Whitechapel's Support for Poverty and Homelessness Action Week

As this week is Poverty and Homelessness Action Week we here at The Whitechapel Centre want to show our support and help to raise awareness of these issues that are affecting an increasing number of people within our society

Whitechapel's very own Kevin Waldron knows first hand how easily and quickly a person's life can change as he himself has experienced homelessness first hand, and has written a wonderful poem so that he might share his experiences.

HOMELESS

I sit here in a doorway, the one I call my home.
I feels that no one cares for me, so long I've been alone.
I roam the streets both day and night, I'm looked upon as dirt.
And people just don't understand, they cause me so much hurt.
I'm socially unaccepted, I am always pushed away.
People just don't realise, I was somebody in my day.
So now I'm just a derelict, slowly crumbling deep inside.
And when the young lads come around, I have to run or hide.
I'm taunted about the way I look, I'm spat upon at times.
Why are people so cruel to me, I am slowly, slowly dying.
I really don't want much in life, just a place to call my own.
A safe place I can sleep in, a place I can call home.

Copyright: Kevin Waldron.

It is difficult for anyone who hasn't had the experience first hand to appreciate how awful it is for a person who is street homeless.

Kevin's poem helps us to understand not just the physical feelings that we may be able to relate to, the cold and discomfort, but also the emotional difficulties that people are experiencing.

There is however hope, Kevin was himself awarded the 'Unsung Hero Award' in last year's Merseyside Recovery Awards!

The award, sponsored by Pearson Fielding Solicitors, is awarded to:

"A person who is making a heroic difference in the field of recovery - A person who is humbly getting on with it, not necessarily seeking reward, thanks or recognition but nonetheless changing the lives of others in some way."

Kevin with his well deserved award.

Kevin's is a story of great hope and success, that story could be the same for the next homeless person that you might pass in the street.

To find out more about the work that we carry out at The Whitechapel Centre, or to see how you can help please go to our website at: http://www.whitechapelcentre.co.uk