I turned my life around and now I want to do my part helping others

A man who turned his life around decided he needed to help others when he moved to Liverpool.

Johnny McCreedy, 23, is an acting student at LMA (Liverpool Music Academy). Originally from Telford in Shropshire, he moved to Liverpool in 2022 to start his course and he now lives in the city centre.

Since moving to the city, Johnny has been alarmed by the extent of Liverpool's problem with homelessness. The ECHO has reported extensively as Liverpool as a city has been going through a homelessness and housing crisis - with more and more people ending up at its sharpest end and on the streets.

Having suffered a difficult upbringing and experienced homelessness himself, Johnny said he wanted to give back to those currently struggling.

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He and a group of friends spent Sunday (May 5) distributing food to homeless people around the city centre.

Having spent over £300 of his own money on food, Johnny began at Williamson Square and moved around the city, dropping off food parcels to rough sleepers.

About the endeavour, he told the ECHO: "I've always liked to help people. In 2022, when I started at uni, I ran 60 miles, did 3,000 press ups and 2,000 sit-ups for the charity Teenage Cancer Trust.

"I think it comes from my upbringing - it was really difficult with neglect and abuse. I didn't have many friends growing up.

"It's been bleak - I've been homeless myself. I got into the wrong crowd and that led to me sleeping in my car - I was kicked out."

"Fortunately, I managed to get out of that situation and I've turned my life around. I lived with friends and was then adopted."

He added: "When I was growing up in Shropshire, the homelessness wasn't to the extent that I see here. In the city centre, there are so many tents set up by the Hanover Street Tesco, wherever you look there are homeless people."

"I've bought 150 to 160 pieces of fruit - bananas, oranges, apples. Some chocolate, crisps, water, made three different variants of sandwiches. We’re aiming to give out 150 parcels but we’re preparing for more.

"It’s me and my mates from uni doing it and it's off our own back. We just wanted to do our bit to help."

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