End Homelessness Project - #4

This guy was one of the most nicest guys i've ever met. By the time I saw this guy i'd had no change left in my pockets. Before confrontin' him I looked around for a bank, but couldn't find one anywhere near. So I hit a Tesco Express and bought a 'Twirl' and got ten pounds cashback at the till on my card.
I then went back down the street and did my thing. He is a very lovely warm hearted man, a proper South Londoner.
When I got home I cried for this guy, he touched my heart. I'm cryin' now writin' this in remembrance of him.

This has now become a mission!

A very thought provoking series Paul. My brother used to work with these people and he heard some terrible stories of how the poor people came to be on the streets. One of his clients had been a doctor.

Very powerful image. You have brought out the feeling of isolation. It must be a fine line to draw between reporting on someones situation, and exploiting them. I think your approach is a good one.

I am not sure I have the courage to take this kind of photo, so I applaud you for it.

It sounds almost crass to comment on the technical aspect of the phot, but the b+w treatment and the framing are spot on.

Thanks guys so much for lookin' and commentin'.

Oggy your right, I have heard terrible stories too. Its amazin' to think how a doctor could end up here.

Peter, thanks a lot.

He dealt with a number of people who had been professionals who had either burnt out or come unstuck due to their or other's mistakes.

At the risk of seeming self centred, one of the scariest things thoughts that these photos provoke is "How far am I from this situation".

Oggy, I really am on a mission with this project now. I know this may sound stupid but for a fair number of years in my life i've been wonderin' about what I could do to make a difference before I die, genuinely so.

It is gonna' cost me a pretty penny over time, but not as much as what it costs these guys to be on the street without a hope in hell!

I know this project has only jus' started but I have an ambition to aim high with it. Towards the end of this project not only will I be tryin' to confront Boris Johnson on this issue, but I will be seekin' a lot of publicity in some form or another.

I will also canvass galleries for showin' a retrospective of this work. I really wish to get these images into the public domain. I don't know how I will do that but I know that this body of work cannot or must not be ignored.

Purely for the sake of these people.

Fair play to you sir. Takes a big man to stand up and try to make a difference.

Hi, Pauly,

I've got to say your images are the most impressive I've seen since joining this forum. They're well observed and beautifully executed. They don't tell us much about the state of the nation, though, because many homeless people are a victim of mental problems rather than an uncaring society.

I know one doctor, for instance, who found found himself on the streets because of an over-fondness for the grape. My lawyer died in bed, with his mother dropping off a pint of milk and a bottle of whisky every day. Boris could spend all the national budget on trying to eliminate the homelessness problem and, guess what ... you'd still be able to take this kind of photo every day in the streets of London.

We're a young species and stil deeply flawed. I wouldn't want to see the world run by the hate-filled guy pictured on TV smashing in a bank window in London.

You get out in the real world, Pauly, and document it photographically, which is what cameras/lenses/flashes are for. Too many of us (me included) investigate our images at pixel level on a computer screen. We're looking for ultimate sharpness or bokeh (when the hell did that one come in?) and the content is treated as almost irrelvant.

It's extraordinary the number of people on this forum whose cameras and/or lenses don't seem to work worth a damn. Tip: Take them back to the shop and get your money back. Alernatively, I can sell you a Minolta XK (XM), Nikon F80, Pentax MZ-M or P30t that can focus flawlessly and work every time. If I have to re-engineer a cameras's focusing system because it's 10mm out to make it work properly, they can have it back.

Pauly, I was reporter/photographer in the days when Tri-X was king and I wish my pictures had been half as good as yours. But I wish you'd stop this idiotic apostrophe nonsense. Your photos are so good that it would be a shame to alienate potential allies with this affectation. By the way, "gonna" doesn't need one and many Scots words that look as though they should end in "g" don't, so be careful. It's a minefield.

Al (just back from the best pub in Britain)

Al, thanks so much for your comment.

My photos are not about tryin' to document what is happenin' to these people mentally, that would be a very difficult thing to do, although I hope there will be an opportunity to highlight this in the future.
My photos are to represent and document these people livin' rough on the streets and make the individual question why this sort of thing is still goin' on when nothin' substantial is bein' done about it to eradicate the problem.

I'm not sure about my portraits of these people, I don't think they have as much impact as what my environmental ones do. But I hope to include them.

In regards to mental health, four of these people I spoke to about they're situation did not mention or show any mental health problems. Of course I do agree with you on this.

There must be somethin' totally wrong with our healthcare (that is an understatement, 'cos there is already, as we all know) if as a result of mental health problems these people are becomin' homeless. But i'm sure there is more to it than that.

Its a can of worms I know, i'm no expert. But this is why i'm tryin' to uncover this problem and maybe try to destroy some myths and preconceptions about these people. For myself in the least.

The government state 3,000 as bein' homeless and rough sleepin' on the streets of London, but that is only a statistic.

Centre Point on London's Charing Cross Road helps homeless people, they try to help people to realise they're potential with trainin' and opportunities. They don't get any government handouts, only money from benefactors which are few and far between.

I'm not sure about how much it will cost the government, but in no way will it be anywhere near as what it costs to support that illegal war.