Homelessness Episode 1, John's Story in Manchester
Read more about the inspiration for this series here.
For the first episode in this new project the logical place to start was my home city of Manchester. Manchester like most modern cities has a high population of homeless people living on its streets, so one would assume it would be relatively easy to find someone willing to film with us. Wrong.
"I'm not here because I like it."
We spent over an hour doing a full lap of Manchester City Centre, camera gear in tow and didn't see a single homeless person. As we walked up one street we could see a man who looked like he'd brought his living room onto the street. Sitting on the pavement in front of us there he was relaxing in a large beaten up black leather armchair, he must have been the most comfortable homeless person we've seen so far - well as comfortable you can be outside on a street. Conversation ensued, apparently the armchair was donated to him by a local resident who was throwing it out. He was a lovely guy, bubbly, witty and obviously had a fantastic story, even from our short discussion I got the impression he'd lead a fairly colourful, exciting life. Much to my disappointment he didn't want to film with us as he was wary of his face being on camera, but was very helpful in pointing us towards and introducing us to other people he knew in the city.
We then came across another chap outside a large, rather expensive shoe shop. Slouched against the window empty coffee cup in hand. Again we started to have a chat explaining who we were and what we were doing, introducing ourselves. He wasn't from Manchester originally and said that his family and friends didn't know of his current situation so he didn't want his face to be on camera. This came as quite a surprise to me at the time but the more I've learned about homelessness I've come to realise it's perhaps more common that you would think. His life had gotten so desperate that he was on the streets yet he was clearly too ashamed or embarrassed to call home for help from his family, perhaps afraid that they would think less of him, or perhaps afraid they wouldn't help even if he asked.
"The good out number the bad."
Finally as we rounded the corner outside Marks & Spencer we saw John and Rooney sitting on the pavement across the road. No sooner had I asked whether we could film John welcomed us in "ask me whatever you like". You'll need to watch the film to hear John's full story but needless to say he was the perfect character to start this series off. John has quite a back story, he's been in prison, involved with drugs and by his own admission made poor choices in his past which have lead to his current situation. Having been "clean" and out of prison for the last 10 years John is clearly remorseful, determined to get his life back on track and is beginning to do so through the kindness and generosity of the people of Manchester.
What is the one thing John would like people to take away from this film? Next time you see a homeless person give just a few minutes of your day for a chat, recognise they're there, and give them a smile, its not all about the money.