Reports

Living with COVID Plan


Reported by Paul

Published on Wednesday, March 23rd, 2022

Covid 19 Physical Health
Reports

Living with COVID Plan


Written by Paul

Published on Wednesday, March 23rd, 2022

Covid 19

Physical Health

The reality, I suspect for most people experiencing homelessness, is ‘living with COVID’ is what we’ve been doing all along.

If I was to live in fear I wouldn’t have left the building I was residing in the whole of the lockdown period. The reality though, is I am threatened by far worse diseases every single day of my life and don’t hide in fear of those, I didn’t with this one either.

I’m pretty sure I’ve had COVID at least once, if not three times. The first time, I broke out in a fever, the second I lost my sense of taste, the third just sheer exhaustion but a different type to what I endure with my ME/CFS. I didn’t get tested (first two times, tests weren’t available, the third time, when they were, I had fully recovered to get out to get one).

But for someone experiencing homelessness COVID was genuinely not of concern, we are far more likely to die from heart attacks and strokes caused by poor diet through lack of funds, or stress of not getting benefits, or the cold, or violence or the myriad of other diseases that can take life.

So like with everything else, yes we are going to live with COVID but as I began, that’s what most of us have been doing anyway, especially since the end of Everyone In back in July 2020, when the majority of those experiencing homelessness were returned back to the streets unprotected.

Join us: We see the the hub as the start of a movement of people, all united in the belief that elevating our voices will challenge stereotypes and help decision makers end homeless health inequalities. Join us by signing up to our mailing list – the Listen Up! mail out.

Written by Paul


Paul Atherton FRSA is a social campaigning film-maker, playwrightauthor & artist. His work has been screened on the Coca-Cola Billboard on Piccadilly Circus, premiered at the Leicester Square Odeon Cinema, his video-diary has been collected into the permanent collection of the Museum of London, he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and was selected as one of the London Library's 2021/22 emerging writers during covid lockdown, where he is currently writing his memoir.

He achieved most of this whilst homeless, an ongoing experience that has been his life for over a decade in London. In the last two years he’s made Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 his bedroom and became part of what he coined the #HeathrowHomeless before being moved into emergency hotel accommodation for the duration of Covid-Lockdown in Marylebone on 3rd April 2020.

In the past ten years he’s experienced every homeless initiative that Charities, Local Authorities and the City has had to offer. All of which clearly failed.

With the end of “Everyone In”, Paul has no idea where his next move is going to be, but he expects he’ll be returning to Heathrow.

Read all of Paul's articles

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Covid 19 Physical Health