Reading Roars!

Meet Rob, 25 years of age and living on Reading’s streets.  When I left him, he had one pound in his pocket and needed another seven to get himself a bed for Christmas.

Trouble is, Rob, whose parents died seven years ago, leaving him in this dire situation, needs to collect this amount before 11pm tonight, and be present with the cash in Caversham, on the other side of town.

Shoppers walk by carrying their Christmas purchases, both hands full.  They see Rob, they hear him, but they don’t stop to help.  And so Rob is stuck.  Seemingly stuck without a bed this Christmas.  Stuck without his sleeping bag too, for that was stolen.

Rob isn’t even in the town centre, where he would undoubtedly have more luck.  He explained to me that, if caught by the police, he’d face up to two years imprisonment for begging. This wasn’t fair, he said, explaining that, unlike the Big Issue sellers within the IDR boundary, he was clean and off drugs.

“I’m not getting anywhere”, Rob muttered despondently, adding that he was considering theft as a last resort.  I urged him to try simple tactics - putting out a card, moving to the bus stop, changing his appeal to say “It’s cold.  It’s Christmas.  I need a bed”, even to beg in the town centre instead.  After all, no one would arrest him now, the night before Christmas Eve?  He shook his head.

Four hours to go.  Will Rob achieve his Christmas miracle?