The first time I ever got into this emergency accommodation in Salford, the woman wasn’t very nice.

I’d split up with the missus, the social workers wanted us to split up and that, tried to take the kids off us and all that lot. So I had to move out of there. Then I was homeless on the streets here, there and everywhere. Sofa-surfing all sorts of stuff. 

So I’d gone in to this place. I was going out with a girl at the time. I said, ‘Me and the missus are homeless, she’s got eczema, she’s scratching her legs and stuff. She’s going to end up infected because we’re living in squalor in a bus shelter.’ 

This was about five to five when we got in there, or something like that. We’d walked up there. 

They said we don’t meet the criteria. 

I’m like, ‘What do you mean we don’t meet the criteria…what is the criteria?’ 

She says, ‘No, you’ve got to tell me the criteria.’

I said, ‘Well if we don’t know what the criteria is, how am I ever gonna meet it, you know? Like I said, we’re in the bus shelter, what if I need to pee? People pee in the bus shelter where we are. If I need one I’m not going to piss where I live in. I need to go somewhere. Does it take for me to bugger off somewhere and the missus gets stabbed, raped, beat up. Would I meet the criteria then? What’s it take to be a priority? ‘

She just kept looking at her watch, this woman behind the counter. It was getting on for closing time. She’s got a home to go to. 

‘Well personally, Mr. Potts, I couldn’t care less if you were in a police cell tonight,’ she turned around and said to us, both of us. 

The girlfriend was gonna jump over the counter, she was that pissed off with her. So I had to pull her away. 

I said, ‘Listen mate, you speak to me like that, you must be speaking to everybody like that… obviously you keep looking at your watch, you’ve got somewhere to go. At least you’ve got somewhere to stay tonight. We don’t have a clue where we’re gonna be staying tonight. We’re gonna be freezing somewhere wet and cold on the streets.’

_ _ _ 

In March 2020, the last occasion when I became homeless, I’d gone into back into the emergency accommodation and had to see that same woman again. But this time luckily they put me up in a room in Middleton, which was miles away from where I was. I had to walk there from Salford.

You wouldn’t have put a rat in that place. 

I’d walk through the door, you’ve got the reception there. It looks quite nice, the reception bit. But as soon as you get past reception, all hell breaks loose. 

I mean, I’ve been a drug user in the past, but luckily I’m strong enough not to touch it ever again.

But if I hadn’t been at the time, I could have gone full circle – round those revolving doors again. I’ve got up there, gone to my bedroom. Some girl over the way’s got the door open, a load of smoke billowing out. 

She’s like, ‘You got a rizla over there?’ 

I said, ‘Yeah won’t be a minute.’ 

She’s sat on the end of the bed smoking a crack pipe like it’s the norm. Then some other lad’s came over and gone, ‘Oh it’s Pottsy from the squats and the shelters and that.’ 

He’s tried to give me a hug, he’s got a hypodermic needle in his hand. 

I’m like, ‘Fuck. Coronavirus mate…’

He said, ‘oh sorry I didn’t realise I had that.’ 

You know, I’ve got nothing against any of these people. I’ve been a drug user myself.  But I don’t want to be put in that situation again, go around full circle. 

One of my mates came there as well. He’d only been probably clean maybe, maybe about six months or something like that. 

He’d gone in there and he’d gone full circle then because everybody was at it, you know what I mean? So he ended up back on the shit.

Sadly he’s passed away now.