Elderly rough sleeper finds a ‘guardian angel’
IT was a wet day, with more rain on the way when Nick Smith spotted a figure sheltering outside his workplace.
He went outside, steeling himself for a confrontation.
‘‘It was a shock,’’ the Nelson man says. ‘‘I was expecting someone young, with addiction challenges.’’
Instead, he saw an older man in a blue poncho. Richard looked wet, afraid, and hopeless.
Three weeks later, the two men sit in the sunshine, recalling that night.
‘‘I was expecting a fight; he told me off,’’ Richard says.
‘‘I was more angry you were your age, out in the cold, with rain warnings coming in,’’ Nick says.
Nick went inside to talk to his team at Frank Design+Build.
‘‘I said, ‘we can’t leave the old bugger out there, he’s f ...... 70’. We looked at the weather, we all went, ‘nah’. We told him to come inside.’’
Eventually, Nick found a motel room, but had to lie, saying Richard was his uncle.
Determined to see him safely housed long-term, Nick started a
Givealittle page, which has raised almost $3000. The money will go towards a bond and other necessities involved in setting up his new life. He also needs teeth and hearing aids.
Nelson day shelter The Male Room put Richard in touch with Housing First, who are providing emergency housing support while Nick tries to find his new friend a rental.
Richard’s journey to homelessness began with a relationship break-up 25 years ago. For five years, he’s lived in a tent.
‘‘Nick’s a bit rough around the edges,’’ Richard says. ‘‘But he’s my guardian angel.’’
Nick hoped their story would prompt people to think about the rough sleeper they pass on the street.