James, 55, is originally from Scotland, and has been living in a St Mungo's Broadway hostel in London for around five months.
He has lived with HIV for many years: "I've been living with [HIV] for 30 years and I haven't been able to live a normal life because of the stigma involved..."
After finding out he was HIV positive, James experienced a number of losses that were very difficult to cope with, including the death of his two brothers and the breakdown of his marriage. He ended up losing his flat, and after a long period of instability, ended up sleeping on the street.
This was a very difficult time for James, particularly with his health issues: "I was living anywhere - on night buses, down the canal, and I ended up living on a canal boat...there was no phone, no electricity - the whole boat was wrecked."
While sleeping on the street, he continued to get medication from a special HIV unit. However, there were also times when James had his HIV medication stolen by people who thought that his bag contained valuables. Before becoming homeless, James also attended a drop-in doctor's surgery. However, when he was sleeping rough he was in a different part of London and found it very difficult to get to the clinic. As a result, he didn't visit the doctor. Speaking about the challenges he faced, James explained:
"You can't plan anything 'cause you don't know where you're gonna be sleeping, and if the weather's bad you don't know if you're going to...have to go on a night bus to keep warm and keep dry. And you end up in a different part of London...just walking round all day. So any appointments just go out of your head and you're tired all the time. It's just chaotic to try and keep things together...it's very hard to plan what you need to do".
From his experiences, James feels like there needs to be more places where people can drop in for medical care. "If you go to a...normal GP, it can be a bit off-putting you know, to go in there...you're dirty and you're tired, and you've got to sit in there with other people who look at you strangely, or...trying to arrange to register and not having an address, things like that. It can be really stressful. So having some place...where you can drop in is really helpful".
After six months spent sleeping on the streets, he moved into a St Mungo's Broadway hostel in July. Since moving into the hostel, James has found out that he has suspected lung cancer, and has been going to a number of hospital appointments as a result. He will soon be going to the hospital for an important operation: "It's a bit of a shock...it's a bit scary."
James finds it helpful to have a health support worker who is aware of his health needs and can attend appointments with him. And having access to facilities that many people take for granted also makes a big difference, particularly because good nutrition is so important to managing HIV: "Just the fact that I've got access to a kitchen and I can cook - I can try and put some weight on - because I've lost a lot of weight - and eat properly...Just having a fridge in my room and having access to a kitchen is a big thing, because on the streets I couldn't cook".
James is currently taking one day at a time while he focuses on addressing his present health needs.
Homelessness hurts. Take action now to stop the hurt, and ensure that homeless people can access the healthcare they need to build a future now.