Striking changes: The men whose lives have been turned around by being chosen to play for Scotland in the Homeless World Cup

Published on Wednesday 8 September 2010 16:17

Addiction, crime, relationship issues – there are many paths that can lead to homelessness. But one route back is through sport. Sheanne Mulholland meets some of the men whose lives have been turned around by being chosen to play for Scotland in the Homeless World Cup

• David Stone, above, is part of the Scotland squad heading for Brazil this month. Picture: Robert Perry

TO SAY life begins at 40 has never been truer than in the case of David Stone. During the past year he has met the love of his life, been told he is to become a father and now will play football for his national team. But life has not always been so rosy.

For all of his adult life David has battled drug addiction, homelessness and a life in and out of prison. His life lacked purpose and meaning; there seemed little beyond the short-term.

The root of his problems, he believes, is a traumatic incident in his childhood. Aged nine, he witnessed a terrible accident when his best friend was swept away and drowned in the River Almond in Livingston.

He subsequently developed a rare condition called Romberg syndrome - an illness thought to be linked to severe stress or trauma and which causes one side of the face to stop growing. Unhappy with his appearance and tormented by his classmates, Stone began to suffer from low self-esteem and increasingly got into trouble at school for fighting.

He abandoned his childhood dream of becoming a footballer at the age of 14, during a match for the Boys Brigade, when insults about his appearance were slung at him from the sidelines.

"I just lost heart at that point," he remembers. "The coach told my dad it was something I would have to deal with for the rest of my life if I was to keep on playing football and I just couldn't bring myself to carry on.

"I started sniffing glue and drinking and just kind of lost it about that time, and it was all because I was told I couldn't play football. I was always in trouble, because people were saying things and my way of dealing with it was to get angry."

From then on it was a downward spiral. Aged 19, David was sent to Polmont Young Offenders Institution for eight months for assault, and soon after sentenced to six years in Shotts Prison for assault and robbery. Four years into this sentence, he had an operation on his face which involved having an artery and muscle removed and replaced. He experimented with heroin to help with the pain.

"When I got out of prison I was 26 and felt like I had missed out enjoying myself in so many ways, so I started trying to make up for it. I was partying hard and taking a lot of drugs and before I knew it I was right in among it. Within a year I was taking heroin a lot.

"I had met a girl just after coming out and got a house with her, but it got to the stage where, even though I loved her and my mum so much, the drugs always came first."

David became homeless, living in a tent in woodland. But after being attacked by people he owed money to, he was taken to hospital, where he began to rethink his life. "I had a moment of clarity and realised I had to change," he remembers. "That's when I moved to Glasgow and went clean."

But three years later, David turned back to drugs following a series of painful facial operations. Back on the streets, he attempted suicide. Finally he looked to Glasgow's Hope House for help. "I met a health worker there and she showed an interest in me when no one else did," he says. "She helped me get clean and I have been ever since - that was four years ago now.

"I slowly started to play football again which has helped so much with my confidence. At first I wouldn't talk to anyone because of the issues I have with my face - it used to stop me going out the door at one time.

"But I realised people were accepting me and starting to look out for me. It was great because no-one has ever treated me like that before.

"Then I met my girlfriend and she is about to have my baby in two weeks, which is just so amazing because I thought I had missed the chance to settle down and have a family."

David was selected for the Homeless World Cup's Scotland squad from more than 100 people. They leave on 16 September for Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, where 56 nations will compete.

Founded in 2001 by social entrepreneur Mel Young - who also co-founded the Big Issue Scotland with Tricia Hughes in 1993 - the Homeless World Cup aims to tackle world poverty through football. The first final took place in 2003 and in 2007 Scotland lifted the winners trophy.

The are one billion homeless people in the world today - three million of these are in Europe. In Scotland, 40,123 homeless applications were accepted in 2008-9. In setting up the Homeless World Cup, Young's aim was to tackle these figures by encouraging a sense of self worth within the players. More than 70 per cent of people involved in the programme dramatically change their lives after taking part.

Today the current Scottish squad launch their new strip, which is sponsored by the Scottish Association of Mental Health, who work closely with the programme.

David says: "When I was picked to go I was absolutely ecstatic, I just never thought this could happen to me, this isn't normal for me, none of it is.

"I'm going to be a dad and play football for my country in the same year. They say life begins at 40, but it really has for me."

Joining him in the squad is Liam Forbes (pictured), 22, from Blackburn, West Lothian, who is a striker.. He says: "There is no better feeling than playing football and having a team of lads behind you and knowing you're part of that team. Even when I was homeless I never stopped playing football."

Liam's troubles began just after he had left school aged 16 and started drinking heavily. "I was hanging out with the wrong crowd and started fighting with my family and ended up getting arrested for it," he says. "I was released on bail but didn't want to go back to my mum and dad's, and they didn't want me back either, so I went to Blackburn Homeless Youth Hostel."

Liam had secured an apprenticeship as a painter and decorator after finishing school, intended to last three years. Soon after getting this placement, he became homeless but continued to work: - "I wanted to make something of myself so kept working even though I was bouncing in and out of hostels."

But he was made redundant from his apprenticeship in 2007, only a year after starting, and ended up living in a tent in Livingston.

"That was just what I had to do to get by," he says. "I was drinking a lot and all my money just went on alcohol. It was a wake-up call for me that I had ended up living there. I knew it was no way for a 17-year-old to live."

Around six months later he was sent to Saughton Prison for six months for theft. "I felt really isolated and alone there because I was cut off from everything that I wanted to do," he says. "It was really hard not being able to have a drink too and that's when I realised I had to buck up my ideas."

On release, Liam joined Street Soccer Scotland, an organisation aimed at improving lives through football, and its academy, which combines these skills with education and cultural experience. He went on to achieve his Scottish Football Association coaching badge.

"Football helped to turn my life around and when I found out had made it to play in the Homeless World Cup it was just amazing. I was jumping up and down like a dafty.

"It's just such a great feeling. To wear a Scotland jersey and play for the country is surreal after what I've been through. If you had told me that three years ago I just wouldn't have believed it."

Also playing are Matthew Brannan, 36, from Glasgow, Ian Glaister, 25, from Alloa, Martin Begley, 26, from Greenock, Ryan Wilson, 21, from Cambuslang, Graham Linklater, 36, from Inverness and Barry Ritchie, 19, from Dundee.

Their manager, David Duke (above), used to be homeless himself. He says: "This is the first time we have had a team with such a wide age range and from such a range of different places across Scotland and it's just amazing how quickly they have gelled. They all really work hard for each other and support each other.

"What we really want to do is energise these people and help them to help themselves. It's a great way to bring these guys back into society as they get so isolated in hostels. It gives them a sense of self-worth and helps them realise they can do things and makes them see that they are special."

CHANGING LIVES FOR THE LONG TERM

While the Homeless World Cup undoubtedly gives all of those who take part a major short-term boost, its impact on changing lives in the longer term has also been shown.

Several of those who have played for Scotland in the previous tournaments have used the event as a springboard to move on – some to full-time jobs, often in the social and mental health sector, some to play football at semi-professional levels and some to university to study for a degree.

More than 70 per cent of players significantly change their lives after participating in the programme.

Among the success stories is Thomas Hobbs, who is now the team's support worker from the Scottish Association of Mental Health and trainer.

A previous player in the event Bebe, from Portugal, has now been signed for Manchester United for a 7.4 million fee.

Homeless World Cup founder Mel Young said: "It's an amazing experience for the players involved. People are cheering for them for the first time instead of shouting abuse or spitting at them.

"Most of our players turn their lives around, but it doesn't work for everybody.

"There are some sad moments when you see the life that people lead – it's a mountain they have had to climb and the project supports that.

"By the time they get to the Homeless World Cup, the process is really coming to an end. Most people are ready to take the next step and a lot of them already have a pathway into a house or a job.

"At the end of the day, if the work we do makes a difference to any one person's life, then that makes it all worth while."