Companion Stories: Curly
"I came to Emmaus Leeds eight months ago. I was abused as a child. In those days such things were brushed under the carpet. My Dad’s brother was one of the people who abused me. My Dad beat him up and he died five months later. The other person who abused me killed himself.
I helped my Dad on our small holding. We had pigs, ducks, poultry and goats. I loved being with the animals. It was a very happy period of my life. I didn’t go to school. I hated it because there didn’t seem anything there for me. I’ve always been a big mouth. If someone does something wrong I don’t mince my words. I’m from travelling stock and that’s the way we are. I started working in a scrap yard with my Dad. I married a Ghanaian girl when we were both 18. She died of Leukaemia when she was nineteen and a half. I’m still in love with her even after all these years.
I got married again at 23 and I ran my own building business. I was making about £150 000 a year and had fourteen people working for me. I worked very hard. I never stopped working. I never touched alcohol but I was a workaholic.
My life took another turn when my Dad and Mum were killed in a horrific car crash. I was so close to my Dad, to the two of them especially after what happened to me as a child. I started drinking a bit and one day I came back from work and I found my wife in bed with my best friend. I drank my business away after that.I spent the next 16 years on the streets. I went all over England and Scotland and slept wherever my head landed. I had a tent and I slept in that a lot. While I was on the streets, I lost about ten friends. Mostly they just drank themselves to death. One of them burnt himself to death. Anyone can become homeless. When I was skippering (being on the road) in Brighton I met an ex-judge who was also sleeping rough. He was a bit of a snob but he kept himself very clean.
I love every one of the people who live at Emmaus. They are like a second family. It’s great being able to work. I invented my own job here. I started stripping down the things we can’t fix and selling the scrap metal. We are making quite good money from it. I am using all the skills that I learnt with my Dad. Old habits die hard. I feel really close to my Dad when I’m working with the scrap and I think he would be proud.
I would really like to be able to put some time into helping homeless people. I talk to a lot of the lads here. My door is always open. I’ll never go back to drinking now, I’ve got too many friends."
