Today I met a homeless man called Toby, who appeared to be in his early 30s; he has been sleeping rough on the streets (by the station of Tower Hill) for the past five months. He was rocking back and forth with a dirty blanket wrapped around his body, trying to keep warm. I approached him, hoping to take his mind off the weather for a few minutes and converse with him. He was open to this.
The reason why he is homeless now is due to long-term severe depression. His father is an alcoholic, his mother does not live in England. There was a deep sadness in his eyes as he made me aware that his mother got the worst of the treatment from his father. His father physically and verbally abused him on a few occasions when he was in his late teens. His traumatic past has had devastating consequences on his mental health.
He’s trying to find a way to get back on his feet and get his life back on track so he can secure a job to earn money and get out of this situation. He appreciates it when people treat him like a human being and not like he's a part of the background.
Comments
Post a Comment