A view from the streets

A view from the streets

As we continue our insights into the issues relating to homelessness, we learn about the experiences of Andy Palfreyman, a man who has spent a large part of his life living on the streets. Carla Maurer, Reverend at the Swiss Church in London tells us about Andy’s story and explains how basic conversations and simple acts of kindness can make a big difference to the life of a person who is homeless.

Andy Palfreyman lived on the streets of London for nearly 30 years. A family breakdown and disagreements with his parents caused him to leave home at the age of 19. After running out of money, he wandered through the streets of London until exhaustion set in and he slept rough for the first time. Days became weeks, and weeks became years, and homelessness became the new norm. He saw his father one more time, but then lost touch. Years later he learnt that his mother, father and both siblings had died which sent him further down the vicious cycle of homelessness, depression and alcohol abuse.

A number of chance encounters led to a change of perspective.

He met people who saw him as an equal, were non-judgemental and empowered him to pursue his dream of photographing his past and present ‘homes’ on the streets of London. Andy started to believe in himself again and began to second guess his own conviction that he was meant to live and die in the streets by his own choice. Through his volunteering work with the Swiss Church’s outreach programme ‘Breakfast on the Steps’, he met people from the Simon Community who offered him a room; Andy has been on and off the streets ever since he works as a receptionist at Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church and as a church warden at the Swiss Church. His biggest dream is to have a place of his own, yet the way out of homelessness is a long and complex journey, although he has a roof over his head, for now, most of the time his situation remains fragile and he struggles with episodes of depression and physical health issues.

The positive impact of social workers.

In his mid-twenties, Andy regularly went to the day centre at St Martin-in-the-Fields where he could shower and get clean clothes. One day he met Brian, a social worker, who was one-of-a-kind and loved by everybody. He was there for him. Nothing was too much trouble. Brian helped him move into the Emmaus community in Brighton where he stayed for a while. What made Brian so special was that he was non-judgemental and treated him as an equal, an experience that is often missing in a homeless person’s everyday life. Brian came into the waiting room, smiled, shook his hand and said: “Hi mate, how are you doing?” Another social worker gave Andy cigarettes and would smoke with him in his office, which would be unthinkable today.

Many things have changed since. Andy feels that for many social workers their occupation has become more of a job than a vocation. Stricter regulations and financial cuts have led to an atmosphere that feels as if everybody was reading from the same hymn sheet. Andy has had disappointing experiences with social workers too. Some don’t seem to understand what it means to spend several bad nights in a row, tossing and turning and getting lost in dark thoughts. If you go to a meeting, completely exhausted, all you might need is an uplifting experience and not someone telling you off for being in a bad place. It can also be hard sometimes to talk about your life situation again and again when all you want is some perspective, a positive affirmation or someone to sit with you.

Andy has observed positive change too. Social workers are more diverse which helps to better understand people with different backgrounds within the homeless community. People find someone to talk to in their language.

For Andy, the ideal social worker is someone who "doesn’t promise you anything but tries to get you everything.

Dreams can come true

Andy has pursued his dream of photography. In December 2015 he showed his first single exhibition ‘Cardboard and Caviar’ at the Swiss Church with photos of various doorways and street corners where he used to sleep. The exhibition was also shown in Zurich, and Andy had the opportunity to show some of his work at the Museum of Homelessness. Andy does talks and walking tours for youth groups to raise awareness for the complex nature of homelessness, which he hugely enjoys. It is also therapeutic as he can tell people from all walks of life about his experiences and see their minds shifting.

For his second exhibition ‘Looking Down’, Andy lowered his gaze: “When you are street homeless you tend to look down and notice things most of the general public don’t see. It strikes a chord with me, why it’s there, how it got there, and I photograph it. Some of these things can be upsetting, but I see it from a homeless person’s point of view. For example, once a homeless guy walked past me, it just started to rain, and he left footprints on the wet pavement. I call this photograph 'The Invisible Homeless'.”

Find Out More

Andy’s photos can be purchased for £70 each – to purchase a copy, simply email carla.maurer@swisschurchlondon.org.uk

Alternatively, to find out more about Andy’s photography exhibitions or learn more about the Swiss Church, please visit swisschurchlondon.org.uk