I’ve been lucky enough to interview hundreds of people, but I will always remember one person more than anyone else.
One of my first projects I had as a researcher was to visit homeless shelters around the UK learning about people’s experiences of benefit sanctions. It was one of those projects that, while focused and specific, gave you enough room to understand a lot about people’s lives and how they had to come to be in a homeless shelter.
One of the first people I spoke to was in Birmingham. Gary* had a really emotional story to tell. He was originally from London and had been a very successful Chef at an independent restaurant. However, a redundancy and bereavement in quick succession had led to him losing his flat and he had little other support to manage. He was therefore sleeping on the streets and eventually found his way to Birmingham because he didn’t want to be near anyone he knew in London. All because of the shame of being homeless.
He also didn’t look great. Mud-stained tracksuit, massive bump on his forehead, scars and beginning to lose his hair. In fact, you could ask anyone to draw a typical rough sleeper and they could have drawn Gary. I listened to his story, every minute feeling luckier and luckier to have my own rented flat in York, and eventually gave him his £5 Love2Shop voucher. He went on his way and I turned to the next interviewee.
Accidental Longitudinal
Cut to a year later and we’re doing another project for Crisis. This time it’s about homelessness support more generally and I’m now in London at another shelter doing similar work. I come out of my interviewing room to ask for the next person and this relatively well-kept man came up smiling and looking very cheerful. I couldn’t quite place him but after the initial intros I asked him if he was the same chef I had interviewed in Birmingham. The realisation dawned and he said “I knew I recognised you”.
What followed was one of the most inspiring interviews I’ve ever done. A very positive one that centred on how Gary had got the help he needed. A roof, training and plans on how to get back on track. He had a new job and was now back in London and in touch with his family again. It felt almost like a plot from a good old BBC feel good film – Jim Broadbent as Gary?!
Gary used his interview to speak about the journey he had been on – from the depths of despair to feeling confident and positive about the future. His words were completely borne out in his appearance – he looked great! If Birmingham Gary resembled a typical rough sleeper, London Gary resembled a typical middle-aged bloke.
Beyond Data
While I didn’t realise it at the time, this interaction with Gary has ended up having a profound impact on my career. Seeing the impact of support like that of Crisis was pretty inspirational stuff…talk about job satisfaction!! I had pretty quickly realised that research was something I wanted to do but seeing where the research went after I did it was an itch I just couldn’t scratch.
So what has followed has been a series of steps in my career so I can continue to research but also take that research forward to support people like Gary. I moved to London to work for an older people’s charity. My research focused on social care and bereavement and focused on campaigning for increased support.
I’m now Policy Analyst at The Salvation Army and I lead on….yep, homelessness. As a policy professional, research remains at the heart of what I do. Every day I’m analysing ONS datasets, conducting interviews with substance users or planning what methodology can show the true horror of life on the streets. It really is a privilege to combine such a passion for research with a subject area that would not be close to my heart had it not been for research itself.
I owe a lot to research and even more to Gary. The best accidental longitudinal research I’ve ever done!
*Name has been changed
Author Bios:
Jez is Policy Analyst at The Salvation Army and leads on Homelessness and Addictions Policy. Prior to joining the charity sector, Jez started his career as Research Executive for Qa Research in York, specialising in qualitative research with hard-to-reach groups.
Acknowledgements:
The research mentioned within this blog was completed for Crisis by Qa Research.