‘I’m not on drink or drugs, I just need a job...’ Young homeless man looking for work on streets of capital

IF YOU work in the centre of Cardiff, you may have walked past a homeless man holding a sign up asking for work.

Daniel Smith, 25, has been homeless in Cardiff for the past three weeks.

The freelance graphic designer is sat underneath the bridge off Wood Street reading his books.

Since he has been homeless in Cardiff, he claims he has been offered the drugs spice or crack around 50 times.

Growing up, Daniel lived with his parents in Newport but they got divorced and he moved to Liverpool with his mum at the age of 12.

After moving around various places in the UK, he moved back to Newport around three years ago.

He said: “I had a normal childhood but when my parents got divorced everything kind of changed.

“I studied in Liverpool and I loved it, even though I was an outcast and I was bullied. I really learnt a lot.

“I’ve always been interested in graphic design and designing games, so that’s what I’ve been doing since I finished school and for the last three years I’ve been designing my own game.

“Life has always been on the edge for me because I have no family but I’ve always managed to pull through and this time I fell short with paying my rent.”

Daniel says he was paying a landlady £90 a week to rent a room but, after an argument, she evicted him within two days.

It left him with nowhere to go and, with no-one to turn to, he came to Cardiff.

He said: “I purposely stay away from the city centre because most of the homeless people are up to no good and so many are on crack or spice – I’ve been offered it around 50 times.

“Drug dealers will come up to you and offer you the drugs, but I’ve never had a problem with drug or alcohol addiction in my life.

“That’s why I sit underneath the bridge and read my books because I’d rather do something productive with my time.”

Cardiff is very high on the list of UK towns and cities when it comes to the number of rough sleepers per 10,000 households.

Daniel said people in Cardiff have been nice to him and have shown sympathy towards him due to the sign he has by his side.

He has also been offered floor space at various hostels but says he would rather be alone where he can control who he surrounds himself with.

He added: “On Friday nights people are more generous because they’re drunk so they’ll hand me some money or a cheeseburger from McDonald’s, so that is always helpful.

“I never thought I’d be homeless and right now I’m sat wondering how my life turned out like this, but hopefully I can get back on track.

“So many people fall on hard times, but they have family to fall back on. I never had that – and that’s the difference. But I can’t wait to start working again.

“Businesses may see risks in hiring a homeless person, so I hope an entrepreneur or a small business will give me a chance.”

Daniel didn’t go to university but taught himself graphic design and software programming.

He has worked on a number of projects over the past few years.

He is open to any work and can be contacted on 0752 371 1664.