WSUP guest Glen shares his story of homelessness and survival.
“When my relationship broke up I had to move out and I had nowhere to go. I ended up on the streets for over a year.
“Homelessness is not a choice. When it happens you lose so much of your independence. You have no one to talk to. You have nowhere to take a shower, nowhere for those hygiene moments. The privilege to be able to relieve yourself is not there. Privacy is not there.
“The mental side of it starts to take a toll. You start to think ‘What have I done to deserve this?’ You’re not trying to blame anybody for your situation. You’re taking most of the blame for your situation and it breaks you. That’s when you realise you’re vulnerable when you’re broken. As strong as you are you’re still weak. When someone close to you makes you feel weak it’s worse than when it’s the general public.
“The mental part becomes really bad – the hunger, the depression, the fatigue. You can’t sleep. It goes on and on until you realise that you almost want to give up on life itself and being a bother to people.
“You start to see everyone as the enemy. People judge you by how you look and how you smell. When you don’t care nothing matters but when you care it hurts.
“Not being able to trust people keeps me away from socialising. I’m not able to be around people. I’m on medication. I’m trying really hard to see how far that takes me. I’m in survival mode at this time in my life. Each day is a blessing.
“I’m in temporary accommodation now. I heard about WSUP through a homeless agency. I’ve been coming for about a year. When doors closed WSUP was a door that opened. I’m comfortable here. Everybody is in the same boat so I can be with people here.
“WSUP represents giving. It’s a community. Volunteers contributing their time is one of the most precious things they can give to us. It’s valuable.
“I try to look at what I’ve gained from what I’ve lost. Survival is my thing.”