Alex Simpson

Name Alex Simpson
Age 39
Pitch Liverpool city centre

I became homeless about four years ago, in Liverpool. I’ve been sleeping in a couple of different places – like outside the university, which is all right if you don’t get disturbed by security at 6am in the morning. The Crown Court, where I was last night, was cold. You don’t get any problems apart from security guards waking you up at silly hours.

“I usually wake up feeling cold, miserable – wishing I wasn’t here”

It’s no good at all, I don’t enjoy it. I’m pretty down in the dumps. I’ve been doing it off and on for four years. I was supposed to be at a hostel yesterday but I was seven minutes late and they wouldn’t let me in.

I was staying in a flat with my girlfriend. We split up and I moved out. It was her flat. I got in with the wrong crowd in town.
I get up between 6am and 8am. It depends where I’m sleeping. I usually wake up feeling cold, miserable – wishing I wasn’t here. You’ve never got nothing, nobody wants to know you. I’m always skint, no clothes or nothing.

I’ve only been in two hostels in Liverpool and that’s it. I’ve applied for every one and I get knocked back. I don’t know why.
You’ve got to keep going, haven’t you? The Big Issue in the North helps a lot.

I used to work on the fishing boats, on the trawlers, in Aberdeen. I used to go out to sea ten, 12 days at a time. Come back for a couple of days and then go away again. I hated it at the time but I miss it now. It was quite good.

I’ve seen it all. I’ve been to a lot of different places on the boats. I enjoyed it, I suppose. Good times, laughs. Some scary times, some good times. It was all right, yeah. I wish I was there now.

I will go back to Scotland. I’ve got family up there.

Interview and photo: Helen Clifton