LONDON -- A survivor of homelessness has shared his journey from sleeping rough in a park in London to finding success as an author.
SEE ALSO: 7 unique challenges homeless women face — and The Pursuit of Lust 4 (2024)what you can do to helpCraig Stone on Twitter recounted the series of events that caused him to lose his home, his subsequent experiences of being homeless and how he eventually found permanent housing.
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Stone set off his series of tweets with an explanation of the events which transpired shortly before he became homeless. He says he was almost 30 years old, working in the city and was "skint", single and suffering from depression.
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His landlord increased his rent to a figure he couldn't afford, prompting Stone to ask work for a pay rise. He was refused. Stone then went to his local council for help, who turned him away.
"I asked the council for help, they said talk to my landlord. My landlord said talk to the council. Bastards," wrote Stone on Twitter.
He then describes how he went to sleeping rough in the local park.
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Living in the park, Stone's writing efforts came to fruition and he completed a novel.
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His book gave him a renewed sense of purpose and he grew worried that his book would get wet, lost, or burned. So he turned to his sister for help.
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As he sat and waited for Amazon reviews of his self-published work, hoping for a book deal, Stone got a message from a fan.
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This message turned into a relationship.
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Now, Stone's life has been transformed dramatically.
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Stone has also found success as a published author.
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By telling his story, Stone hopes that people see that there can be happy endings to bleak situations.
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Stone wants his followers to think of homeless people this winter.
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"Tomorrow your rent could go up. Tomorrow inflation could rise. Tomorrow you could have an accident. All of us are one event away from ending up on the streets, looking up at passers by, wondering how did it come to this?" Stone toldMashable.
"Christmas is coming up, and it’s OK to give someone your time. And it’s OK to ask someone on the streets their story. If you ask enough, you’ll realise that the person you are talking to, is you," Stone continued.
Topics Social Good