Tony Whitfield
STRICTLY pro dancer Neil Jones has revealed he slept in a disused lift in the depths of a Finnish winter when he was homeless as a teenager.
The star of the hit BBC dance contest, which was won by actress Rose Ayling-ellis last weekend, said at the time he was just 16 and had been too “embarrassed” to ask for help.
And he said his mother thought he was “safe and warm” and staying with the family of his Finnish dance partner.
After completing his GCSES, Neil, 39, who is a three-time winner of the World Amateur Latin Championships with ex-wife Katya, left Hampshire and moved into the family home of his new dance partner in Finland.
However it did not work out and he ended up sofa surfing with friends while attending a dance studio in Helsinki.
He said: “It just got to the point where I could not stay on friends’ floors or couches anymore. I was on a park bench and I was thinking ‘This is freezing, I can’t stay here’, so I walked across the city to the dance studio where we would practice.
“I remember there used to be a service lift that was on the outside that might be open and luckily enough it was.”
After a week of sleeping in the abandoned lift, he confided in a close friend who put him in touch with a homeless charity that came to his rescue.
Neil said the charity took care of him at a low point in his life and ever since he has taken time to get to know those who are sleeping rough.
He said: “If I see anybody out on the street, I don’t just go up to them and go, ‘OK, here’s a bit of money’. I sit down with them and have a conversation with them, talk with them and check if they are OK, if they need anything.”
Neil said the Sunday Express’s Let’s Save Their Homes campaign was “brilliant” and also highlighted the extensive funding and support the National Lottery has provided to homelessness projects during the past decade, donating more than half a billion pounds to over 3,000 projects.
He said: “It’s important to treat people like human beings, that’s why I think it’s incredible what the National Lottery is doing. Having experienced homelessness myself, I know just how crucial that kind of support is.”
“I’m incredibly thankful to have made it through that dark period, but this Christmas I hope people will take a moment to think about those who are still experiencing such challenges.”