Homeless in Bolton reveal grim reality of life on the streets

When his dad died, John had to leave the home because his name wasn't on the rent.

Now, he is sleeping in an NCP car park in Bolton and has been kicked, stabbed and urinated on.

This week the Bolton News revealed the launch of an ambitious new campaign to recruit 300 volunteers to help the town’s rough sleepers.

Led by Bolton Homeless Alliance, the project will support the people like John. Here are their stories...

John, 39, once worked as a mechanic

He said: "I had been caring for my dad who had dementia and I was living with him in council accommodation.

“When he passed away I had to leave because my name wasn’t on the rent. That was two years ago and since then I’ve been living on the streets.

“I sleep in the NCP car park. I’ve got a sleeping bag but it’s freezing at this time of year. I only manage to get about two hours sleep a night.

“I’ve been kicked in the face, stabbed and had my face urinated on, all by drunks coming out of pubs and nightclubs.

"There's also a lot of nice people in Bolton, though. They give me money or buy me something to eat. 

"Someone once paid for me to stay in a bed and breakfast for five days and gave me £50. 

“I think a lot of people think all homeless people are on drugs. I’m not, but a lot are. Heroin makes them feel warm and comfortable and relaxed, and lets them forget about the situation they’re in for a while.

“During the day I try to beg a few quid so I can go to Pound Bakery or wherever. People are alright, one gave me £150 in cash.

“I trained and worked as a mechanic, and then worked as a machine operator at a tip but I had to give it up when I became homeless because I couldn’t wash, and working at a tip meant I stank.

“Now, if I’ve begged enough money, I go to the swimming baths a couple of times a week for a swim and shower. The water in the pool is warm. The rest of the time I go into supermarkets to try and keep warm.

“I’ve got three children but I don’t see them because I don’t want them to see me like this. I’ve also got two sisters, but they live abroad.”

Billy, 48, found himself on the streets when his girlfriend died

He said: “I was living with my girlfriend. Twelve months ago she went into hospital and passed away and the housing wouldn’t let me take on the tenancy because it was in her name, so I’ve been on the streets ever since.

“I used to be a labourer for a building company but it went into receivership.

“I see the housing manager at Bolton Council every week but there’s no accommodation at the moment and the Salvation Army’s full.

“I spend my day’s begging and walking about. I had a tent but it’s been burned down so I spend the nights in bus shelters now.

“You can’t sleep in this weather, I have asthma and had pneumonia a few months ago. I was in a coma for five days, and in hospital for three weeks, but as soon as I left I had to go back on the streets.

“I get spat at and kicked.The other week someone came out of a pub on Bradshawgate and hit me over the head with a bottle because I was begging.

“I go to the charity food outlets for something to eat.

“Both my parents have passed away and my brother and sister died. I’ve got no-one. I’ve got no children so that’s one blessing.

“I’m hoping to get out of this predicament but until I find some accommodation I can’t even get any benefits because I’ve no address.

“I want somewhere to live, I want to get on my feet. I don’t like this life.”

Darren, 35, refuses to beg

He said: “I’ve been living on the streets for six months. I was living with my brother in a bedsit in Blackburn. He’d had a stroke and has severe mental health issues.

“He was getting bullied by the landlord when I was out at work, so we decided to get out of there.

“We went to my dad’s in Bolton and that’s when we found out he’d passed away. It was a council house which meant we couldn’t just live in it without him.

“My mum died years ago and we’ve got no other family so that’s how we came to be living on the streets.

“It’s a joke the way people treat me, and it’s the normal people in the daytime, not just drunks at night.

“They swear at me and tell me to get a job. If I could get a job, I’d get a job.

“I spend my days just walking and at night I sleep wherever I can find somewhere that’s dry. I’ve no sleeping bag so I just sleep in what I’m wearing.

READ MORE: Andy Burnham on 'A Bed Every Night' homeless scheme

“I can’t bring myself to beg. I just won’t do it. Instead I rely on people buying me food. That’s the nicest thing people do for me. I also get food from the charity handouts.

“I’m in contact with the council and am just waiting to get something sorted. I just hope to get somewhere to live soon.”

Dean, 36, has been in and out of jail for 15 years

He said: “I grew up in Tonge Moor. I had a bad upbringing. My dad was on heroin, my mother was an alcoholic. They’re both dead now. I lived with my grandmother.

“At 16 I was put on probation for 18 months. It was during that period that I ended up becoming a heroin addict myself. Top and tail of it is, I’ve been in and out of jail for 15 years and I’ve had 30 jail sentences.

“I’ve either been homeless or in jail. Every time I come out of jail I have to start from square one. When you leave prison they put you up somewhere for two nights but on the third night you’re back on the streets. I’ve been doing that since I was 18.

“When you’ve been in prison you get three meals a day and a bed. But when you come outside you get confused about bills and tenancy agreements and responsibility. I couldn’t cope with it. It was easier to go to prison.

“One Christmas on the streets I was that frozen I thought I was going to die. My body was so cold and stiff. I’d been sleeping in a bin shed and it snowed overnight.

“At the moment I sleep at the NCP car park. It’s hard.

“Kind people buy me pasties and crisps and coffee.

“I’ve got three children who I don’t see any more and I’ve got brothers and sisters, but they have their own problems so I can’t stay with them.

“I’ve worked at KFC, Littlewoods and done industrial cleaning, but because of the drugs, I couldn’t hold them down.

READ MORE: Tracy lived in a suitcase before being helped off the streets

“I’m getting help with the drugs now and am on methadone.

“I’ve got a worker from Great Places Housing Group who works with the SIBS team [a pioneering scheme which equips rough sleepers with the skills to help themselves in the long-term] and she’s helping me.”

Mark, 42, sleeps in a tent behind a church

He said: “I've been homeless for eight months. I had been living with and looking after my dad.

“I’d been a carpenter and joiner but my dad had a stroke, which left him paralysed down one side, so I was his carer for 12 years.

“He died and 28 days later I had to leave his council house and go on the streets. I left all my possessions and things like photos behind. I don’t know what was done with them.

“I sleep in a tent at the back of the parish church. It’s horrible. I’m full of a cold all the time and I’m depressed.

“People buy me food and the food hand-outs help. Someone once paid for me to stay in a bed and breakfast for the night, which was really kind of them.

“I just want a flat but I couldn’t cope with dealing with the council.

“I hope it’s not going to be a cold winter.”