EX-MILITARY men who have stark first-hand experience of living on the streets are among thousands sleeping out for a night this month to raise money for homeless veterans.
The Great Tommy Sleep Out is a fundraising challenge organised by the RBLI (Royal British Legion Industries) to support the estimated 6,000 veterans currently homeless in the UK.
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Among those taking part in the region are friends Chris Moss of Bowes and Michael Smedley of Richmond who know how it feels to be on the streets.
Chris, a tattoo artist who runs the K2 Body Art Studio in Richmond, was discharged from the Army after officials diagnosed him with childhood PTSD arising from abuse he had endured as a young boy.
He found his career with the Royal Engineers quashed at the age of just 21 and with no support from the Army or elsewhere, he ended up living on the streets for around two years.
He said: "I remember clearly walking out of the gates with my bag, looking left, right and straight ahead and thinking 'which way do I go'?"
"I was based at Wisbech, Cambridgeshire and I came back up here, flitted between Darlo, Peterlee and Newcastle; wherever I could lay my head really.
"I got heavily involved in alcohol and drugs and it was a downward spiral from there really."
Chris, 49, is now drug and alcohol-free and owns a farm in Bowes alongside his tattoo studio.
He credits his wife Colleen with helping turn his life around after they met at a rave when he was 24.
He said: "She put a roof over my head and helped me get jobs.
"Over the years I went from being homeless to tattooing and having a farm.
"Hopefully people going through it (homelessness and addiction) might see this and know that there are ways to get out of it with the right support."
Chris has shown that support to his friend Michael Smedley who experienced horrific abuse whilst serving with the Green Howards for three years.
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He said that as a young soldier he had been ‘so proud to wear the uniform’ but felt let down by the Army over the bullying he suffered.
He said: “I didn’t get any help at the time, there wasn’t much of it about to be honest.”
Michael spent around four months sleeping rough in Darlington and he hit rock bottom before Chris, who he has known for 15-years, invited him to join him working at the tattoo studio.
Michael, also 49, said: “Since I have been down the studio they have given me a huge lifeline.
“I had it (suicide) all planned out, but on the day I was going to do it, I got a message from Chris saying ‘come down to the studio, we’ll give you a go’ and it saved my life.”
The pair will be sleeping out at Chris’s Bowes farm on March 26 in a bid to raise hundreds to help other homeless veterans.
Also taking part in his own sleep out for the RBLI this Friday night is 37-year-old Lee McConville of Willington who served eight years in the Royal Navy from 2006.
Lee, who now works in logistics, will be sleeping under the stars at the Willington AFC ground with his sons Harry, five and Lucas 11.
They will be joined by his friend Adam Hodgson, 33, and his daughters Novah aged seven and Faith, 11.
Lee said: “When you look at what’s going on in the world right now, like in Ukraine, the current veterans who also gave so much shouldn’t be suffering.”
Meanwhile, Darlington-based paramedic Kevin Cudbertson of Sedgefield will sleep outside the North East Ambulance Service’s headquarters in Newcastle on March 29 for the cause.
To make the experience more realistic, the 49-year-old will use cardboard and blankets as a bed, rather than the more comfortable option of a tent and sleeping bag.
Kevin, who joined the Royal Navy at 16 and served for 17-years, explained why he was doing the sleep out, saying: “These men and woman have given everything for our country and our freedoms and I'm really proud to be taking part in this event which raises awareness to highlight this important issue.”
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