When Adam O’Grady, 26, got evicted from the property he was living in with his mum, he was forced to sleep on the street for months. He tells Maryam Qaiser how he overcame the struggles to get a roof over his head and find employment.
I was living with my mum in a derelict property and the rent was a lot. The house was repossessed and my mum was given a somewhere to live but because the rental agreement was under my mums name, the council didn’t find me anywhere to live. I had to sleep rough for months until I was given a flat.
Being homeless is really tough, but I kept telling myself not to give up. The council eventually found me a place to live and I now have a job as a security officer.
I did a course on the internet and that helped me. When I was sleeping rough I was a service-user at Langar Aid, I would come here for food and company, the people were really nice here.
I still come to Langar Aid House now partly as a service-user but also a volunteer. I wanted to give something back to the organisation to thank you.
I often eat here because I don’t have much money to survive on. I have to pay £360 rent and then I have to pay for my bills and council tax so there isn’t much left from my £500 wage.
Have Your Say
Tell us about the issues affecting you.
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.
They’ll appear in a regular series in the Daily Mirror newspaper and here, on our special anniversary website
