Becky Joyce, 45, co-founded Homeless Street Angels in Leeds with her sister. She tells Maryam Qaiser how her own experience of addiction and homelessness inspired her to start the charity.
I came from a wealthy family, which meant myself and my siblings attended private school. Their was pressure to look a certain way and I was forced to turn to slimming pills.
Soon after, I decided to leave home and I became homeless. I was taking heroin and squatting around Leeds for years until I decided enough was enough and I worked hard to get clean. I have been clean for about 15 years now and I have a family of my own.
I have always wanted to help people so my sister Shelly and I formed Homeless Street Angels in 2017 and since then it has snowballed.
Every Thursday we walk the streets of Leeds city centre and Headingley with a large group of volunteers to give rough sleepers a hot drink and hot home-cooked meals. I make something different each week - a roast dinner, vegetables or chicken curry. We hand out clothes, toiletries and a cigarette as treat for those who smoke.
We don't just find people accommodation, we provide furniture, televisions, sofas and DVDs. We help people get back on their feet, many of them don't have a job or life skills.
We are now fundraising to open a day centre called Abi House, in memory of my sister Abi who died a year ago. It will be a safe and warm place for people to go to.
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We are retracing the journey George Orwell made in his book, The Road to Wigan Pier , to share your stories of working and unemployed poverty.
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