Homelessness is the reel thing
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A group of young people who have been homeless in Harrogate have committed their experiences to film. Harley Regan was one of those involved. He talks to Ciara Leeming
In a funny kind of way, although being homeless was horrible, it’s changed my life for the better. Back then, I would do what I wanted, no matter how pointless. Now I’m the opposite. I no longer drink or take drugs, and want to make something of my life. I also get on better with my mum.
It was a breakdown in our relationship that led to me becoming homeless. My mum and I just didn’t get on at all. I got into drugs – smoking weed from the age of 11 – and drinking, and from the age of 13 or 14 I hardly went to school. I didn’t care, and she couldn’t do anything with me. Two weeks after my 16th birthday she kicked me out. It was January.
That first night I slept on a bench. The next day a mate lent me a tent. After that I spent most nights camping in some woods just outside of Harrogate. I had no money – I would steal food from a supermarket and spent my days alone, while my friends were all at school.
They didn’t judge me for being homeless, but I tried not to see anyone else. Of course I got really down with the situation, but kept telling myself that whatever didn’t kill me would make me stronger. I think that’s how I got through it.
I never thought of trying to seek help. It didn’t occur to me that there were services that could support me. There’s not much accommodation in Harrogate anyway and the rents are very high.
Then one day, my aunt happened to pass me. She marched me to the council, and by that night I’d been given a place in a bed and breakfast, where I stayed for a month. From there I was given a place in an adult hostel, but ended up being kicked out for getting into arrears and slept rough for another three months.
At that point, Foundation Housing, a social landlord that provides move-on accommodation, offered me a place. I’ve been there for two years but have been told that I’ll get a housing association flat very soon.
Things have really started looking up since I’ve been with Foundation. I have done some training through the Prince’s Trust and am now a qualified assistant youth worker. I do lots of voluntary work.
It was through Foundation Housing that I first heard about the Behind no doors project. They had teamed up with Barnardo’s, Harrogate Borough Council and creative arts group Inspired Youth to create an education campaign around youth homelessness. I knew I wanted to get involved, and was one of five people with experience of homelessness who ended up sharing our stories in the film.
Over the six months, we talked a lot about what we had been through, how we felt at each stage and the stereotypes we had come up against. We worked with photographers and artists to come up with material for the campaign. When we got to planning the film, we went back to some of the places where we used to sleep. We came up with ideas of who to interview, from housing workers to the Harrogate & Knaresborough MP, Phil Willis.
The idea was to examine all the issues around homelessness but also to look at what services are available to young people who find themselves in that situation.
The whole experience has been really helpful to me personally. It allowed me to get a lot of what happened to me off my chest, and it was great to know that there are others in Harrogate who have been through the same thing.
Since the film launched in December, they’ve done a couple of pilot screenings in local high schools and some of the group have attended and answered pupils’ questions. The sessions have gone really well and everyone seems to be finding it very useful.
I think it’s great that Behind no doors is now being seen in schools in our area. Too many people don’t realise that youth homeless exists, or think we have chosen to leave home, when the reality isn’t that clear-cut. I think a lot of people assume that only adults can be homeless, and that everyone on the streets has a drug or drink problem.
And too many young people, like me, don’t realise that there is support available which could help them before things get to that point, or soon after they do.
Youth and homelessness
Data on youth homelessness is limited and only counts those who come into contact with services. Officially, 75,000 young people were homeless at some point in 2006/07 – although the true figure is likely to be higher.
- Across the UK, 8,337 16 to 17-yearolds were accepted as statutory homeless (unintentionally homeless and in priority need) in 2006/07. Of these, 5,652 were in England, 1,871 in Scotland, 686 in Wales and 128 in Northern Ireland.
- Young women are more likely to be accepted as statutorily homeless than young men. Between 2002 and 2007, women accounted for 70 per cent of homeless 16 to 24-year-olds in Wales, 61 per cent in Scotland and 56 per cent in Northern Ireland. In England, women made up 55 per cent of all acceptances in 2006.
- Foyers are a significant feature of the UK response, growing from approximately 35 schemes in 1995 to over 130 in 2007, and supporting more than 10,000 young people each year. Source: Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Readers' comments (1)
Emily Hesketh | Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:26 GMT
I was one of the young people to take part inm the behind no doors project with harley, this is a great overveiw of our project and it gives me hope to realise people are taking count of what we have been through and the work we have done to help others in our situation. its tough but with the right help youll get back on your feet and people need to realise that the homless are PEOPLE and we do have feelings, just like everyone else. we just need extra help and to stop being judged x
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