‘It shows people who have experienced homelessness are actually capable of achieving something’
A man who used to be homeless now does guided tours around his home city of Manchester.
Andy has been showing people around Manchester for the last four years.
This is after he had previously been homeless, and was spending nights sleeping on the streets.
Speaking to the BBC about the initiative, he said: “I think the idea is to show people who have experienced homelessness are actually capable of achieving something.
“It’s nice to meet new people and show them around our brilliant Manchester, but it shows that we’re capable of doing something constructive given the chance and opportunity.”
The tours are part of a group called Invisible Cities, a tour guide group led by people who have experienced homelessness in the area.
Their website reads: “Invisible Cities is a social enterprise. We don’t believe in labels or stereotypes. We want to show that everyone has great potential, a fact reflected in our tour guides.
“We train people affected by homelessness to become walking tour guides of their own city and offer these alternative tours to tourists and locals.
“Our training focuses on confidence building, public speaking and customer service. We partner with professional tour guides to build bespoke tours and practice our routes.”
Opening up about his “horrible” experience of homelessness, Andy told the BBC that he had to “sleep on the streets for a couple of nights because I had nothing else to do.”
He continued: “Then I just asked a friend if I could sleep in his garage. Thankfully he said yeah.”
Andy said he was “in a really bad spot,” adding: “It was horrible, but if it hadn’t been for that, I wouldn’t be where I am.
“I’m not embarrassed about anything. If things hadn’t happened the way they had I wouldn’t be where I am, so it’s hard not to be positive about a negative situation.”
