I ended up sleeping in my car for two-and-half years
AFTER losing two loved ones, his job and his home within months, Guy turned to ‘the wrong people’ for help.
More than two years and a heart attack later, he had ulcers on his legs having been living in his car all that time, and was ‘in a really bad way’.
He told the M.E.N: “People seem to think that when it’s homelessness, it’s always drugs and alcohol, but it’s not.
“I made a couple of wrong decisions and I had a bit of a perfect storm.
“My sister and my mum died. I lost my job and my house in the space of two months. People made me promises and then reneged on them.
“I ended up in my car - just for a week, until I found somewhere to live. But one week became two weeks, two weeks became two months.”
Two months ended up becoming two-and-a-half years and Guy’s health had worryingly deteriorated. He was parked up at Sainsbury’s, where staff and shoppers had noticed something unusual about the vehicle which was constantly in the car park.
It was at that point Guy was first introduced to the team at The Town House, who had been told about the man living in his car outside Sainsbury’s. Kim Dean, a key worker at The Town House, banged on the side of Guy’s car to get his attention.
“I had problems that I’d had for a long time,” said Guy. He had suffered a heart attack, was dealing with ulcers and needed urgent attention from medics.
Guy was taken to hospital for treatment and eventually discharged – but still with no home to go to. He said: “You have to admit that you need help, but I was not ready to accept that help.”
He returned to his car and his health began to worsen again. “All the good work that had been done in hospital was being undone,” Guy said. “To be perfectly honest I was at my lowest ebb, like I couldn’t carry on, when I got the call from Kim.” The Town House had not forgotten about Guy - and Kim had found him somewhere to live.
He broke down before admitting: “I can’t say enough about this place – without them I would not be here.
“To be given that second chance is amazing. I was ready to leave. I had a dog and I had made plans for her to be taken away, I was going to jump off a bridge, it was that bad.
“They bent over backwards to get the place for me - when I moved in the paint was still wet.
“They helped me with everything, the benefits I was entitled to, healthcare that I hadn’t had for three years and just generally being there knowing that somebody cared for me.”