A bank worker has opened up about receiving vile abuse and attacks from strangers over seven years spent sleeping rough on the streets of London.
Pete Way, 37, now living in Harrow, said he ended up on the streets after losing his wife and job, the combination of which triggered a mental breakdown.
“Couldn’t keep up with bills and then eventually just found myself sofa hopping,” he told My London.
“After a while I had run out of favours to call in, it was then I was on the street. I was lucky that in my time I didn’t fall into the trap of drugs.”
Pete explained that he wasn’t able to get a job because he couldn’t shower or shave. His clothes were battered and he wasn’t in a fit state for any employer to offer him work.
He said that he was in a slump, mentally, so didn’t care about being homeless for the first couple of weeks.
Once he realised that he didn’t want that life, it was too late.
He describes the time as being “really difficult”, he had no close family who could help out so felt he had no other option but to make some coin for food through begging.
“I couldn’t deal with homeless hostels because of the people there,” he continued. “I would be surrounded by drug takers and mentally ill people so I actually felt more safe when I was on the street, rather than in a hostel.”
However, he spoke of some “horrific” experiences on the streets, where he was beaten up “countless times” and even attacked by another homeless man with a needle.
“I was begging in Central London and apparently was ‘in his spot’,” he explained. “He tried to jab me with it. That was probably my scariest experience on the streets.”
Pete said the soup kitchens he went to and the places that gave handouts were his “saviour”.
Thanks to the help of good samaritans Pete is now in a position to help those who are still in awful situations. He now has a stable income, helps run soup kitchens and is determined to share his story in order to help others.
And the Londoner is currently in talks with other charity workers to attempt to open their own community hub in Harrow.
Pete explained that he would try and visit a food handout or charitable kitchen once a day.
It was here he met volunteers who used to be homeless and they gave him hope that he could get out of this life he was living.
He was given a haircut for free and was allowed to use one of the showers that a kitchen provided.
He then started selling the Big Issue, which put him back on a positive track, helping him make a bit of money and pay for a few nights of accommodation each week.
“Eventually I applied to work in Tesco,” he said. “I walked in when I had just showered and had my haircut. I don’t think they knew I was homeless.
“On getting the job I was ecstatic, over the next few years I studied, found a stable place to live and actually started to enjoy life again.
“As soon as I sorted my own problems out I really wanted to share that hope with others and make sure they knew that their life didn’t have to be this way forever.”
Pete studied at college, then studied a part time accounting degree with the Open University. This helped him get an accounting apprenticeship and he now works in a bank.
He isn’t ashamed of his past and said he is proud to have made it out in one piece. He has helped thousands of other homeless people through work at several soup kitchens.
He also helps by bringing round food and hot drinks to the homeless in Harrow in his spare time, and wants to expand this into a full-blown operation.
He said: “I am working with other colleagues to put together our very own community kitchen. I hope we can have many services under one roof and help people get out of disadvantaged situations.
“I want to thank every single person that showed me kindness when on the street, gave me food and respected me. Especially those at the Big Issue who gave me a start to a better life”.
