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A
Home
Without
A
Heart
By Jordie Black
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What this book is not...
This is not a book of meaningless facts
and figures about homelessness. This
book will not tell you how many people
were made homeless last year or how
many empty homes there are in the
country.
Introduction
We all have an opinion on the
homeless, whether were indifferent,
call them lazy, or do all we can to help,
we all have an opinion.
Just like our opinions, we all have
stories to tell, and just because you lose
your home does not mean you should
lose your voice either.
This book tries to make us think
differently about homelessness. This
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book attempts to humanise the
homeless, so they become an issue for
all, as opposed to an issue for them.
Why does homelessness
happen?
Homelessness is a taboo topic. Its the
kind of topic you might discuss at
debating society. You may have a
heated debate with your peers and
possibly come to some conclusions
regarding homelessness. You may have
one side fighting for the homeless, and
another slating their choices. These
debates are peculiar, they get so heated
yet it seems when the debate is over, so
is the fight for justice.
Now, homelessness isnt just discussed
in debate society. Its an issue were all
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involved with, whether we like it or not.
Weve all walked past a homeless
person. Perhaps weve given them
money, perhaps weve bought them a
sandwich, or perhaps weve walked on
by and not even noticed they exist.
There are many reasons why people
become homeless. Often, its substance
abuse; mental health issues;
breakdown of family relationships; or
losing a job and the struggle to keep up
with the cost of living.
There are a variety of reasons why
people become homeless, all just as
relevant as each other. However, one
core reason ties all these issues
together. The common denominator as
to why people become and struggle to
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escape from homelessness is lack of
friendship.
Lack of friendship
Homelessness, I feel, is due to lack of
friends.
Im going to ask you to imagine your
best friend. If you knew they were
likely to become homeless, would you
help them? Would you let them stay at
your house for a few weeks and then
say, sorry, but you have to go now, do
you not have anywhere else to go?
Youve done your best, you tell yourself.
They will have other friends, you
reassure yourself. However, this isnt
always the case. Your friend will
probably say yes because its
embarrassing and degrading for them
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to admit you were their last hope.
Imagine, you were their last hope.
This is when your best friend would
probably spend their first night on the
streets.
Now imagine this scenario:
You havent heard from your best
friend for a while. At first you didnt
even notice because youre busy with
life. When do you eventually start to
wonder where they are, you give them
a visit. You find they are not home. Its
odd; you see countless letters in their
porch and it looks as though they
havent been home in a while. You give
them a ring, the phone is disconnected.
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Bewildered, you wonder home. On your
walk home you hear a voice;
Spare any change, love, croaky yet
completely recognisable: Its your best
friend. They are bedraggled and
forlorn, but its definitely them. What
do you do? Do you take them into your
home? Do you pay for their rehab? Do
you give them money to get out of debt,
or do you just walk on by?
Could you honestly walk past a friend
and not help them if you knew they
were in need?
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A
Heart
Without
A
Home


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Stories and voices
From the conversations I had with the
homeless, two stories stuck with me.
The first account came from a man
called Tyler. Tyler had become used to
a dysfunctional lifestyle. He was
brought up around drugs and alcohol.
He became frustrated with his lack of
opportunities but still managed to
support his young family.
Tyler admitted supporting a family at a
young age was hard and he made many
mistake with money. However, these
mistakes occurred because he was
trying to create a life for his family. He
was determined to give her a better
beginning.
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As a result of these mistakes, Tyler lost
his partner; she went back to
Manchester taking their daughter with
her.
Tyler couldnt afford the rent by
himself and he couldnt afford a deposit
for a new house. He had no one else he
could go to for help and spent the
majority of the next year on the streets.
He was optimistic things would get
better; his daughters 4
th
birthday was
what kept going. When youre at your
lowest, all you need is some hope,
something to hold onto, to tell you to
keep going.
I had it all planned out rightI was
going to save the money I gotyou
know, from begging. I was gonna save
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the money and get a ticket to
Manchester. I was going to surprise my
little girl and show her I never gave
up Her name was Francis, did I say
that already?
Tylers daughters birthday was three
months ago. I asked him why he hadnt
managed to see her.
I had it almost saved up, in my little
bag. I was sat herewhere I always sit
and one night I saw a man giving a girl
a hard time. I thought they were play
fighting but then it got serious and no
one else was helping the girl. I went
over to helpbut the man pushed me
back and took my bag.
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I asked Tyler what he was holding on
for now and he laughed and said
Franciss 5
th
birthday.
Tyler had no idea where Francis was;
apart from, they went to Manchester.
Tyler would have had no way of
contacting his ex-partner once he got to
Manchester, and I dont think that
mattered. What Tyler wanted, like so
many homeless people, was a little
something to cling onto; a little
something to keep him going through
the darkest days of which there were
many.
The next story Id like to tell is
about a man named. Robert has been
homeless since he was 22; hes now 43.
He said, he loves being homeless. Some
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of the greatest friends hes ever made
have been from the streets.
When you all have nothing, theres
nothing to be jealous of, no one is
greedy, and we all help each other out.
I asked Robert why he seemed
nonchalant about being homeless.
When I first ended up on the streets, I
tried so hard to get out of it. I did
everything they told me I should, but I
just couldnt get permanent housing.
There were people with greater needs,
I was okay with that.
Robert told me that being homeless is
all about adapting. Hes adapted to a
world where society deems him less of
a person than others. What was
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astonishing was his positivity. Life on
the streets for me isnt too bad, any
money I get I buy a little bottle of
whiskey and it keeps me happy. Its
tough for some, the young onesthey
dont know how to cope. They are too
young.
As a child, Robert was used to being in
trouble with the police and experienced
extreme debt due to late payments.
If you took one of those men who walk
past methe ones in the suits and put
them on the streets, they wouldnt last
a day. If you took one of us homeless
the ones who have been here a while
and put us in a house, we wouldnt last.
This is our life now.
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Im not too interested in the money
really. I get enough to live and thats all
I need. I like when people talk to me.
Theres one man who talks to me on his
way to work so I make sure Im always
here at the same time in the morning
for a chat. Its nice to have friends.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions:
1. I have too much of my own thing
to do, how do you expect me to
think about the homeless?
Theyre not my friends, theyre
not my problem?
I completely understand that we all
have our own problems and we all have
to face our own battles, but why, when
we tuck ourselves into bed at night,
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arent we questioning: Why do I get
this luxury when there are people out
there sleeping on the streets.
2. If I give them money, wont they
just spend it on alcohol?
I can understand why some people
would think this, I really can. But lets
take a second to look at it from the
perspective of someone who is actually
homeless. Theyre on the streets; they
dont know which day will be their last.
No doubt theyre in some sort of pain,
whether it be emotional pain or
physical pain. If substances are the way
they cope and get by, then so be it.
3. Cant they just go to a homeless
shelter?
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Most websites for hostels allow you to
turn up (if there is space) but most
require you to phone in and book
ahead. What homeless person has a
mobile phone? If they do have a phone,
at what point do they think, I know Ill
put the number of all my local homeless
shelters into my phone book, just in
case.
Surveys
I asked some homeless people what the
first thing they thought of when I said
the word homeless- these were some
of the most popular answers.
1. Wrong decisions
2. Lonely
3. Mistakes
4. Stupid
5. Alone
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6. Worthless
I did the same thing for people who
werent homeless and these were the
most popular answers.
7. Lazy
8. Drug abusers
9. Alcoholics
10. Dirty.
Questions we need to consider
and answers from the public
I asked over 100 people their thoughts
on homelessness through a series of
questions. Ive collated the most
popular answers.
1. Why do we think people
become homeless
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a. Personal circumstances
beyond their control.
b. Addiction to substances
c. Loss of job
d. Relationship
breakdowns
e. Service men are left
unable to work.
f. Mental health
g. No support
h. Sometimes its their
own choice
i. Lack of jobs
j. Divorce, abuse, crime
k. Capitalism necessitates
poverty
l. They fail to choose to
get help from charities
when its there for
them.
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m. Poor social welfare
system.
n. Immigration

2. Is anyone to blame for people
becoming homeless?
a. Beyond the persons
control
b. Individual choices lead
them to become
homeless but blame
shouldnt be placed on
them
c. Us a country no
support.
d. Collective fault
e. Themselves
f. Capitalism system
isnt broken, it works
perfectly to ensure a
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minority of people hold
the majority of the
wealth.
g. No-one is to blame
h. There is support out
there but no-one trusts
the people offering the
support.
i. Government
i. Not funding
essential
services to help
prevent
homelessness.
ii. Demonising
them
iii. Wealth
unevenly
distributed
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3. Do you do anything to help
the homeless? If yes, what? If
no, why?
a. Give directly to the
homeless on the street.
b. Sometimes give money
c. Sometimes buy big
issue
d. Chat to them
e. Buy them lunch
f. Donate
g. Charity donations
h. Give to the people
dont trust charities
actually help.
i. Buy them lunch but
never give them money
because theyll spend it
on drugs/alcohol.
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j. Volunteer with
homeless charity, crisis
when I can.
k. Hard to know the right
way to help.
4. How do you think our society
perceives the homeless
population?
a. Wealthy people look
down on them.
b. Working class can
empathise.
c. Sometimes sympathy,
sometimes indifferent.
d. I hardly notice them.
e. Negative perception
we perceive the
situation as their fault
and dont help them
because of this.
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f. Contempt
g. Press paints them as
lazy.
h. They need help that
even the few homeless
shelters cant offer.
i. Disdain, homelessness
is still a taboo.
j. Delinquents.
k. Bain to our society
l. Ignored.
5. What can we do to alter the
perception of the homeless in
our society?
a. National drive to offer
support to the homeless
community.
b. Put posters up in city
centres to show theres
a wide range of issues
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why homelessness
happens.
c. Break peoples
misconceptions
d. Open communication
homeless people still
need a voice. If we
heard their voice wed
have a different
perception of them.
e. More should be done to
prevent homeless
people becoming
isolated
f. More education on
homelessness in
schools.
g. Stop asking what they
couldve done to avoid
becoming homeless, and
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start asking where it
was that we failed them
and why we continue to
do so.
h. Stop making them a
stigma, offer mental
health treatment, drug
alcohol rehabilitation
and help them integrate
back into working
society.
i. Awareness of the
reasons why people
become homeless.
j. Humanise the people
who find themselves
without a home.
k. Dissolve the social
stigma that every
homeless person must
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be an alcoholic or drug
user.
l. Create open and helpful
dialogue around
homelessness.
m. Talk about homeless
like its something we
can combat rather than
something that irritates
us.
n. Raise awareness about
the charities that can
help those who become
homeless.


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The campaign
I agree, one individual cannot save
every homeless person. One person
cannot do it all but together we can
initiate change.
Tea for Two campaign.
When we think of a cup of tea, we think
of our friends. You would go to your
friends house and they would ask you
if you want a cup of tea.
The campaign aims to make us see the
homeless as our friends; as people who
arent too far from ourselves. If youre
going into Starbucks and you can afford
to buy yourself a cup of tea, maybe buy
one for the homeless man sat outside?
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This doesnt just have to be tea. Maybe
you buy yourself lunch every single
day, but maybe one day make your
lunch at home and buy lunch for a
homeless person.
You dont even have to buy anything. If
you have a spare moment in your day,
stop to have a chat with a homeless
person. Theyre real people too. We
must remember that, it could so easily
you, or me.