Dave

Meet Dave.

Dave is 46, an ex-Grenadier Guard who served in Kenya, Canada and Ireland and a good Christian. He is well-informed, politicised and articulate. He has also been living on the streets for 6 years.

I approached Dave (known to other people on the streets of Manchester as Squaddie Dave) as he’s annotating his battered copy of the bible with 3 different coloured, worn-down childrens’ crayons. Before my coins have hit the bottom of his paper cup, waiting expectantly on the pavement, he starts to talk.

Initially I try and steer the conversation towards the hardships of living rough - and Dave does oblige: the exorbitant cost (£16 per night) of staying the night in a Piccadilly-based hostel; the lack of medical care (he shows me a deeply infected ulcerated leg, with a days, if not weeks old dressing); the constant threat of assault and robbery from fellow homeless - “it’s a fucking war out there”.

The longer we talk, however, the more Dave gets into his stride on wider issues - he doesn’t hold back on the ineffectiveness of the mayor’s fight against homelessness and scoffs at the notion that it might be eradicated altogether by 2020. He rails against the big Pharma companies, scorns “broken” political systems across the world, and there’s a sad regret as he bemoans Great Britain as no longer being Great.

As I bring Dave back a coffee we talk a bit about me - I tell him about my plans to photograph and interview the homeless, to try and undermine the stereotype. On cue, Dave slicks back his hair and looks into the camera. As I lean in to take a close up I notice two little two figurines hanging from his army fatigues jacket - it’s a little Superman, and a Green Lantern - “they’re from Kinder Eggs” he tells me proudly, before adding that he likes the comics still.

Just as I start to leave Dave, 3 other homeless men walk past - “alright Squaddie!”. Clearly Dave is respected within his community, and as I interview others on the street they all respond to his name with happy recognition. I spent just 45 minutes with Dave, but his honesty and intelligence have affected me: he says it’s a war out there - I just hope that Squaddie is on the winning side.