAN.

Liam and Harriet wanted to come out this evening as they haven’t seen anyone in a while. We started at the Hard interchange as usual and see Chris, Zoe and lee. I have been unable to see them for 2 weeks as I was working in Wiltshire for a few days then went to Cornwall for a little break. Chris came straight over to the car to give me a hug, was a nice feeling to have been missed ha ha. We gave soup, sandwiches, chocolate bars, crisps etc. to all three and had a little chat. Lee was hanging around quite a bit so I couldn’t talk to Chris and Zoe properly. If you have been reading this blog then you will know that Lee has a wife, 3 children and a 3 bedroom house that he lives in, I still give him stuff so that he doesn’t take it off the others and I don’t want him knowing that I am aware of his situation in case he turns nasty on the others or us. We went over to where Tinny was sitting and fed him, he told me that he had a head ache but felt better than he had as he has been feeling poorly the last few days, poor Tinny, he always seems to pick up some illness, probably due to sleeping rough and being run down. We carried on with our round and found Jim sat outside Robert Dyas in Palmerston Road. He was not in a good way, said he was very tired, he kept falling asleep during our conversation, possibly drug induced. We gave him some food and went on our way. I drove around some new roads to find other places that homeless may hang around but no joy so we then made our way to Albert Road where we spoke with Ian. He was back to being his normal self, previously he was run down due to death of his friend so it was nice to see him lokking better. We fed him and he asked if I had any size 10 shoes, his had big holes in them.I said I bring him some down with me next week if I couldn’t get them to him the weekend. After Ian we took a drive to Mill house to give them a load of bread and rolls I had left over. The people running Mill house will dish out the bread at meal times for the homeless they have there. A local bakery give me rolls and bread when I need it, I just make a phone call and pick it up hours before I go out to the homeless so it is always fresh. I make up the rolls at home with ham, cheese or any filling I have. Whatever is left over I give to hostels.