John is a Cold War veteran. He served with the British army in divided Berlin in the early 1970s, which he still remembers as a great experience for a young man of 18. He was born in Guyana and came to Britain when his mother sent for him, his brother and his two sisters when he was just 12. “I didn’t know whether it would be a good move”, he says, “but it definitely broadened my horizon.” John also did a tour of Northern Ireland, where he remembers being “slagged off as a black man.” He says he joined the forces as a way of staying out of trouble, having fallen in with what he describes as “some bad boys”. “Otherwise”, he reflects “I would have been in and out of prison”.
He’s proud of all the jobs he had after leaving the army: “I worked on the buses, at the Ford motor company in Dagenham, helped build fire extinguishers and prams”. Just over 20 years ago, however, John fell on hard times after he was caught drink driving. He lost his job, got mixed up in drugs, was evicted from his home and ended up having to stay with friends. “You can only do that for so long”, he says, which finally led to him being referred to SFTS. John has only been at the Shelter for a short while. He describes it as “a good place, with friendly people”, and he appreciates the food that’s served up. One thing he finds hard, however, is having to spend the day outside, as the Shelter only opens for the night.
John hopes to find some shared accommodation soon, then a place of his own. Once he gets back on his feet, he would love to visit Guyana again. He was last there in 1990 and, he muses, much will have changed.