'I've been homeless for more than 30 years - I've lost 6 friends in a year'

Gary Birdsall was sitting down in London's famous Tottenham Court Road with his possessions ahead of another night on the street. The 51-year-old says he has been without a permanent home for 32 years.

Mr Birdsall also told MyLondon that he had lost five or six friends on the street this past year. From Bradford originally, he first became homeless when he was 16. He has lost both of his parents, but still has a brother in the north.

When asked why he came down to London, he rubbed his middle and index fingers against his thumbs and said: "Money". In the past, he has delivered the Pavement magazine and worked in door sales. Mr Birdsall has also worked in night shelters in Preston.

He said that he 'can't settle', and has slept in multiple places in London, including Tottenham Court Road and Victoria. He added that the former has become a 'hotspot' for rough sleepers in recent times.

Borough councils, including in Haringey and Camden, are 'refusing to help him', Gary claimed. "I've had permanent homes," he said, "but I just couldn't cope with it."

'I won't go to hostels, I was attacked'

But Mr Birdsall says that he could keep things together now, because he receives support from the Museum of Homelessness, where he volunteers. He also gets a bus pass and expenses paid every week.

The long-term rough sleeper added: "I've had it before, and I f***** it up. But now I'm willing to get it together. I won't go to hostels. I've been in hostels, I was attacked. I want my own flat."

Mr Birdsall described how he had slept rough in Scotland in the past, where he received more help. He said: "Camden are saying [you need] a local connection. I have no local connection to Scotland, even though I was up there. I got a right to housing anywhere in this country. [It's] b*******, isn't it?"

READ MORE: Life in one of London's biggest homeless encampments in one of the wealthiest areas

It's 'totally different' in London, Mr Birdsall said, as they 'put you up' in a B&B 'regardless' for 28 days north of the English border. "They give everybody and chance up there," he added.

"This is crazy - getting told I'm not allowed to sleep in Camden. I shouldn't be told to f*** off by Camden. It's stupid." He added: "So I moved into Victoria. I know the outreach team over there. It's [St.] Mungo's. Same as up here. And they were spot on with me.

"I've been floating about from Camden to Westminster. I'm entitled to do that. Camden told me not to sleep rough in Camden. So, what do you do? Camden's outreach is Routes off the Streets, and they're not doing their job at the end of the day. They promised me a hostel up at King's Cross. They promised me a hostel about four months ago.

"I phoned them, actually, one morning. I said: 'What are you doing to help homeless people?' 'Oh, we're trying to get people indoors.' So I said: 'Why is there so many people [on the streets]?'"

'It's too dangerous round here now'

In October, Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) data suggested that rough sleeping in London hit a quarterly high. Mr Birdsall said: "It's going to get worse."

"When I was up here [Tottenham Court Road]," he added, "[other homeless people] go round nicking stuff off people. I've had phones nicked from my sleeping bag up here. I got assaulted. Somebody went in my sleeping bag when I was bedded down, they took my phone off me and my DAB radio. Went in my sleeping bag."

Gary added that people were 'nicking food' and 'kicking people', and so he thought 'it's time to move on'. Since then, he's been out in Richmond for a couple of nights.

Mr Birdsall said: "Rough sleeping is bad out there now. So, I moved to Oxford Circus, and, Monday night, I got woke up at 10 past midnight, three of them. Jacking up in front of me. What do you do? So, last night, I went back to Victoria. It was a quiet night."

"I sit here [in Tottenham Court Road] during the day, and somebody threw a load of juice [on me]. There are drinkers here during the day. [You can see] empty cans of beer. So it's too dangerous round here now."

That night he planned to go back to Victoria to sleep. "I get off at the station," Gary said "and I walk down Victoria Street, across the square and, where the cathedral is, just down. I don't get any hassle there. You should be left alone." They 'seem to have cleaned it up a bit'.

"Something's got to be done." He added: "It's dodgy. You're [sleeping] with one eye open, one eye closed."

'I’d love Sadiq to get his a*** out one night'

Gary wants to meet with the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who has promised to end rough sleeping in the capital by 2030. He said: "I'd like a meeting with him. I'd love a meeting. I'd love to get him out. I'd love to get him out."

Mr Birdsall added: "I keep hearing stories from other people that Sadiq wants to end rough sleeping. I don't think he's going to do it. I'd like to see him out on the streets. So I'm demanding he comes out to meet us."

When asked if he thought the Mayor knew the extend of the problem, Gary said: "He 'doesn't. I don't think he'd survive. I’d love Sadiq to get his a*** out one night."

Mr Khan told MyLondon after an 'emergency' round table at City Hall in October: "In London, we know there's been an increase in rough sleeping. We also know that, since 2016, we've increased by more than fourfold City Hall's rough sleeping budget. And that's enabled us to take off our streets 17,600 people sleeping rough. Those aren't just numbers, those are people who've been taken off our streets."

The Mayor added that the GLA has funded wraparound care for those with drug or alcohol dependencies or mental health problems. "I do hold the previous government responsible for a lot of these challenges," he then said, suggesting that homelessness across the country has increased since 2010 because of 'underinvestment'.

'I regularly meet rough sleepers, not just because I'm a journalist wanting to write a story'

Responding to Gary, Mr Khan said: "I've not been a rough sleeper for 30 years, as [Gary] has. I've just been speaking to Lorna [Tucker McCarvey], who has been a rough sleeper, and she reminded me that of all the people sleeping rough when she was a rough sleeper, only three have survived, because the life expectancy of rough sleepers, I think, is 39 years of age.

"They will die far sooner than journalists or politicians, so that's one of the reasons we've got an ambition to end rough sleeping by 2030." It can be done, the Mayor insisted, with the right leadership, resources and policy.

When pressed further, Mr Khan added: "I regularly meet rough sleepers, not just because I'm a journalist wanting to write a story. Because I'm a Londoner who believes in the values of being a keeper to your neighbour, not walking on the other side of the road when you see somebody suffering. But also those are the London values: helping those who, for whatever reason, may have had a difficult time."

A Camden Council spokesperson said: “Every day we work closely with our partners to help people in Camden who are sleeping rough, giving them the support they need to help them off the streets, into accommodation and towards independent living.

“This includes supporting anyone who does not have a connection with the borough to reconnect with their home area.”

MyLondon understands that Mr Birdsall is not known to any of Haringey Council's rough sleeping support teams, and there is no record of him applying for a permanent home through its housing register.

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