Could you end up living on the streets?
With homelessness on the rise, Closer talks to people who’ve lost everything, despite thinking it could never happen to them
um-of-two M Raynor Winn had a dream life running a successful B&B and living in a lovingly restored three-bedroom house in Wales, which she shared with her husband, Moth. But after an investment in a friend’s business went wrong – resulting in a lengthy legal battle – the pair lost all their savings, and their house was seized for payment of debt. Completely broke, the couple were forced to live in a tent and forage for food to survive.
Raynor, 55, says, “Never in a million years did I think I’d end up homeless. We’d always made sure we had financial security. We had very little money and survived on eating what we could find. We didn’t have any facilities and would go weeks without washing ourselves or our clothes. Thankfully, our kids were living in shared accommodation at uni so were spared the ordeal.”
Shockingly, Raynor and 58-year-old Moth’s story is not unique – in fact, homelessness has increased by 42 per cent in the last eight years.
Meanwhile, Coronation Street have been praised for their recent homelessness storyline, involving happy-go-lucky Sean Tully (played by Anthony Cotton), whose world has been turned upside down after losing his home and job. With nowhere to live, and deciding to keep his struggles a secret from loved ones, viewers have watched Sean being forced to sleep rough.
Ollie Wilson, a spokesperson for homelessness charity Depaul UK, says, “Homelessness hits people from many walks of life. Research shows that one in four adults in the UK has no savings and one in 10 spend more than they earn. Illness, family issues, sky-high rent and the overstretched welfare safety net all contribute to people losing their accommodation and becoming homeless.”
GRIM REALITY
Recent research by homeless charity Shelter has also highlighted the plight of the “working homeless” – driven by a combination of expensive private rents, the ongoing freeze on housing benefit and a chronic lack of social homes. The research shows 55 per cent of homeless people are actually holding down a job. Polly Neate, CEO of Shelter, says, “It’s disgraceful that even when families are working, they’re still forced to live through the grim reality of homelessness. In many cases, these are parents who work all day or night before returning to a cramped hostel or B&B where their family is forced to share a room. A room with no space for normal family life.”
Raynor and Moth’s problems began when they lost a court battle in August 2013. “Within a week, the bailiffs were knocking on the door to take our house,” says Raynor. “When we were packing up boxes, we came across an old hiking guide. We’d done a lot of hiking in our 20s and, as the council weren’t forthcoming with feasible housing options, it seemed like our only option was to live in a tent. We wanted to feel like we had a purpose, so we decided to walk the South West Coast Path.”
The couple had just £300, so they bought basic camping equipment and set off on their trek. They had a tiny income of £30 a week from tax credits so, unable to afford camp sites, they went “wild camping”, which is illegal in Britain. They pitched their tent late at night in farmland and fields and took it down early in the morning so they weren’t caught. In the middle of nowhere, they weren’t worried for their safety and, thankfully, camping in the summer meant they didn’t have to battle cold weather.
Raynor says, “We’d eat mushrooms and dandelion leaves – anything we could find in the countryside. We’d spend what money we had on dried noodles and pasta. We even had to dig our own loos. Passers-by would visibly recoil when they realised we were homeless. One woman called me a tramp.”
Finally, in summer 2014, the couple were lucky enough to meet a generous woman in a café. They told her their story and, amazingly, she offered them a flat to live in. Moth is now completing a university course, while Raynor earns an income as a writer and from the book she wrote, The Salt Path, about the time they spent homeless. But while they now have a home, Raynor will never forget their time without one. “We feel so lucky now. Being homeless was very tough, you feel so vulnerable,” she says.
❛PASSERS-BY WOULD VISIBLY RECOIL WHEN THEY REALISED WE WERE HOMELESS❜
It’s a sentiment echoed by Mary Smith, 47. For the past two years, Mary and her three sons, aged 21, 19, and 18, have been living in temporary accommodation, despite Mary working full-time in a shoe shop. Mary was evicted by her private landlord after rows about maintenance in 2016. She was placed with her sons into a B&B for three months, miles away from her old home.
UNCERTAINTY
She recalls, “It was rat-infested – I once found one climbing up my curtains. I was exhausted by the stress of living in a tiny room with a bathroom shared with strangers. There were days when I simply didn’t want to wake up, and yet I still had to get through the working week.”
Fortunately, Mary was re-homed in a two-bedroom flat, where she has a room to herself and the boys share. She will be there until November, before being re-homed again. “Living with this sort of uncertainty is stressful,” she says. “I get just above the minimum wage, my eldest son can’t work due to depression, and my youngest is training to be a decorator. My middle son is a gardener but, after all my bills and food have been paid, as well as my debts, we’re left with a fiver at the end of the month. That’s not enough to save up for a deposit, I can’t see a way out and I’m desperate. People need to realise how easy it is to end up homeless.” ● Visit uk.depaulcharity.org. The Salt Path: A Memoir (£10.17, Penguin) by Raynor Winn is out now