The Fireside is a drop-in day centre for the homeless and unemployed located in the heart of Birmingham. Joseph, 41, attends the Fireside on a regular basis. He talks here about his experiences of living on the streets of Birmingham, the society he lives in, and what he would like to get out of life…
“I was 39 years of age when I first experienced rough sleeping. My previous work was to be found working as a Male Carer and Cancer Support Worker helping people who did not have long to live due to the spread of cancer and such like.
“I was made unemployed due to a very severe lower back injury and lost my rented flat as a result. Some landlords will not accept benefits as rent, and the waiting list for a council flat is two years. I had no place to live.
“I first went to London to look for new employment and spent some time living on the streets, coming back to Birmingham, the city where I as born, followed after that. London can be very crowded and there are not a great deal of places to sleep safely at night. There are a very great many rough sleepers down in the city, young and old alike.
“I sleep here, there and everywhere. A homeless person should never sleep alone or tell anyone where their ‘spot’ is. At the beginning, when I first came to Birmingham I slept alone, it’s not a good idea, its dangerous. I now sleep in a group. There were five of us at first, but three moved to a hostel.
“Hostels are horrendous places. Hostels are very much a business. They provide a service, but think about the rent and charges for a minute. If you get into a hostel the government pays £136 per week per person to the hostel and the homeless person has to pay around £50 out of their benefits every two weeks. They aren’t a solution, it gets you off the streets for a few days, but it can’t last. I don’t think much of them at all.
“People react very badly to street people at times. This has a great deal to do with fear and pride if you think about it. It can be very hard to open a bank account, get employment, find housing etc. Homeless people live on the margins of our secular society. There can be a lot of injustice.
You see these people who go into Starbucks to spend £3 on a coffee but they can’t even give a penny to a homeless person. I don’t think our society will ever change, our society has no moral values.
“People can’t really tell that I’m homeless, I try to keep myself clean, and I have a shave at the Fireside every day and change my clothes. I think that the majority of homeless don’t look homeless, it’s something you try to hide. However, when I’m queuing to get into the Fireside, or sometimes when I’m walking in the street with friends people look at you and you can tell they look down on you. No one ever says anything to me. They usually ignore you.
“The police register you with these yellow stop tickets when you are on the streets. When they come over to you they ask questions like ‘are you drinking alcohol or taking drugs?’ you get these tickets for doing nothing, you can be just sitting there and they will come over, its just about how you look. The first time I was given a ticket I was sitting by the bull ring reading a book. They asked me what I was doing and told me to move on. I knew a guy, he had 350 tickets. I don’t have any real problems with the police, I know a lot of them and they know me. They have always been ok with me.
“It’s really difficult to get benefits for a homeless person because of proof of identity. The social security in this city has become more complex in recent years. The forms have become very complex and the system has changed. The system, in my view, relies far too much on modern computer systems and has lost something. Person to person contact is less and technology is more to the fore.
“Many people have been of great help to many homeless people. Many of these have been Christian, such as Birmingham City Mission. I have a friend who got his sleeping bag stolen. I was in church and one of the people we know vaguely asked after my friend and me. I told him about the sleeping bag being stolen and he went and bought one to replace it. He gave it to me and I passed it on to my friend. I was really thankful.
“I’ve used the Fireside for 12 months or so. The Fireside is a place that provides a great service, it’s a place to meet and talk to the staff and the clients. A place to get one’s essential needs met (food, drink, clothes) within a lovely and warm environment.
“My life has taught me that the two most important values are respect for others and courtesy. To treat other people as you would like to be treated. These are basic Christian values really.
Homeless people are good people, they are just in the wrong circumstances. I will change my circumstances and manner of living, I have made good use of the time. It has taught me a lot, but I will change my circumstances. All I would like out of life is health, inner peace, adventure, a good book or two and a smile.”
