City helps homeless man targeted by arsonists
A ROUGH sleeper, who was left cowering as arsonists set fire to his ‘home,’ is on the road to recovery thanks to the city’s generosity.
Years of sleeping on the streets had left the man, who is in his 50s, weak and unable to stand or walk properly.
The Coventry Comfort Carers, an outreach project helping the city’s homeless, found him “white as a ghost” while firefighters put out the blaze and moved him to a place of safety.
The team claim that the homeless people sleeping in the city centre car park were deliberately targeted for being foreign.
Peter, whose name has been changed to protect his privacy, has been staying at a hotel and getting regular meals from the volunteers, who say his bubbly personality is finally starting to shine through again.
Following the attack, West Midlands Police said: “Police are investigating a suspected arson attack in a car park in Barracks Way, Coventry city centre, around 8.30pm on Friday (22 February).
“Bedding material believed to belong to the homeless was set alight.”
John Coote, 36, and Adam Evans, 37, are the co-founders of Coventry Comfort Carers.
With a dedicated team of volunteers, they head out onto the streets five times a week in a bid to feed, clothe and support the city’s homeless.
Despite official figures predicting numbers to be much lower, John says the team are currently aware of 47 people sleeping on Coventry’s streets - both inside and outside the city’s ring road.
It’s the highest number they have known since setting up the project six and a half years ago.
John said: “It’s rising week on week, just a few weeks ago that number was 40.
“These guys don’t know whether they are going to be attacked when they lay their head on the ground, or even if they’re going to wake up - and it’s not just due to the weather, it’s due to any number of factors that come with rough sleeping.”
The team have been overwhelmed by the support for Peter since they first posted about him on their Facebook page.
John said: “I would just like to say a big thank you to everyone around the city who have helped to keep this man at a place of safety. It took a lot of hard work to get him here but without your continued support it wouldn’t be possible.
“Thanks to everybody on our Coventry Comfort Carers Facebook page, to Inspire Field Marketing, the British Red Cross, The Greek Orthodox Church and all of my brilliant volunteer team who between us visit Peter twice daily. The difference in this man within three weeks is remarkable. I wish we could help turn around the lives of many more who face similar situations every time they lay their heads down at night with the constant fear of being attacked.”
Generous donations have kept a roof over Peter’s head for three weeks already - but Peter’s journey is far from over and the team are still trying to raise money to support him.