Darren Davis was taken into care as a teenager and then became homeless. As he prepares to spend Christmas in a hostel with his beloved dog Poppy he urged people not to judge people on the streets too harshly.
Darren Davis was sleeping rough on the streets in Cardiff when a passerby decided to casually kick him in the head for no apparent reason. It’s something the care leaver said he has got used to being homeless.
Taken into care aged 14 Darren, now 39, says has experienced violence and loneliness and has spent Christmas on the streets, but this year will be at the Wallich Hostel in Cardiff with his beloved dog Poppy.
Darren says his life “spiralled” when family life broke down, he was taken into care. As a young care leaver he got little support and was introduced to drugs which he’s now clean from. Latest figures show that 90 homeless people in Wales died last year.
He urged people not to jump to conclusions and judge people about how and why they end up sleeping rough. Read the biggest stories in Wales first by signing up to our daily newsletter here.
“It’s a lot harder being homeless in cold weather. Trying to find somewhere to bed down can be very hard. People judge a lot as well when you’re on the streets.
“You get people who are brilliant but I had some person come up and kick me in the head while I was on the street. There’s some people are like that, you know what I mean?
“Not everyone chooses to be homeless. There could be a lot more around, a lot more information and what have you around homelessness. Because obviously everybody can become homeless. It’s only a matter of a situation that goes wrong. So we can all become in that situation. I don’t wish it on anybody.”
Darren was left to fend for himself from a young age and says he always found it hard asking for the help he needed.
“I almost had to stand on my own two feet since I was about 14-15 years old. I grew up in quite a bad childhood. I went into care. When I left care I was on my own again. And then everything just spiralled then because obviously when I went into care, the drugs started, but at least now I’m clean, and that’s the best thing I’ve ever done was get myself clean.”
As a result of this Darren says he has struggled with his mental health which he believes is a big cause and effect of homelessness: “There could be more drop in centres, Mental health is big for a lot of people and there’s not enough going on there.”
Since last summer he’s been been living in the Wallich hostel in Cardiff and hopes to find his own place soon with help from the homeless charity.
His French cross dog Poppy, who he got four years ago, is a huge support and comfort to him and he’s grateful the hostel allows pets, which he says are a lifeline to some of the homeless community.
“It was hard because obviously at first I didn’t have my dog, so it was just me and rough sleeping all around Cardiff really. So you can imagine that, a tent and me wandering around Cardiff.
“I chose to get Poppy as a companion because I find it hard to open up and speak to people. I’m a very closed person so I don’t have many friends.
“Poppy brightened up my life really, to be honest with you. Poppy just seems to love everybody, because over time, in the years that I’ve had Poppy.
“With us being in and out of different hostels, Poppy’s become a street dog. People on the street seem to know Poppy. So Poppy’s kind of a celebrity on the street.”
Darren says he’s always refused to beg, even when desperate, saying “I couldn’t bring myself to ask people for money” and finds it hard asking for help, which he sees has added to his problems. He is glad he eventually summoned the courage to go to the local council and the Wallich.
““It’s hard at first because to be honest with you, I’m a typical guy. I don’t like to ask for help. So I try and do everything on my own and it took me a long time to actually pluck up the courage to go in and get the help.
“I was doing a lot of sofa surfing and things like that at friends’ houses. To be honest with you, I went to prison for a bit. And when I come back out, then that’s when I decided to go to the council because it was too much, it was the middle of winter really, and it’s too cold.
“I had Poppy before I went to prison. And when I went to prison, one of my friends looked after her.”
For now Darren is looking for a home and will probably spend Christmas in the hostel. In each of The Wallich homeless hostels residents and staff cook a Christmas dinner together.
Darren will be glad to be around others on December 25 but finds the season and the day ityself hard.
“Over Christmas, I find it hard because a lot of Christmas nowadays, it’s for kids and families, and obviously with being homeless and what have you, I’ve not had much family around me because of my struggles in and out of life.
“I do tend to struggle on Christmas – because Christmas is for families. So you’ll probably find Christmas, me and Poppy will probably go out for a Christmas Day walk, or something like that, because it’s what we’re used to now.”
Darren says he is grateful to the hostel staff for their help.
“You’ve got support workers here if you need any support. It seems like with these guys here, it’s more than a pay cheque, they actually care.”
And he has this message for people if they see a homeless person on the streets: “I understand where people come from when they just walk past you, or whatever. If you’re walking past them, maybe offer a hot chocolate, a hot drink or something hot to eat, maybe.”
This year the Wallich will make Christmas dinner for more than 400 homeless people in Wales. In each of its homelessness hostels, residents and staff cook a Christmas dinner together. The charity also aims to give everyone a gift. To donate to the The Wallich Christmas appeal see here
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