Day 4 - Revd Tim Blewett

Ipadio Interview

BBC Radio Leicester 'Thought For The Day'

By Revd Tim Blewett

Good morning.

Last night about fifty people - that's 50 individuals - sleep rough in Leicester. It's got worse this year. Outside of London, Leicester as a city has one of the highest numbers of rough sleepers despite the work of charities and the council.

Giving people help though - and Action Homeless and others are providing emergency beds - is only part of the solution. The solution is found in valuing people.

But to value people we need to see people as individuals.

There are as many different reasons for rough sleeping, as people who sleep rough. Everyone deserves to have their story heard, to know that they matter and have something to contribute, to be encouraged to flourish.

No-one deserves to be unwanted by society - and sadly what we as a society said to those fifty individuals sleeping rough last night is that 'you don't count' - because we didn't give them hope last night. We, as a society, left them on the streets.

So what can I - or you - do to change attitudes?

To show we care?

To make a difference?

Give everyone your full attention - don't take them for granted - be interested in them - their hopes and fears, their joys and sorrows.

Encourage everyone to flourish.

This is the society we all want - it's what my faith is all about, it's what Jesus did - and don't ignore the fact that fifty individuals will be rough sleeping in Leicester tonight.

4 days and nights on the streets of Leicester

00.00 I'm here at the railway station at the start of what I’m sure will be an eventful week, probably boredom....see what happens. The station is not very exciting at night, no one here. In the waiting room there is the blast of hot air so I'm hiding in a corner, out of the way and I can see the room. Here i am going to stay until moved on.

Under the hot air flow. Was just talking with JC about valuing people. Launde Abbey is all about valuing the people that come to it. It’s there to try to care for everyone and anybody. Try and value them.  Show them God's love and show them a purpose for life.

This is my own week-long retreat for the year in every sense of the word. It will surely be transformative and it will surely challenge me. Rather nervous and not sure how it’s going to pan out.

I’ve got a bag with a sleeping bag and I'm using the sleeping bag to cover my legs and get some sleep. See what happens.

Someone wandered into the waiting room, gave me a dirty look and left! Didn’t want to come in here near me. This challenges your perception of people.

00.40am I've been asked to leave the waiting room.

The guy at the train station said, “Sorry you have to leave, I reopen at 4am if you want to come back.” I thought, "I don’t want to leave the station, it's quite warm & cosy".

Not sure I want to head into town. Try and find a quiet place out the way and out of sight.

The Mercury building says the temperature is -5 at moment. No one about. Go back to the station for 4am. Lots of shouting taking place nearby so keep moving.

01.10am - Outside the Curve. Christmas tree and bright lights look beautiful. The streets are not pleasant on your own. Although they are not scary you certainly would not choose to be here if you didn’t have to be here. Keep moving to keep warm until I find somewhere more inviting than what I’ve found so far.

The best option so far is to find a car park. There's a man working in there so wait until he finishes and then I’ll try to access a stairwell. He is still there so I'm going to look for somewhere else.

Found myself a small park on New Walk and I'm tucking myself under a tree. Try to get a few hours' sleep, out  of the wind and all very quiet.

03.30am - It’s freezing. The sleeping bag I’ve got is really old and not much use. I’m going to get up and go for a walk to warm up and head to the train station for when it reopens at 4am. There's nothing romantic about Leicester streets at 3.30 in the morning.

The Mercury clock says it's still -5, but it feels colder. There are still people moving about at this time of night.

04.00am - Back at the train station and it's beautifully warm in the waiting room. The guy was very helpful. I need sleep and it's very cold outside. It's a shame the waiting room isn't open all the time.

05.00am - I’ve taken off a few layers inside my sleeping bag (coat/scarf) so that I feel the benefit when I go outside. I can see people moving around the train station so I need to be careful. I’ve taken my boots off which is a bit risky but should be ok. Hopefully I’ll feel 100% better after some sleep.

06.00am - Just been moved on. This guy has a different approach, “You can only wait for trains in here, so get out”. I'm going to use the toilet and head off to find a cup of tea.

The same guy has just returned after a few minutes. It obviously played on his conscience and he says I can now stay here until 8am. So I can hopefully have a few more hours' sleep in the room. It should be warmer outside by then.

That situation showed me the shear powerlessness of my position. He had total power over what happened. I was at his mercy and it was a bit humbling really. It’s amazing how much power or authority people have over other people's lives.

I have none. No authority, no responsibility. Not even to decide whether I sit on a bench or move on. I’ll have to get used to that over the next few days.

Another attendant has been in and a broken pipe in the ceiling is dripping into a bucket. She totally ignored me. A passenger just gave me a strange look and  left. A look of fear really as she hurried out the door, which is sad. She looked quite scared.

07.45am - I’m going to leave before I get any hassle. The barriers come into action at 8am. I'm heading off to find a cheap cup of tea and see what the rest of the day has in store.

Funny how things work out. The guy who told me to clear off and then returned to say I can stay has just helped me by letting me out through the barriers (that are now working) so I don’t have to ask the other two people on the barriers. He checked his watch to see the time, so glad I was honest and left before when he told me.

A luxury item I brought with me was my prayer book. I’ve just said my prayers in a cafe with my cup of tea. The reading was relevant, to say the least, ‘Now is the time for you to wake from your sleep...’

I now have the whole day to try and waste to get through. It's cold and pretty miserable. People are going about their business and I’m trying to eke out my cup of tea for as long as I can. It reminds me how close you are to the edge when you have nothing or very little. The cafe waitress just dropped the saucer...crash! 

We tend to be consumers of things and have our identities made by what we own rather than by who we are. We no longer understand ourselves through relationships with other people but by what we possess. 

I wonder how we understood who we were in times gone by. We were part of a tribe or a village and had fixed relationships. Then the industrial revolution turned us into citizens of the nation state with rights and responsibilities. Now we live in a society that defines us as consumers - what we have rather than what our intrinsic value is. 

There must be another way to understand who we are and our relationship to other people and possibly even God. We need to redefine these relationships. No one should be thrown away. How do we change this way of thinking? 

I stayed in the cafe until 10.55am and went to the toilet for a quick wash and used their soap. My other luxury item is a toothbrush. If you can brush your teeth you can at least feel a bit normal. I’m now going to find my way into Highcross and see if I can keep warm by wandering in a few shops.

11.10am I’m in a department store and I'm going to people watch for a while to waste some time. When you haven't much money in your pocket and you come into a place like this you realize just how much consumerism we are driven by. People are buying things they don’t necessarily need and in order to make themselves feel better about who they are. Ultimately the sad thing is that it's all temporary. It doesn't satisfy us and we still move to the next thing to try and feel better.

I’ll have to just enjoy the warmth and not enjoy spending the money.

I’ve found a chair out of the way, hidden behind some clothes so I’ll try and sit for 10 minutes. I’m going to be so bored by the end of this week in so many ways but it's going to be difficult if I only get as much sleep as i got last night over the next few nights.

Just passed a billboard outside a newsagents. It said 'Coldest night in November!'. I don’t think I’ve really warmed up yet. I can be stubborn, so hope that helps. The cafe staff, once I'd had my tea and toast, didn’t want anything to do with me. I was left to my own thoughts, so if I go back they will just ignore me again. It was very expensive and not as cheap as I hoped it would be. They had newspapers, so I actually read stuff cover to cover that I would not normally read.

Now I’m inside, it’s time to be peeling a few layers off to feel the benefit when I go outside by putting them back on. I’ll be taking them off and putting them on all week so the weather can’t get to me.

That announcement was talking about the store supporting a charity for children. If you buy a present they will support the charity. I suppose it’s one way of getting money for charity that buys into our human nature or desire to have more. It makes sense really. It’s a shame people can’t just give whatever they can without having to get anything in return. 

I wonder if people are so willing to give to homelessness. There are lots of misconceptions about homelessness. How someone becomes homeless, why they're there, how they get off the streets and how charities and local councils help to support these people through it. Also why some people choose to remain on the streets. It’s important for all of us to understand that.

12.35 - I don’t know what I expected, but I’ve been sitting here over an hour and no one has come up to me or asked what I’m doing here. I’ve had a snooze for an half hour and got a pain in my neck. The customer service lady keeps wandering past but does not look in my direction or make eye contact. Do they see me as a possible customer? Other customers, when they get near me just go round the other side and avoid me. What does that say about me? I don’t know.

I need to think about a cardboard box for tonight so will try and find one here outside the store. It would make for a more comfortable night by keeping the sleeping bag off the ground.

I guess waiting is a full time profession for people on the streets. I suppose waiting for something or nothing. I guess mostly nothing. Certainly at the moment I’m waiting for something to happen. Nowhere to go, no one to ask, no one is going to come and find me because basically no one knows I’m here, so how can they turn up and offer help?

This evening, quite late, I’m going to attend the hospital and see if I can get out of the cold, perhaps get a cup of tea out of them and see what reaction I get as a homeless person presenting themselves late at night. Should be interesting. It’s fascinating watching people. A young family with two young children, one of them in a buggy, no more than 3 or 4 years old, looking for clothes. A young man on his mobile phone clearly having a problem with his ex girlfriend. The guy looking at the same suit for 20 minutes. Perhaps he thinks it's too expensive. The young woman having a lunch break to go shopping. 

Life goes by and everyone gets on with their lives while I sit here trying to hide and go unnoticed. Trying to be ignored and left alone but desperately waiting to be asked anything. Strange.

Walking through Highcross someone has just tried to sell me a games console. He was not impressed when I told him I had no one to buy for and was given the boot quickly after watching others gaming for 10 minutes.

Random acts of kindness. What concerns me is how I could go completely unnoticed for weeks like this with no one realizing I’m in Leicester. Imagine if I had some money coming in and was living rough I could go for weeks without being noticed. I’m on no organization's radar. If I can keep away from drink and drugs I’d not be picked up by the police or by any other agency.

I could just sit in a shop or cafe or library for hours and no one would pick me up. I’m invisible. Quite worrying. But then there are these incredible random acts of kindness which are so powerful when someone does something for you.

This morning. The guy allowing me to stay in the train station and then getting me through the barrier. Those acts of kindness are very touching. The question is why does one person do it and not another? 

It makes me think about times in my past when I showed kindness for no reason and other times when I should have and didn’t. What is driving us as human beings? When I go to the hospital I’ll pretend to have a problem with my toe and see if I can get a free cup of tea. Then I’ll head up New Walk to the park.

I wonder if, when the offices empty after the working day, anyone will notice me or like the rest of the day I’ll just be ignored.

I'm heading to a church to see if it’s open or closed. I wonder if they have any help for the homeless. I don’t know the city churches so don’t know what will happen. The clergy are spread quite thinly over a large population, so they face a challenge of how to respond to people’s needs.

Sadly I’m not surprised. The church is all locked. No contact details and no welcome sign.  

5.45pm - In the library. Lots of men in here. Some maybe rough sleeping. Everyone is sheltering from the cold. I’ve been reading a book.  Others appear to have read the same book over and over again.

I’ve heard that a group of people come in from Coalville tonight at about 7pm up near the museum on New Walk, so I will be heading up there to hopefully get some food. Interesting to see who gathers there.

Food becomes really important in this situation. I've been trying to work out by looking at food prices just how far my money will go and how long it will last. Your whole day revolves around food and it becomes really important. No going to the cupboard or popping to the shop. I can only imagine how it feels, as I know the money I have only has to get me through the period of time I’m doing this and I know how long that is.

Those sleeping rough in reality have no idea where the next bit of money will come from and how long it needs to last. It shows how much we take for granted. A world of invisible people. Toilets is another big one. This takes your life back to basics.

Simply going into a library and reading a book for an hour, takes you out of that world for a short while.

7.00pm - Lots of men and a few women waiting around on the grass near the museum on New Walk for the food kitchen to arrive. Someone is walking around giving out blankets. There are 35 people here and some have homes and others are clearly rough sleeping. I was told about the Dawn Centre and how good Leicester is compared to other cities.

I’ve got plenty of food and was told to go to the Dawn Centre for a cooked breakfast. Everyone was very polite, apologizing if they bumped you and helped with information. 

11.10pm - Heading to the hospital. It's pretty miserable so hope I get some warmth and help.

Last night was very foggy but now it's started to snow. The train station is very busy, so maybe there's a football or rugby match on. The cleaners in the waiting room have just turfed me out of the train station so decide I it’s time to try the hospital.

05.15am - the guy in the hospital let me stay from just before midnight until now. He was very kind. I went to A&E first. The nurse saw me after 15 minutes and sent me round to the GP surgery next door. After 10 minutes, the receptionist asked if I have next of kin or an address. I said no, I was sleeping rough and there was no rush to see me. There were lots of children and babies needing help so I have had about 2.5 hours sleep in the warm room and feel quite good. He brought me a glass of water and so I made a real effort to thank him for his help. The doctor looked at the rash (real) on my leg and gave me a prescription which I won’t claim. I’ll sort it when I get back to my real life. I’m heading to the train station for a bit more sleep. People can be very generous. More than you would think.

Just been into Tesco Express to read the newspaper for 30 minutes. Doors still locked at Dawn Centre. I’ve never read so many newspapers so thoroughly, from front to back, including the adverts!

7.30am - The opening doors of the Dawn Centre are a relief. There were four guys waiting outside when I got there. 35 people in total. Had muesli, tea, coffee and polished that off with a cooked breakfast. Was told if I want a bed I have to go and register at an office on the other side of Leicester. A bed is not guaranteed. I’ve decided not to do it because I don’t want to take a bed from someone who genuinely needs it. I was also given a piece of paper with all the places to get food throughout the week which is very useful. Left the Dawn Centre at 9.15am.

The only day on the list that seems a real problem for food is Saturday. I don’t want to take a bed. Perhaps there is another way without signing forms. Today will probably involve the library and museum. I feel better after the food, that's for sure. It surprises me how many people I engage in conversation, often talking about valuing people.

I was also told i can have a shower and get my clothes washed, so that's something to look forward to.

I don’t want to go back to the surgery again. I’ll have to see what else is out there.