0:00:02 > 0:00:04- Excuse me, will you buy me a burger?- In the last five years,
0:00:04 > 0:00:07the numbers of homeless people in Britain have soared.
0:00:07 > 0:00:09People think it's easy out here. But it's not.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13And the rising cost of housing means over 8 million of us
0:00:13 > 0:00:16have only enough money saved to cover one month's rent or mortgage.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18I've built so much up in my life
0:00:18 > 0:00:22and all of a sudden a run of luck just took it all away from me.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24And with support services having their budgets cut,
0:00:24 > 0:00:28life's getting tougher for those living on the street.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30- GLASS SMASHES - Where did that come from?
0:00:30 > 0:00:32And now for four famous volunteers...
0:00:32 > 0:00:35My family didn't want me to do this at all.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37..the prospect of homelessness
0:00:37 > 0:00:40is about to become a frightening reality.
0:00:40 > 0:00:41DOG BARKS, DOOR BANGS
0:00:42 > 0:00:45I don't think he understands just how tough this is.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48Whoever comes back next time, it'll be their last as well.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55In aid of Sport Relief, the four who have agreed to swap fame and
0:00:55 > 0:00:58fortune for a life on the streets are -
0:00:58 > 0:01:00TV presenter Julia Bradbury...
0:01:00 > 0:01:04I'm frightened because I think women are particularly
0:01:04 > 0:01:06vulnerable on the streets.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08Ex-snooker player Willie Thorne...
0:01:08 > 0:01:10When I see people on the streets, I think,
0:01:10 > 0:01:12"There but for the grace of God go I."
0:01:12 > 0:01:15I just want to help them if I can, cos obviously they're in a bad way.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17Comedian Nick Hancock...
0:01:17 > 0:01:19I'm used to my creature comforts, I'm used to family
0:01:19 > 0:01:21and people I can talk to.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24I'm a kind of a three-showers-a-day man.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27And TV personality Kim Woodburn.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29I'm going to meet people that are genuinely homeless.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32I'm going to meet people that don't want to work at all
0:01:32 > 0:01:34and will always be homeless and they just can get on with it
0:01:34 > 0:01:35cos I've got no time for it.
0:01:35 > 0:01:36Through their eyes,
0:01:36 > 0:01:40you'll witness the reality facing Britain's rough sleepers.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43- I hate the way people look at you. - Any spare change at all?
0:01:43 > 0:01:46If they don't give you money, you're not going to eat.
0:01:46 > 0:01:47Look! A whole new mattress.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51A world most people never see.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53- So this is where you sleep every night?- Yes.
0:01:53 > 0:01:58- I take my torch see if any rats or mouse have been through.- Hm.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01- AGITATED SHOUTING - I'm worried about this lady.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05- Will they possess the resilience... - She needs help now.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08..and strength of character to survive?
0:02:08 > 0:02:10It's Victorian, is what it is.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12It's Oliver, with different clothes.
0:02:14 > 0:02:15Or will they be overwhelmed...
0:02:15 > 0:02:19If you want to be educated in this life, do not complain.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21All right. OK, I've finished.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23I'm being talked down to by everybody.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25..by the reality of being homeless...
0:02:25 > 0:02:28You're only homeless cos you're a skag head!
0:02:28 > 0:02:29You know what...?
0:02:29 > 0:02:31..in 21st century Britain?
0:02:31 > 0:02:33See you in the morning.
0:02:33 > 0:02:38This programme contains some strong language.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42Bye-bye, Mummy! Bye-bye. Can you wave, Xanthe?
0:02:42 > 0:02:45The four volunteers are leaving behind their families.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49And they're comfortable lifestyles...
0:02:49 > 0:02:50You take care of yourself.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53..to spend a week homeless on the streets of London.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02Keeping a watchful eye on the progress will be John Bird -
0:03:02 > 0:03:05a former rough sleeper and the founder of the Big Issue magazine.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09Good afternoon, my love, Big Issue today?
0:03:09 > 0:03:13There we are - "The amazing journey of Big Issue boss John Bird.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16"Last time I was in Parliament, I was washing up in the canteen
0:03:16 > 0:03:18"and now I'm the first Lord to have slept rough."
0:03:21 > 0:03:24This experiment has to show how God-awful it is to
0:03:24 > 0:03:25be on the streets.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28And how your life changes, your character changes,
0:03:28 > 0:03:30your body changes.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33And that you become obsessed with how you get through the day.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36Sometimes, how do you get through the next few minutes.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Had a massive bowl of pasta before I left. Had a hot chocolate.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51So many emotions going through my head, I'm feeling apprehensive...
0:03:51 > 0:03:55I want to experience the truth of being on the streets.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57- Had a protein bar.- Keen.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00You know, I am a sportsman,
0:04:00 > 0:04:02the goal is to complete whatever you're doing.
0:04:02 > 0:04:03Had a fry up this morning.
0:04:03 > 0:04:04I have had a lot of adversity in my life,
0:04:04 > 0:04:07most of it self-inflicted, and this is just another challenge.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16For John, running this experience is personal.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21He has asked the volunteers to meet him
0:04:21 > 0:04:24in one of his old haunts under Waterloo train station.
0:04:29 > 0:04:34I slept in this arch when I was 15. It was absolutely terrible.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38People would try and piss on you, people would pick on you,
0:04:38 > 0:04:41you were cold, you were wet, you were lonely.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43You were pursued.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Now what we are going to do is we are going to take each
0:04:46 > 0:04:49one of you and put you in a different part of London.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51You are going to have to find a place to sleep,
0:04:51 > 0:04:53you are going to have to find a place to eat.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57John, can I just ask you... I am a terrible cynic.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01And I am rather doubtful what can be done when
0:05:01 > 0:05:05a bunch of people like us go out for a very short period of time.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09I, like you, I wasn't cynical, I was sceptical.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12And when I was asked to do this kind of stuff, I said,
0:05:12 > 0:05:15I am not going to get involved because it doesn't change anything.
0:05:15 > 0:05:16It has changed a lot.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19I have to say also, you only have to have a problem around drink,
0:05:19 > 0:05:23around drugs, around depression, around family breakdown
0:05:23 > 0:05:28and all these things, and there are a lot of people who will get caught out.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32I am here to be a person who can come along and
0:05:32 > 0:05:36when things get a bit sticky, I can swap a few words with you.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39But I am not here to do your thinking for you,
0:05:39 > 0:05:40do you understand that?
0:05:40 > 0:05:44- Yup.- Yeah.- You are totally and utterly on your own.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50- I need your phones and your wallets.- Yeah.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53The newly homeless volunteers are not allowed to stay at a hotel
0:05:53 > 0:05:56or rely on their celebrity status to aid them.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00- This is your clobber.- Thank you. - Wow.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02John has also provided them with some old clothes to help them
0:06:02 > 0:06:06blend in with the rest of London's rough sleepers.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09Those are actually nicer than the things you have got on.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11- Do you think so?- Well, I think... - If that was an option.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15I'm just saying... I'm going to take what I've got.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19My God, look at him! What a figure of a man.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21Is it nice?!
0:06:21 > 0:06:22Let me feel it.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26- Oh, my God!- Silk. - That's sexy. That is sexy!
0:06:26 > 0:06:30- Here we go, am I looking presentable?- You look quite nice.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32You don't look like you need any money.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34That's not going to help, is it?
0:06:34 > 0:06:36What makes this place special isn't just the view, it's
0:06:36 > 0:06:39this stuff under my feet.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41As a presenter of programmes like Countryfile
0:06:41 > 0:06:44and Wainwright's Walks, Julia Bradbury is used to spending
0:06:44 > 0:06:46time on her feet in the great outdoors.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51My body is emitting a hot, damp heat. I want to sit down.
0:06:53 > 0:06:54Oh, little kick, kick, kick!
0:06:54 > 0:06:56I've got children now.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59We're a really lucky family.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02I have a very cosy, comfortable life.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04And that's one of the reasons why I want to have this experience.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08It's not about feeling guilty.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10I suppose it's a bit of a wake-up call for us all.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14You can't live in a big city in this country any more
0:07:14 > 0:07:16and not encounter homelessness.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20It's on the increase and it bothers me.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24And I want to highlight it as a cause, because I actually
0:07:24 > 0:07:26think it's something we could genuinely do more about.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32So, you're all dressed up for the parts, you're looking great.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35- How are you feeling in this new uniform?- Apprehensive.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38That's the key thing. I believe it'll be zero degrees tonight.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40Hopefully I've got enough on me to be warm enough.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43I can only wish you the best and good luck.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45- Good man.- Thank you, John.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56The volunteers are on their way to their drop-off points.
0:07:58 > 0:08:00They are going into a very threatening world
0:08:00 > 0:08:04and they won't know who to trust, because the first thing that
0:08:04 > 0:08:09disappears when you fall out on the streets, is the truth.
0:08:09 > 0:08:10You go onto the streets
0:08:10 > 0:08:12and sometimes you're hiding from your family,
0:08:12 > 0:08:16you are hiding from the police, you're hiding from your past life.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19This is me, is it?
0:08:20 > 0:08:22Kim is being taken straight to
0:08:22 > 0:08:24Piccadilly Circus in the West End.
0:08:26 > 0:08:31Right. I want a bed whereby I'm seen by many people.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34That might be good, because you see under here, my loves, look.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38I have got cover if it rains, haven't I?
0:08:38 > 0:08:41I think this will do me. I think so.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44- NICK:- So, where do you think you two?
0:08:44 > 0:08:45I bet it's Knightsbridge now.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49- NICK LAUGHS - Straight outside Harrods.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53MUSIC: Snooker Loopy by Chas N' Dave
0:08:53 > 0:08:56Willie Thorne has become accustomed to life's luxuries.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58# Now old Willie Thorne, his hairs all gone
0:08:58 > 0:09:01# And his mates all take the rise
0:09:01 > 0:09:02# His opponents said "Cover up his head
0:09:02 > 0:09:04# "Cos it's shining in my eyes..." #
0:09:04 > 0:09:06I was very, very lucky to be around in the '80s
0:09:06 > 0:09:08when snooker was the number one sport.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10In a good year you could earn like a million quid.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12# It's just not fair giving off that glare
0:09:12 > 0:09:14# Perhaps I ought to chalk it... #
0:09:15 > 0:09:17But since retirement,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20Willie has lost all of the money he made during his career.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23I know that when I am walking down the street now people think,
0:09:23 > 0:09:26"Willie Thorne, he's done like five million quid gambling."
0:09:26 > 0:09:28I'm borrowing from moneylenders and things like that.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31And having problems in my life by them ringing up and saying,
0:09:31 > 0:09:35"Look, we'll come round and break your knuckles" or something if you don't kind of pay.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37And that's what really got me depressed.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41I wanted to commit suicide and came very close to doing so.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44Gambling cost him his first marriage and his house.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48And he's recently declared himself bankrupt to enable him
0:09:48 > 0:09:49to stay in his current home.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52He has lived a pampered life, really.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55He likes everything handed to him on a plate.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59He's never been in that situation or anything remotely like that
0:09:59 > 0:10:01where he's had to fend for himself.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05Willie will have to start fending for himself in Brixton,
0:10:05 > 0:10:08in south London. SIREN WAILS
0:10:08 > 0:10:10That's not a good sign, is it, seeing police cars
0:10:10 > 0:10:11race around everywhere.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13Welcome to Brixton.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16Good luck, everyone. Bye for now. Bye-bye. Bye-bye.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19Could do with a sit down, I know that.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22I like to think that a penny will drop and think,
0:10:22 > 0:10:24actually this could have happened to me.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27At the age of 61, it's about time he did actually learn, bless him.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31It doesn't take long for Willie to get a cold dose of reality.
0:10:31 > 0:10:32Say it again?
0:10:36 > 0:10:37That's what I'm trying to do myself.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40It's my first day homeless, I'm trying to get some money myself.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42That's why these people are here.
0:10:44 > 0:10:45No, no. That's what they're saying.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51All right, we need to do something.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53I need to sit down and have a think.
0:10:53 > 0:10:58Willie should be thinking of finding a place to bed down for the night.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00He's taken a seat outside the cinema.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04I am happy to sit here, you know, with the music going on.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06It's not a bad place to sit.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08But, you know, it's just a bit worrying, really.
0:11:08 > 0:11:09No.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11SIREN BLARES
0:11:16 > 0:11:18What's this, Hackney high street?
0:11:21 > 0:11:23Dalston in the East End...
0:11:26 > 0:11:29..is where Nick will start his life on the streets.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33- Good luck.- Thank you. I'm not sure I know where Dalston is.- No.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Let's go this way.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42He soon attracts some unsolicited attention.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01He's not a totally happy bunny, that chap.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06He's following me, yeah. No doubt about it.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09That's why I stopped on that corner. What are you following me for?
0:12:09 > 0:12:12It could have been any number of things.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16He might even be old enough to think he'd seen me on the television!
0:12:17 > 0:12:20- APPLAUSE - Hello and welcome to They Think It's All Over.
0:12:20 > 0:12:25'Many, many, many years ago, I used to do a sports quiz called They Think It's All Over.'
0:12:25 > 0:12:27- Gary?- "Nick Hancock is a wanker". - LAUGHTER
0:12:27 > 0:12:30'Looking back on and seeing the young person I was doing that,
0:12:30 > 0:12:32'with the lack of fear, is quite alien to me now.'
0:12:36 > 0:12:38'I live, you know, an incredibly comfortable life.
0:12:38 > 0:12:43'I have lovely children, a lovely wife, a comfortable home.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48'We were down in London one time, I think to watch a football match,
0:12:48 > 0:12:50'and a friend we hadn't seen for a couple of years,
0:12:50 > 0:12:54'he was outside Great Portland Street, begging.'
0:12:54 > 0:12:56That was a real wake-up call.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59Excuse me, mate, you haven't got a spare fag, have you?
0:12:59 > 0:13:01Thank you so much. I really appreciate that.
0:13:01 > 0:13:02Have a great evening.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07- Do you know where karaoke bar is? - Oh, I don't know, mate.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09- The sing-along...? - I don't know, mate. No.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12I have to sleep somewhere, probably down here, I'm thinking.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16- Do you think that's a good place? - Homeless people sleep on cardboard.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20- Is that... That's the trick, is it? OK.- Insulates the heat.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23So you're not right on the stone. OK, I'll go for that.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26- That's a great piece of advice. Cheers, Santa.- Take care.
0:13:26 > 0:13:27Cheers, mate.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33As Nick prepares his bed for the night...
0:13:33 > 0:13:37Julia is thinking about how she can avoid sleeping rough.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39My number one priority tonight is
0:13:39 > 0:13:42if at all possible, I would like not to sleep on the streets.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46She is being dropped in Camden Town.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49An affluent area of north London that attracts many rough sleepers.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54Don't know where I'm going.
0:13:54 > 0:13:59There are lots of people sleeping rough here.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01Ladies, hi. Hiya.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04I am doing my first night sleeping rough tonight
0:14:04 > 0:14:07and I am trying to find enough money for a hostel tonight.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10I've got no money, but if you want to sleep on the sofa with me...
0:14:10 > 0:14:14I didn't know if anybody would be kind enough to spare any change.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16Begging is illegal.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19And over 800 people are prosecuted for it every year.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23I hope that will make it a bit better.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26I would argue that I am not technically begging.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28I would say that I am talking to people and I am asking them
0:14:28 > 0:14:33for money. I hate to ask and I'm...really grateful.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37Wow! But I am not actually sitting on the street with my hands opened
0:14:37 > 0:14:40wide and technically begging, that's what I would say.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44Oh, my God, thank you so much. You are really kind. Thank you.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47Oh, you are so kind. Thank you very much. Thank you very much.
0:14:47 > 0:14:48There's a hostel down there.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53I don't know if it's down here.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05- Oh! Have you been in the Army? - Yeah, of course, my darling.
0:15:05 > 0:15:06Bloody hell. It's terrible, isn't it?
0:15:06 > 0:15:09Kim hasn't strayed more than a few yards from where she was dropped.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13And she's already started making new friends.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16How does an army man end up on the streets?
0:15:28 > 0:15:29When did you come out?
0:15:29 > 0:15:34I came out about 16 years ago. Met a girl, had kids, a normal life.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37- Then what happened? - Well, me and her split up.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39I finally got diagnosed with PTSD and bipolar.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43I got taken into hospital, I had a problem with my kidneys and lungs.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45Cos I wasn't there to re-sign the new tenancy agreement,
0:15:45 > 0:15:47cos I was in hospital,
0:15:47 > 0:15:50he chucked all my stuff out and rented my room to someone else.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53'I am sure most of these people that are in these high positions'
0:15:53 > 0:15:56have never bothered getting down and dirty
0:15:56 > 0:15:57and said, "Why are you on the street?"
0:15:57 > 0:16:00I am sure half of them could do with doing what I'm going to do,
0:16:00 > 0:16:02go and sleep in a bag beside them.
0:16:06 > 0:16:10You can't get through to a person if they're on the floor and you're standing above them.
0:16:10 > 0:16:11This is my hubby's bathroom.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15I never use a toilet brush.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19Although I say it myself, I do excel at cleaning. I know my stuff.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22I got a top paid job on telly.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25It was a major hit, made a few bob, thank you very much.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28I put my hands straight down the toilet...
0:16:28 > 0:16:30As co-host of How Clean Is Your House?
0:16:30 > 0:16:33Kim Woodburn became one of the highest-paid
0:16:33 > 0:16:34presenters on British television.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38This is my bathroom.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41But she has not forgotten her humble origins.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43I love shells.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46I slept two nights rough when I was a young girl, it was awful.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49Because you're homeless, you're not necessarily a bum.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51You can hear the sea.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57I am not going to be a do-gooder.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59There are bums. Look, I'm sorry!
0:17:01 > 0:17:04Trotting around the street with a can of beer and mucking about.
0:17:04 > 0:17:05I have no time for those people.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09But don't stigmatise them all, some of them are all right.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15How do you put up with the cold and that, my love?
0:17:15 > 0:17:19These are hand warmers, OK. Take them out of this packet, put one in.
0:17:19 > 0:17:20Ah, bless you!
0:17:20 > 0:17:22- You will need one under you as well. - Sleep on top of this.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25- What's that...?- That's brand-new, that.- You can't give me that.
0:17:25 > 0:17:26You're all right, honestly.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31Yeah, don't zip up.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33Right, and these are going on my feet later
0:17:33 > 0:17:35because I am going to freeze.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39The two lovely young men that I spoke to, gave me this.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42He said you have to have a sleeping bag on the ground
0:17:42 > 0:17:44because the cold comes through.
0:17:44 > 0:17:45Right.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49If you find steak, eggs and chips on your travels, don't forget me
0:17:49 > 0:17:51lying here, starving.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05Willie has managed to get some money,
0:18:05 > 0:18:08but is still looking for a place to sleep.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12Where would I go now, cos I don't fancy sleeping on the streets?
0:18:12 > 0:18:13Come here, Emma, listen to this man.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16I'm going to sleep rough week, I don't know what to do,
0:18:16 > 0:18:18I don't know where to sleep tonight.
0:18:18 > 0:18:19Out here it's not easy.
0:18:19 > 0:18:24- People think it's easy out here, but it's not.- I'm telling you.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27Imagine doing it voluntarily. Hello! Not me.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33The best place I would say is in the church.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35- When I came here, I was... - GLASS SMASHES
0:18:38 > 0:18:40Where did that come from?
0:18:40 > 0:18:43This is the worst area you could have come to.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46MAN SINGS
0:18:46 > 0:18:49He lives in hospital.
0:18:49 > 0:18:50Adam, stop being stupid!
0:18:50 > 0:18:52- You take care, nice meeting you.- Bye.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55From what she's telling me, you know, it is
0:18:55 > 0:18:58a bit dangerous around here, to sleep on the streets.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02So I've got to be honest, I'm a bit reluctant to do so.
0:19:02 > 0:19:07I can't believe how the temperature's dropped from what it was when we first came down.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17So they have decided they are not going for a hostel tonight.
0:19:17 > 0:19:18Maybe the hostels are full.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20Or perhaps there is another reason.
0:19:24 > 0:19:25OK.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29All right, thank you.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32The hostel owner has suggested Julia try his friend's
0:19:32 > 0:19:33place down the road.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37Hi, your friend sent me from around the corner.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39He said that you might have a bed for me for tonight?
0:19:39 > 0:19:42If I've got money but no ID, that's fine?
0:19:44 > 0:19:47OK, same thing, no ID. So no ID, no bed.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51Being homeless is, even if you have the resources...
0:19:51 > 0:19:52SIRENS WAIL
0:19:52 > 0:19:54..if you don't have an identity, then...
0:19:59 > 0:20:02..you, you cannot go and stay anywhere.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06But that's what, I suppose being homeless is all about, is you're
0:20:06 > 0:20:11stripped of every asset that you have and your identity is an asset.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14Should have taken up the guy with the sofa.
0:20:21 > 0:20:22Here's my shelter.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26I think the church steps are calling.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28My mind is whirring.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32God knows how I am going to fit in this. Made for dwarves!
0:20:32 > 0:20:35I can't imagine that you would ever sleep easy.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37It's a tough way to live.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40I think the life expectancy of homeless people is 47.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42Less for women.
0:20:49 > 0:20:50This is too uncomfortable.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54Seems to be loads of police cars, ambulances, fire engines going by.
0:20:54 > 0:20:55It is a tough place.
0:20:55 > 0:21:00I don't know how they do it, and I've only been here ten hours or something, whatever it is.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12Hard on this floor, I'm telling you. I haven't slept.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16My God, what a terrible life for people.
0:21:16 > 0:21:21And the people I have spoken to so far, very nice people.
0:21:23 > 0:21:24Kim's not the only one who's up and about.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28She's been approached by an 18-year-old girl
0:21:28 > 0:21:29who's been on the streets for a year.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34- Are you homeless, seriously? - I swear down, I am.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36- Got into gangs and everything. - Oh, did ya?
0:21:36 > 0:21:39Messed it all up and I regretted it
0:21:39 > 0:21:41and lost both of my kids as well.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43- Your kids?!- Yeah.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45I think you're telling porkies.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49- How many kids have you got?- Two.
0:21:49 > 0:21:50- And how old are you?- 18.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53Well, you did mess things up, didn't you?
0:21:55 > 0:21:57Nothing you can't put right.
0:21:57 > 0:22:02All right, so are you happy at 18 to live with your boyfriend on the streets?
0:22:02 > 0:22:04I don't like being on the streets, no.
0:22:04 > 0:22:05All right, what about mum and dad?
0:22:05 > 0:22:07Love and hate relationship between me and my mum.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11We do talk and that, she does want me back, but it is just me.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13It's a little bit hard.
0:22:13 > 0:22:18But listen, my love, there's no future, you living on a street.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21I couldn't go back home, I had a terrible mother.
0:22:21 > 0:22:22She hated me.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25All I got week after week was, "You ugly little cow."
0:22:25 > 0:22:28And she punished me for that and beat the hell out of me.
0:22:28 > 0:22:33- And I left home. Call your mum. - I definitely will do it.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36I have got some coins here.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39Kim was given some money by a passer-by earlier in the evening.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44- Is that 60?- Yeah. I will put that in the phone box.- Go on.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48What I don't understand about that girl is that she has come up
0:22:48 > 0:22:50and said, "I've got a mum."
0:22:50 > 0:22:52What is she doing here?!
0:22:57 > 0:22:59SIREN WAILS
0:23:06 > 0:23:09Oh! I've been better.
0:23:11 > 0:23:12I don't think I slept.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17You can feel the cold of the concrete through the cardboard.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21I have just had a few hours at this and you can see just how done in
0:23:21 > 0:23:23and run down you get by all of this.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29Ooh! Can I use your bathroom?
0:23:30 > 0:23:32Thank goodness there isn't a mirror in here!
0:23:44 > 0:23:48- I actually am quite hungry now.- All right, mate, what are you filming?
0:23:48 > 0:23:50We're doing a thing about living on the street.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53- OK, if I was to give you a fiver. - Really?- Yeah, go on.- Are you sure?
0:23:53 > 0:23:55- Go and have a cup of tea.- Good man.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57But a fiver doesn't go very far.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02Bacon roll, £2.50. I don't think that's great.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04Cheese omelette with two Ls,
0:24:04 > 0:24:06omelette doesn't have two Ls, does it?
0:24:06 > 0:24:09I haven't lost all my standards, I won't ever eat at somewhere that
0:24:09 > 0:24:11spells omelette with two Ls it's just a thing I have(!)
0:24:15 > 0:24:17This is a pain now.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23Nick is heading into the city.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27And now we're seeing more and more people.
0:24:27 > 0:24:28Excuse me, mate.
0:24:28 > 0:24:33- Do you know anywhere where I can get anything to eat?- Eat?- Yeah.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36Usually a lot of people give away chicken and rice from around the corner.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39- Down here?- Yeah.- And how long have you been around here?
0:24:39 > 0:24:42I've been here now for three weeks.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45I was at King's Cross, but they said they would give me
0:24:45 > 0:24:47an ASBO, I can't sit round there no more.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51Can you see any way that you won't be on the street in a year's time?
0:24:52 > 0:24:54I don't know, really.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57Not unless I get a substantial amount of money given to me
0:24:57 > 0:24:59so I can put a deposit down on somewhere to rent.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03- Is that what you would like to do? - Yeah.- Yeah.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07- Thanks for talking to me, mate. Good man.- Cheers.- Cheers.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09Do you know what, I am such an ignorant bugger,
0:25:09 > 0:25:12- I've chatted to you and I never even asked you your name.- I'm James.
0:25:12 > 0:25:13James, I'm Nick. Good to see you, mate.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16That's terrible of me, I'm so sorry about that.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18- It's OK, quite a few people do it.- I know.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21- But it's not right, is it? - It's all right, mate.- Thanks, James.
0:25:27 > 0:25:33When James says he'd like to save up enough for a deposit on a flat,
0:25:33 > 0:25:37then my instinct is to say, that's not going to happen, James.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40It just felt like one of those lies that people tell themselves
0:25:40 > 0:25:43to make things bearable.
0:25:43 > 0:25:48If he isn't thinking that something can really change,
0:25:48 > 0:25:50what is there to think?
0:25:59 > 0:26:01So far, all of the volunteers have managed to get
0:26:01 > 0:26:03money from the public.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05Birds. Ah-ah!
0:26:05 > 0:26:11But for Kim, this only seems to deepen her sense of degradation.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13I am a bit depressed, actually. I am a bit fed up.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18You sit there watching the traffic go by and everybody looks at you
0:26:18 > 0:26:20and you can see what they are thinking.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22Don't they know anyone can be homeless?
0:26:22 > 0:26:24Are they so confident they're always going to have a home
0:26:24 > 0:26:26and a hubby and a wife.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29My love, it crashes around you.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32When they'd walk past me, I thought,
0:26:32 > 0:26:35"Little do you know I am famous with a few bob, you fat asses," you know.
0:26:38 > 0:26:39To eke out his money,
0:26:39 > 0:26:43Willie has walked three miles to the Ace of Clubs,
0:26:43 > 0:26:45a day centre for the homeless in Clapham...
0:26:46 > 0:26:49- Veg?- No, thank you.- ..where he can get lunch for a pound.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55- How did this happen?- Gambling.- Ah!
0:26:55 > 0:26:58It's a bit of a shock to the system, isn't it, when you first
0:26:58 > 0:27:01go on the street, I have never been on the street before, you know.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04After an anxious first night,
0:27:04 > 0:27:06he is hoping to find somewhere safer to sleep.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10At night, if you are asleep, you are a target.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14I stay awake at night to try and get a kip during the day.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16It's safer during the day.
0:27:16 > 0:27:18- Are you London based? Is that where you're from?- No.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21- Originally from Coventry.- Oh, Coventry, I'm next-door, Leicester.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24They're playing Chelsea tonight, so I want to watch that game,
0:27:24 > 0:27:28- cheer me up a little bit.- I reckon they should beat them.- I hope so.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31- Don't bet.- Oh, no. I have finished betting, thank you.
0:27:33 > 0:27:35- No money for betting.- I am retired.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41I just need to catch up on a little bit of sleep. I am so tired.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43My legs are aching, my body's aching.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45I don't know if this is one of those recliners, is it?
0:27:48 > 0:27:49No.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51But, gee-whiz!
0:28:03 > 0:28:04SIREN WAILS
0:28:07 > 0:28:10Kim has gone to look for Ayisha to find out
0:28:10 > 0:28:13if she made contact with her mum.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16- What happened?- I went to the phone box, phoned my mum,
0:28:16 > 0:28:20- she'll put money into my account tomorrow.- Are you really going?
0:28:20 > 0:28:23Yeah, I am. I phoned my mum and everything.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25She said she is putting money into my account.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28- What did she say when you called her?- Nothing.
0:28:28 > 0:28:30She was happy to hear I was going home.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33What?! Your little face.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37- Good luck, darling, good luck.- Thank you.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42Do you know, I am not sure she is going to do this, you know.
0:28:42 > 0:28:44It has all fallen into place so quickly, hasn't it?
0:28:46 > 0:28:48I'd like to think that she was, but I don't know.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59Willie has managed to get a couple of hours' sleep.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04Unfortunately for him, the Ace of Clubs shuts for the night.
0:29:07 > 0:29:09Ah!
0:29:09 > 0:29:11But instead of finding a place to bed down,
0:29:11 > 0:29:13Willie has something else in mind.
0:29:15 > 0:29:18I've still got £12, I am going to sit down and have a Coke
0:29:18 > 0:29:20and watch Leicester and Chelsea.
0:29:21 > 0:29:24I've got the feeling that you're angling for a non-homeless
0:29:24 > 0:29:26night as Willie Thorne.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29I mean, obviously it would be nice just to sit in a chair for a couple
0:29:29 > 0:29:32of hours, have a Coke and a packet of crisps and watch the match.
0:29:36 > 0:29:38Girls? I'm really sorry to bother you.
0:29:38 > 0:29:42- I'm afraid I don't actually have any cash on me.- All right.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46Well, thank you very much anyway. Thanks for listening.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49This feels so wrong. You just feel bad asking for money.
0:29:49 > 0:29:53It's all about your conviction and I don't have the conviction tonight.
0:29:53 > 0:29:55Why on earth am I doing this?
0:29:55 > 0:29:57And I'm completely knackered.
0:29:57 > 0:29:59I'm upset to be broken so quickly.
0:29:59 > 0:30:03I am not looking forward to lying down on a concrete floor again, I have to say.
0:30:09 > 0:30:11KIM WHISTLES TO HERSELF
0:30:11 > 0:30:15Whistling. # It's hard life... #
0:30:15 > 0:30:17SHE HUMS REST OF THE MELODY
0:30:17 > 0:30:18- # It's a hard life.- #
0:30:21 > 0:30:24And with a spell of rain on the way, it's about to get harder.
0:30:24 > 0:30:26Bunk beds!
0:30:26 > 0:30:31- # ..Small pleasures, who would deny us them?- Not me...! #
0:30:31 > 0:30:33Some guys over there. Competition tonight.
0:30:36 > 0:30:37Does that smell of fish?
0:30:39 > 0:30:41Go on, let's have one more.
0:30:41 > 0:30:44This is soaking. Look at this, absolutely drenched.
0:30:44 > 0:30:46It's started to come through, it's cold.
0:30:46 > 0:30:48Go on, son. Ooh!
0:30:48 > 0:30:50I'm sorry to bother you.
0:30:51 > 0:30:52# It's a fine line.... #
0:30:54 > 0:30:55There we go.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00It's all right, I just wondered if you had any change.
0:31:00 > 0:31:02English change?
0:31:04 > 0:31:08I tell you what, years from now everybody will be sleeping in something like that.
0:31:10 > 0:31:11Look. A whole new mattress.
0:31:15 > 0:31:16Top of the league.
0:31:20 > 0:31:25Well, this is a bit wet, isn't it? Let's go and have a look around.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28I have become a bag lady!
0:31:28 > 0:31:29Supper!
0:31:38 > 0:31:40I am not in the right place, am I?
0:31:41 > 0:31:43Well, I'm damned.
0:31:43 > 0:31:45I don't know where I am.
0:31:47 > 0:31:51Kim's not the only one struggling to find her bearings.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54After spending three hours in the pub, Willie is cold,
0:31:54 > 0:31:57wet and in need of a place to sleep.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59I'm pretty tired now, to be perfectly honest.
0:31:59 > 0:32:01I don't know whether to go this way or that way,
0:32:01 > 0:32:03I don't know kind of the best way to go.
0:32:05 > 0:32:06Maybe this way.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09I am just going to go and have a look at this church and see if there
0:32:09 > 0:32:13is any spaces round there I can get somewhere in the dry, you know.
0:32:14 > 0:32:17The dry has already been taken.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20There's five people round there and, er, there's
0:32:20 > 0:32:23a few people with drinks and things.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26So I am not going to feel safe staying there.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29So we need to move on somewhere else.
0:32:29 > 0:32:31I think there is a little church somewhere,
0:32:31 > 0:32:32but I don't know exactly where it is.
0:32:32 > 0:32:34Right, where are we going?
0:32:34 > 0:32:36That's information you need to find out before you...
0:32:36 > 0:32:40Well, I'm not in the mood to be fucked about while it's raining,
0:32:40 > 0:32:44so...either get on a bus and we go back to where I was going, or we find it.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47I haven't got a phone or anything and this time of night, I don't
0:32:47 > 0:32:49want to be asking people.
0:32:49 > 0:32:50I don't even know what the church is called.
0:32:55 > 0:32:58This is not a fucking game, you don't take the piss.
0:32:58 > 0:32:59Well, we're not.
0:32:59 > 0:33:01Well, you are now.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04Excuse me, is Brixton this way?
0:33:04 > 0:33:05OK, thank you.
0:33:08 > 0:33:12Willie has returned to the same noisy church steps that he
0:33:12 > 0:33:14failed to sleep on last night.
0:33:16 > 0:33:17Talk to me in the morning.
0:33:17 > 0:33:19I am too old and long in the tooth to be fucked about.
0:33:29 > 0:33:33And Nick has returned to the alleyway he slept in yesterday...
0:33:34 > 0:33:35Excuse me?!
0:33:35 > 0:33:37..but this time has company.
0:33:39 > 0:33:41A little bit more lively tonight.
0:33:44 > 0:33:48- Excuse me. - SIREN WAILS, WOMAN SHOUTS
0:33:49 > 0:33:50I'm worried about this lady.
0:33:50 > 0:33:54I have met a lot of people who need help, but she needs help now.
0:33:54 > 0:33:58- Ooh!- My first instinct is to try
0:33:58 > 0:34:00and get through tonight which is terrible.
0:34:01 > 0:34:03You know, where's the milk of human kindness in that?
0:34:06 > 0:34:10Maybe that's just a coward's way out.
0:34:11 > 0:34:12SHE SHOUTS
0:34:27 > 0:34:29SIRENS CONTINUE BLARING
0:34:33 > 0:34:36I can't believe how much activity there is at night.
0:34:36 > 0:34:40And also I had my first witness of two people smoking crack cocaine,
0:34:40 > 0:34:42which I had never seen before.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48You have do this to know what it's like.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51Like I have said so many times, "how sad to be homeless."
0:34:51 > 0:34:53But I didn't know just how sad
0:34:53 > 0:34:57because I am just about in the biggest mess I've ever been in.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04Last night I found this just here.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07A little bangle with "faith" written on it.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13I'm not sure if there's a time limit on this day care centre,
0:35:13 > 0:35:15I don't know if you have to be there for a certain time.
0:35:15 > 0:35:17I might be a bit late, but let's see.
0:35:18 > 0:35:21Julia is heading to a day centre in Camden.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25She's hoping to get a shower and some hot food.
0:35:25 > 0:35:26Hi, there. Hello.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34It's not a spa, but I'll take it.
0:35:34 > 0:35:35Bye.
0:35:41 > 0:35:42How are you doing?
0:35:44 > 0:35:45- Cool!- Sorry, did I interrupt?
0:35:45 > 0:35:48No, it's all right. No, come. How are you doing.
0:35:48 > 0:35:53- Nice to meet you. How are you doing? - Fine.- Sit down. What are you up to?
0:35:58 > 0:36:00Three days?
0:36:00 > 0:36:03So you've then sleeping rough up till then?
0:36:03 > 0:36:06- I'm a binge drinker. I don't really drink, I get hammered every now and again.- Right.
0:36:06 > 0:36:08Drugs - I've done every drug there is.
0:36:08 > 0:36:10At the moment I am addicted to Spice, a legal high.
0:36:10 > 0:36:12Most of the homeless people are.
0:36:12 > 0:36:14It's ruining us.
0:36:14 > 0:36:15What is it?
0:36:15 > 0:36:16It's synthetic cannabis.
0:36:16 > 0:36:20You seem in control, to me, now. And it all seems pretty good.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23Are you having a good moment in the day, or...?
0:36:23 > 0:36:26- I've met Julia Bradbury, I'm buzzing! - SHE LAUGHS
0:36:26 > 0:36:28I used to have rows with my cellmate in prison.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31He'd want to watch EastEnders. I'd say, "No." Or Coronation Street.
0:36:31 > 0:36:35I'd say, "No, I said I'm watching Countryfile. Honestly, I'm watching Countryfile." I loved it.
0:36:35 > 0:36:39Well, I'm pleased, I was in your cell with you, keeping you company.
0:36:41 > 0:36:44I have something called DSPD, it's Dangerous Severe Personality Disorder.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47- There's two of me.- Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is the good one.
0:36:47 > 0:36:49I'm quite happy with the good one.
0:36:49 > 0:36:51I'm a bit frightened about the bad one.
0:36:54 > 0:36:59Stephen has spent ten of the last 12 years in prison, for robbery and GBH.
0:36:59 > 0:37:03He's offered to show Julia around for the afternoon.
0:37:06 > 0:37:09Before going to his favourite begging spot in Holborn...
0:37:09 > 0:37:13- Ah, so tools of the trade. - ..he changes into a scruffier coat.
0:37:14 > 0:37:16This one is ripped. It's messed up.
0:37:17 > 0:37:20- Look at you.- I'm sorry, but you have to survive, innit?
0:37:20 > 0:37:21You've got to survive, yeah.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29Hello mate, got a spare cigarette, please?
0:37:32 > 0:37:34- Oh, no, oh, no, oh, no. - What, what, what?
0:37:34 > 0:37:37- Hello!- Hi, how are you doing?
0:37:37 > 0:37:42Stephen is known to the local street wardens who regularly move him on.
0:37:42 > 0:37:44What are you begging for now?
0:37:44 > 0:37:46Cos you've got a bed and you've got food.
0:37:46 > 0:37:48Since I have moved into that house,
0:37:48 > 0:37:50I have only begged a couple of times.
0:37:50 > 0:37:52I feel guilty cos I have got a sign that says I am homeless
0:37:52 > 0:37:54and I am not any more.
0:37:54 > 0:37:56But I am still not receiving benefits, so I need ...
0:37:56 > 0:38:01- Yeah, I understand why you need... - Cigarettes and Spice.
0:38:01 > 0:38:03The legal high, Spice, is highly addictive
0:38:03 > 0:38:06and has taken hold across the homeless community.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10Any spare change?
0:38:10 > 0:38:12Any spare change at all?
0:38:14 > 0:38:17The frightening thing is not seeing something you don't recognise,
0:38:17 > 0:38:20the frightening thing is seeing something you do recognise!
0:38:20 > 0:38:25Last night there was a woman who was clearly mentally ill in Dalston
0:38:25 > 0:38:28and I can think of nights I might have looked a bit like that.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31If that's part of a pattern, probably too far.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39I think, you know... I think I have issues with alcohol
0:38:39 > 0:38:43and it's something I would like to sort out.
0:38:43 > 0:38:44It's been...
0:38:44 > 0:38:46I come from a generation where it's
0:38:46 > 0:38:51so central to nearly everything that I have ever done.
0:38:51 > 0:38:52I mean from the age of 14.
0:38:52 > 0:38:54If I look at myself I think, you know...
0:38:55 > 0:38:59This is, there is...too much going on, you know.
0:38:59 > 0:39:02And, you know, and a bit bored of it.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05That's enough exegesis!
0:39:15 > 0:39:17After a second sleepless night,
0:39:17 > 0:39:20Willie has returned to the Ace of Clubs in Clapham.
0:39:21 > 0:39:23I can't tell you how much I'm struggling at the minute.
0:39:23 > 0:39:25I know that if I have another night like this,
0:39:25 > 0:39:29I might not last the trip. So it's a must that I get some sleep tonight.
0:39:29 > 0:39:31Because I don't want to quit.
0:39:31 > 0:39:33Oooh. Oh, dear.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38His struggles have not gone unnoticed by the staff.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41- I'm Steps.- Nice to see you.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44- You have been invited to sleep where I sleep tonight.- Where is that?
0:39:44 > 0:39:47- At the church. - It's dry there, is it?- It's dry.
0:39:47 > 0:39:49Depends on the direction of the wind.
0:39:49 > 0:39:50So let's walk.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57Steps is 58 and has been sleeping rough for the last five months.
0:39:59 > 0:40:02The staff at the Ace of Clubs know him well
0:40:02 > 0:40:04and often ask him to look out for inexperienced
0:40:04 > 0:40:05rough sleepers like Willie.
0:40:07 > 0:40:09The church is over here.
0:40:09 > 0:40:12He plans to go to the church that Willie felt was too risky to
0:40:12 > 0:40:13stay at the night before.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19We looked at that last night and there was, people who were
0:40:19 > 0:40:23sleeping out last night who seemed to be a bit drunk.
0:40:23 > 0:40:24Is that going to be the case tonight?
0:40:24 > 0:40:27That's always the case, but that's what's to be expected.
0:40:27 > 0:40:31When I get there, I want to go to sleep. Whether or not that's going to be the case or not...
0:40:33 > 0:40:35Listen, whatever happens, Steps,
0:40:35 > 0:40:37I'll mosey over there at nine, ten o'clock.
0:40:37 > 0:40:40Thanks, Steps, thank you.
0:40:40 > 0:40:41I don't know what he's planning,
0:40:41 > 0:40:43but he's trying to escape from the reality of it all.
0:40:48 > 0:40:50I went to that place last night.
0:40:50 > 0:40:52And there were fucking alcoholics everywhere.
0:40:52 > 0:40:54You know, I don't feel safe there.
0:41:00 > 0:41:02SIRENS BLARE
0:41:02 > 0:41:04Yeah, but Dave...
0:41:04 > 0:41:06You know, I'm doing this because I wanted to do it.
0:41:06 > 0:41:08But you are not helping at the minute, you know.
0:41:08 > 0:41:10You are not helping at the minute.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13Don't look at me done out, Dave, or else I will fuck off!
0:41:13 > 0:41:20Leave it with me, I'll be fine. I'll be on the street, don't worry.
0:41:23 > 0:41:27- You might have to wait in reception for five minutes.- Yup. That's all right.
0:41:27 > 0:41:30Stephen has invited Julia back to his room,
0:41:30 > 0:41:32in a hostel for the homeless in Camden.
0:41:34 > 0:41:38- This is the humble abode.- Yeah. That's a nice size, isn't it?
0:41:38 > 0:41:39Oh, there is a bed.
0:41:39 > 0:41:43- Is it comfortable? - No, it's too soft!
0:41:45 > 0:41:47Ooh!
0:41:49 > 0:41:53So you've been sleeping rough since May.
0:41:53 > 0:41:54It all happened really quickly.
0:41:54 > 0:41:58They assessed that my needs were higher than some people,
0:41:58 > 0:42:00so they put me in here, which is good.
0:42:00 > 0:42:04What have you agreed to do to keep the room?
0:42:04 > 0:42:06I've agreed to sort my shit out.
0:42:09 > 0:42:11I'm in Camden, it's Spice town.
0:42:12 > 0:42:16The biggest obstacle facing Stephen now is his addiction to Spice.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22Previously, his mother has helped him to go cold turkey.
0:42:22 > 0:42:25She won't do it again though, that's the thing.
0:42:25 > 0:42:28But you've got a really good moment now to speak to your mum,
0:42:28 > 0:42:32because you've done this and you say, "Look, I just don't want to fuck this up.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35"I need you to do... This is what I need to do and this is what I want to do.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38"Please help me one last time because this is what's at stake."
0:42:38 > 0:42:40I'll talk to her if you want.
0:42:49 > 0:42:51Kim is looking for Ayisha again.
0:42:53 > 0:42:54Where's our little girl?
0:42:56 > 0:42:57Ayisha's called her mum,
0:42:57 > 0:43:00but doesn't feel comfortable living with her at this time.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04She's still sleeping rough on the streets.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07I said you told pork pies.
0:43:07 > 0:43:10Some people are a waste of my time and space
0:43:10 > 0:43:13and will be on the streets forever, because you can't be bothered.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16You're a disgrace, what you're doing to your mother.
0:43:16 > 0:43:20And I hope she never forgives you because you're a little horror!
0:43:20 > 0:43:21Bloody swines!
0:43:23 > 0:43:27She said she loved her mum dearly. Her mum adored her.
0:43:27 > 0:43:29And her mum would have back tomorrow.
0:43:30 > 0:43:35What did I do, I said, "Go on, go on - do it now." Oh!
0:43:35 > 0:43:38It's just a pack of lies.
0:43:38 > 0:43:42- Oh, my God. Thanks, my love. - All right.
0:43:42 > 0:43:43Oh, you little tinker!
0:43:43 > 0:43:45Do you see what I am saying?
0:43:45 > 0:43:47They are in a predicament, but they are lovely.
0:43:47 > 0:43:49Heck of a lot different to that girl.
0:43:53 > 0:43:56All right. Who put in danger here? She did.
0:43:57 > 0:43:59What, are you God?
0:43:59 > 0:44:02You won't change her. She's a wild one.
0:44:02 > 0:44:05You'll always think, "Why did you turn out like this?
0:44:05 > 0:44:08"We love you, we love you now. You can't live with us.
0:44:09 > 0:44:10"You're killing us."
0:44:10 > 0:44:12And many a parent's said that.
0:44:14 > 0:44:17It's the same as... You know what's so strange to imagine, when you get divorced.
0:44:17 > 0:44:21You meet a person, OK. And it's a wonderful courtship.
0:44:21 > 0:44:26And within a year, you stand in a court room...
0:44:26 > 0:44:29and that man doesn't even look at you.
0:44:29 > 0:44:31He doesn't look at you.
0:44:32 > 0:44:36And his girlfriend's waiting outside who's half your age.
0:44:38 > 0:44:41And you think of all the times you had together with him.
0:44:41 > 0:44:45It annihilates you. I can't do that. I can't do that.
0:44:45 > 0:44:47I can't let anybody do that to me.
0:44:47 > 0:44:49It's the same with a child.
0:44:53 > 0:44:54Oh, absolutely. I was a broken woman.
0:45:06 > 0:45:09We're waiting for Willie, who is down at the McDonald's,
0:45:09 > 0:45:13to come down so we can find out what his beef is.
0:45:14 > 0:45:15For the past two hours,
0:45:15 > 0:45:18Willie has been threatening to pull out and go home.
0:45:19 > 0:45:23When you're down, when you're tired, you want to find somebody to blame.
0:45:23 > 0:45:26Defining yourself by the failures of others
0:45:26 > 0:45:28is quite a neat little trick.
0:45:28 > 0:45:31The unfortunate thing is it never takes you anywhere,
0:45:31 > 0:45:35it never gets you to look at who you are, what you're going through
0:45:35 > 0:45:36and what you need to do.
0:45:39 > 0:45:42I said, from the very beginning, this is going to be really,
0:45:42 > 0:45:45really difficult and uncomfortable.
0:45:45 > 0:45:48- I just need a little bit of time off.- What is time off for you?
0:45:48 > 0:45:51I don't know. I mean just somewhere I can have a kip.
0:45:51 > 0:45:52I'm a man with no kip.
0:45:52 > 0:45:55- This guy has been trying to help him all day. Just there.- Where is he?
0:45:55 > 0:45:59- Hello there.- How are you.- How are you, yeah.- I'm one of the homeless.
0:45:59 > 0:46:01Today I have encountered him.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04I've been asked to look after him, keep them under my wing...
0:46:04 > 0:46:06That's brilliant.
0:46:06 > 0:46:08I have been sleeping under the church...
0:46:08 > 0:46:10Like I said, last night it wasn't safe, tonight it is.
0:46:10 > 0:46:14And I've had to walk three miles last night to get to Brixton...
0:46:14 > 0:46:16One of the fundamental points that you're making
0:46:16 > 0:46:18there are about, "I've had to walk three miles,"
0:46:18 > 0:46:22- I have had to walk ten, 15, 20 fucking miles... - I know what you're saying.
0:46:23 > 0:46:25No, there's nothing to say.
0:46:25 > 0:46:27You are incorrect in your speech.
0:46:27 > 0:46:29- We come from a life...- I know.
0:46:29 > 0:46:31..at home, to try and live a life of like you are.
0:46:31 > 0:46:33I come from a life of home.
0:46:33 > 0:46:36- I am 58 years old. - But you have been on the streets for a while, I've not.
0:46:36 > 0:46:37That's irrelevant!
0:46:37 > 0:46:41I've had money, I've had businesses, I've been married, I've got kids,
0:46:41 > 0:46:42I've got grandchildren.
0:46:42 > 0:46:44Let's get some substance about ourselves now.
0:46:44 > 0:46:48- OK, I finished.- Fundamentally you're missing the point, big-time.
0:46:54 > 0:46:56I don't want to do it. I don't want to do it.
0:46:56 > 0:46:57I've been talked down to by everybody.
0:46:57 > 0:47:01The only thing in his defence, I would say, is he has been totally
0:47:01 > 0:47:05and utterly blown away by this experience.
0:47:05 > 0:47:08Why am I being made out to be the bad guy here?
0:47:08 > 0:47:10Nobody's made you out to be the bad guy.
0:47:14 > 0:47:17Let me have a night off, and I'll be fine at eight o'clock in the morning.
0:47:17 > 0:47:20It would be much better if you did stay with him tonight.
0:47:20 > 0:47:24I know that, Steps, and I am very sorry.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27But you don't know what's happened. Only the last ten minutes.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30I know what's happened in the last five months of my life,
0:47:30 > 0:47:33and I've been sleeping on the streets.
0:47:33 > 0:47:35Thank you very much, thank you.
0:47:35 > 0:47:38Willie is going to get the night off that he craves.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42Willie is a person who has always, as far as I can understand,
0:47:42 > 0:47:44been surrounded by comfort.
0:47:46 > 0:47:48And if you take that person and you put them
0:47:48 > 0:47:52and you dump them on the streets, it's really difficult to bounce up.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56I'm sure I'll be all right tomorrow because my head is hurting.
0:47:56 > 0:47:59I am knackered. And I need a bath.
0:48:02 > 0:48:06My feet were swelling up, that one's not quite as swollen up as much,
0:48:06 > 0:48:08but look how that's swelled up.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11It's only a shower not a bath, but that'll be perfect.
0:48:11 > 0:48:13Think it's time you went.
0:48:16 > 0:48:20It's showers too for the volunteers who remain on the streets.
0:48:21 > 0:48:23Look, it's coming all through here.
0:48:23 > 0:48:24I wondered why it was wet.
0:48:25 > 0:48:29I'm down to a plastic bag and now it is raining all over me.
0:48:30 > 0:48:31I hate it!
0:48:33 > 0:48:37The water finds its way down and then drops in my face.
0:48:37 > 0:48:39Look how wet that is already.
0:48:39 > 0:48:40There's a bloke who's begging
0:48:40 > 0:48:43and he might be able to give me a bit of advice.
0:48:45 > 0:48:49Do you know anywhere good around here to bed down?
0:48:49 > 0:48:50I'm fine mate, how are you?
0:48:52 > 0:48:54Hello, lovely. You all right?
0:48:57 > 0:49:00- Is that a good place? - Yeah.- Are you going to be my guide?
0:49:00 > 0:49:02- I can show you.- Cheers, mate.
0:49:02 > 0:49:04- Thank you.- Come on then.- Good lad.
0:49:04 > 0:49:05Thank you.
0:49:05 > 0:49:07- It's just down over here. - Right then.
0:49:07 > 0:49:11- And in here, you can get some more cardboard.- Oh, wow.
0:49:11 > 0:49:13And it's all fresh and clean.
0:49:13 > 0:49:15I am so glad I have met you.
0:49:17 > 0:49:19Right, I'm following you.
0:49:19 > 0:49:20Oh, look at that.
0:49:20 > 0:49:23I am having a bit of a trouser malfunction.
0:49:23 > 0:49:26I'll get moved on for indecent exposure, never mind anything else.
0:49:28 > 0:49:31- How long have you been sleeping...? - On and off, seven years now.
0:49:31 > 0:49:34Wow, really? It's this that I miss.
0:49:34 > 0:49:37Having a conversation with somebody, do you know what I mean?
0:49:37 > 0:49:40- This is what I call home. - Oh, right. This is great.
0:49:42 > 0:49:44You are a wonderful, wonderful person.
0:49:44 > 0:49:46Do you want a drink? I've got orange juice.
0:49:46 > 0:49:49I've got some water. That's one thing I have been lucky about...
0:49:51 > 0:49:53I'll be back in a bit, don't worry, I'll be back.
0:49:53 > 0:49:54- Thank you.- All right, see you soon.
0:49:54 > 0:49:57- See you, lovely.- Bye!
0:49:57 > 0:49:59Oh, my word!
0:49:59 > 0:50:01Oh!
0:50:01 > 0:50:02Just...
0:50:05 > 0:50:09She'd never met me before and she just... Giving, you know,
0:50:09 > 0:50:13full of advice,
0:50:13 > 0:50:15comfort.
0:50:15 > 0:50:19And you know, I really want to, one, sleep and two, have a good
0:50:19 > 0:50:23chat with them tomorrow if you know they feel able and happy to do it.
0:50:44 > 0:50:47He's been really incredible, he's been really helpful,
0:50:47 > 0:50:50he's been very open as well. All right, thank you.
0:50:50 > 0:50:53Julia has convinced Stephen to call his mum again.
0:50:53 > 0:50:57And ask if she will help them to break his Spice addiction.
0:50:58 > 0:51:02I think we might have to book a weekend in a Holiday Inn somewhere,
0:51:02 > 0:51:06just for three days so I can knock me on the Spice. Yeah, I promise.
0:51:07 > 0:51:08All right. Thanks.
0:51:10 > 0:51:12All right, love you loads.
0:51:12 > 0:51:15All right, thank you very much.
0:51:15 > 0:51:17All right, love you. Bye.
0:51:17 > 0:51:18Bye-bye.
0:51:18 > 0:51:21Right, she's going to do it as well.
0:51:21 > 0:51:23- Of course she is.- Jeez!
0:51:30 > 0:51:33- Faith.- I think maybe now is the handover time, actually.
0:51:33 > 0:51:37- It's a bit girlie, though, isn't it? - It's all right, it's not girlie.
0:51:37 > 0:51:39Come on. There you go. That's it.
0:51:44 > 0:51:46- It is wet, Julia. - I know. Right, I'm coming down.
0:51:50 > 0:51:54- Where did you get the carpet from? - A skip.- A skip?
0:51:54 > 0:51:55The first bits are wet, so...
0:51:55 > 0:51:58Not that bit. It's quite a good carpet.
0:52:00 > 0:52:03Stephen has gone to find some extra cardboard.
0:52:04 > 0:52:07It's been really amazing meeting him.
0:52:07 > 0:52:09In one way he's been given this golden ticket
0:52:09 > 0:52:11cos he has got a really good room in a very good hostel.
0:52:11 > 0:52:16But I'm a mother and if he was my son, I would be distraught because
0:52:16 > 0:52:20there is no polite way of saying this, I am sorry, he has fucked up.
0:52:22 > 0:52:25Yeah, I think she is helping me more than she knows.
0:52:25 > 0:52:30For one, I would not have asked my mum to help me get off the Spice again.
0:52:30 > 0:52:33She seems very caring. She's got a mothering instinct, definitely.
0:52:33 > 0:52:35But this is his fight, this is his battle
0:52:35 > 0:52:37and it's his family's situation.
0:52:39 > 0:52:41My knight in shining armour, look at that.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47- So, has it been a good day today? - Been a brilliant day.
0:52:47 > 0:52:48Very constructive.
0:52:48 > 0:52:50I smoked the least amount of Spice I've smoked for months.
0:52:52 > 0:52:54There's a lot of thinking time when you're homeless.
0:52:54 > 0:52:56A lot of thinking time.
0:53:11 > 0:53:13Let me get myself dressed.
0:53:17 > 0:53:20Before heading off, Nick wants to find out a bit more about how
0:53:20 > 0:53:22Becky and Sam ended up on the streets.
0:53:24 > 0:53:28I was in care, got moved around a lot.
0:53:28 > 0:53:31I met Sam and that and then I thought, obviously
0:53:31 > 0:53:33when you hit 18, they're meant to find you a flat
0:53:33 > 0:53:36and they said basically they'd help me but they wouldn't help Sam.
0:53:36 > 0:53:41When you sort of set off, what were you imagining you were going to?
0:53:41 > 0:53:46Didn't know. We just thought any life must be better than what we had. So...
0:53:46 > 0:53:49- Sorry...- So you went off.
0:53:49 > 0:53:51This has been hard where we can't be together.
0:53:51 > 0:53:56Lots of times they keep on trying to break us up and it's just...
0:54:01 > 0:54:04Is that because...
0:54:04 > 0:54:06You know, there isn't...
0:54:08 > 0:54:11It's more easy for them to look after one person on their own.
0:54:11 > 0:54:14- If you want to be with Sam, this is your option.- This is it.
0:54:14 > 0:54:17We should go and find him, only because I am conscious he is
0:54:17 > 0:54:20probably waiting for us out there and it's cold and it's wet.
0:54:20 > 0:54:24- How are you?- How are you doing?
0:54:24 > 0:54:27- You really saved my bacon last night, mate.- It's cool, mate. I am glad.
0:54:27 > 0:54:30- Cheers, you look after yourself, OK? - Yeah.- See you, Hooch.
0:54:30 > 0:54:31At least you're one of these people.
0:54:31 > 0:54:34I've heard of people who've done a programme before,
0:54:34 > 0:54:37and haven't had the balls and gone in a hotel. You know?
0:54:37 > 0:54:40Oh! I'm still a little bit lame.
0:54:43 > 0:54:44Thank you very much.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49Great to meet you. Best of luck to you too, huh?
0:54:49 > 0:54:50Keep that head. Think about stuff.
0:54:55 > 0:54:58Enough. Enough tears. I'm fine.
0:54:58 > 0:55:00- See you later. Good luck.- Thank you.
0:55:00 > 0:55:02- Take care, mate. - See you, bye.- See you. Bye-bye.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05Becky and Sam are two people who have shown me
0:55:05 > 0:55:10more generosity in their own way than nearly anybody I've ever met.
0:55:10 > 0:55:13I can't think of people who have offered me
0:55:13 > 0:55:18so much of what little they have, so readily.
0:55:19 > 0:55:23I am not a man who wells up particularly easily,
0:55:23 > 0:55:26there are tears in my eyes.
0:55:26 > 0:55:32But my, my stoic-ness and Englishness is stopping them dropping out of there.
0:55:35 > 0:55:38Sport Relief money it is at work tonight all across the UK.
0:55:38 > 0:55:41It is supporting the homeless, not just to survive,
0:55:41 > 0:55:43but to get off the streets.
0:55:43 > 0:55:46Giving people like these a chance to rebuild their lives.
0:55:46 > 0:55:49You can make a real difference to people who have lost their homes.
0:55:50 > 0:55:51To make a donation...
0:56:24 > 0:56:26I came across a girl, 18.
0:56:26 > 0:56:30I said, you are a lazy little bum.
0:56:30 > 0:56:32The volunteers are halfway through the experience...
0:56:32 > 0:56:34Kim, I am going to cut you dead there.
0:56:34 > 0:56:37I believe that everybody is redeemable.
0:56:37 > 0:56:42- Piffle!- ..and John is putting each of them with a homeless buddy.
0:56:42 > 0:56:46- I've been in prison and... - What were you in prison for, if you don't mind me asking?
0:56:46 > 0:56:49- I'd rather not talk about it. - To get a deeper understanding...
0:56:49 > 0:56:53When you have to walk into this room, what do you think?
0:56:53 > 0:56:56You get a big sinking feeling in your heart.
0:56:56 > 0:56:58..of the obstacles facing Britain's homeless.
0:56:58 > 0:57:00- All right, I'll be back in a minute.- All right.
0:57:00 > 0:57:03He's a heroin addict.
0:57:03 > 0:57:05Now he's about to puke and shit his self.
0:57:05 > 0:57:08The answer isn't just housing, it isn't just money,
0:57:08 > 0:57:10it isn't just counselling.
0:57:10 > 0:57:11She's totally stubborn.
0:57:11 > 0:57:14I don't think I am like her. I think what a bloody cheek.
0:57:14 > 0:57:18And to realise just how precarious their own lives of wealth
0:57:18 > 0:57:22- and luxury...- I would go round tickety-boo, everybody thinks...
0:57:22 > 0:57:24everything's fine, but it's not.
0:57:24 > 0:57:27- ..really are. - I might do this more often. Not!