Whilst out filming for our television news day at "The Big Sleepout" - a charity event that aids the homeless - We met and interviewed a man who literally had and lost it all.
Ed Mitchell had been a 30 year journalist working at various institutions including the BBC, a famous face amongst journalists and at one point earned £100,000 a year.
The economic climate and debt eventually took its toll, and Ed lost everything, including his family. For most of the year that he spent homeless he slept rough and told us "when your sleeping rough, there is no way out."
It proved to me, in our time of economic struggle, that the recession in fact DOES hit everyone, whether dramatically or not it is a great time of struggle where people need to stick together. Ed told us that it was "by a miricle" that he got out of it and not many homeless people have the same luck. Without the christian homeless charities and night shelters he would never have survived. An example of society pulling together to help others in a time of great struggle. So shouldn't our government instead of putting money into thier back pockets be pulling together with the rest of society to get us out of this time of desperation.
Ed Mitchell said if there was an important thing he got out of his suffering it was that he now has "no fear" and that after losing everything and coming back from it he has so much more confidence and doesn't worry about hitting rock bottom.
It was scary to realise that even those who could be sitting on the highest perches one day could have the troubbles of scraping around in the dirt the next.
His story was really interesting and inspiring and he was a lovely man to talk to. I'm glad I had the fortune of meeting him!
Friday 15 May 2009
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