WITH rising numbers of rough sleepers and homeless people being recorded in communities across the UK, The Gazette has taken a look into how Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has become a leading national light in combating this growing problem.

In the first of a series of articles, The Gazette heard the inspirational story of Garry Beaton, a former rough sleeper and addict who has turned his life around and is now helping change the lives of those sleeping on the streets in Basingstoke.

For a man who explained that he had been addicted to a cocktail of drink and drugs since leaving home at 14-years-old, Garry looks impeccable.

Healthy, engaging and with an impudent smile, it is astounding to hear how, now at 42-years-old he has got his life back on track.

Having spent years floating between “pretty much every major city in the country” after “being asked to get moved on by friends, services and communities because of [his] habits”, Garry’s transformation from being a rough sleeper into a newly-recruited ‘expert by experience’ outreach worker with the homeless outreach service delivered by Julian House, is stark.

“My whole life I never thought what happened to me on the streets could help,” Garry told The Gazette.

“But since being supported by Julian House and given the chance to help others on the street, it feels like I’ve been training for this for the last 20 years to really offer hope to others.”

As a teenager, Garry ran away from his parents’ house in Great Yarmouth, going from friend to friend, using their sofas before becoming addicted alcohol and eventually harder substances.

He added: “It became entrenched in my thinking and soon it got harder. I was addicted to opium, cannabis and eventually heroin.

“The thing that people forget is that there are these great schemes to help, but if you miss an appointment with various services there are consequences you don’t want to deal with.

“I was a homeless drug addict, I don’t exactly do consequences.”

Then came August 10, 2010 – a day Garry will never forget.

“I had a mini-stroke with a blood clot whilst I was on the streets,” he explained.

“I was picked up by the rehab service and was told to check myself in.

“But once I had finished my first spell of treatment, I was given a new flat, my giro money and left to get on with it.

“I didn’t understand how to do simple things. Laundry for example. I knew I had to do it but I didn’t want to spend £10 doing it.”

Garry soon relapsed and found himself in a cell in 2014. He describes it as “the worst, but best thing that could have happened to me”, as he realised he needed to change his life for the better.

A chance meeting with two old friends led him to Basingstoke and to the man sitting before me today.

“When I heard about the expert by experience vacancy at Julian House I jumped at the opportunity and have been working since April. I have been able to help other people from my experiences,” Garry said.

He added: “The bit I love is when you talk to someone about my the experiences and you can see the hope in their eyes.”

Within his new role, Garry helps monitor rough sleepers in the borough, ensuring they are able to attend appointments at centres such as Jacobs House, where they can begin their journey to recovery.

Julian House, The Orchard, White Hart Lane, in Basingstoke is commissioned to deliver outreach services in the borough and is part of the Social Inclusion Partnership (SIP), a group of organisations initially brought together by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council to work together to help tackle the homeless problem.

Bodies such as housing associations Vivid and Sovereign, the police and ambulance services as well as voluntary organisations including the Winter Night Light Shelter, joined to form a partnership which is the first of its kind in the country.

It has seen campaigns such as Real Change, Not Loose Change raise money for local homelessness schemes whilst urging residents to alert homelessness services to people sleeping on the streets.

For Garry, if collaborations such as these did not exist, things could have been very different.

“If it hadn’t been for the support I got, I wouldn’t be here,” Garry said.

“I want everyone to know they should never give up because there is a way out and I know the way out.”

  • To support Real Change contact Streetlink on 0300 500 0914 or visit streetlink.org.uk. 
  • To support homeless charities as an alternative to giving direct to people on the streets, visit basingstoke.gov.uk/real-change.