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Greetings! My name is Luke Martin and I kindly ask you for five minutes of your time today to explain a cause that is very dear to me.
Homelessness is a very serious issue in the UK that needs addressing.
I say this from lived experience, as I have been homeless several times.
In September 2024, I was illegally evicted from a room I was renting in a shared house.
Upon returning home from being away for a few days, I found all my possessions piled up in the garden shed and the locks to the front door had been changed by the Landlord.
Previously in 2022, I relocated to stay with family and re-establish my Caribbean food business. Unfortunately, this didn’t go as planned and turned into a bit of a nightmare and I ended up homeless for three months. The situation that I found myself in inspired me to make a song about the experience, helping to keep my mind active in times of distress!
Fortunately, I managed to find a small room in a shared house to rent, and again started focusing on restarting my Caribbean food business. I was happy to be able to rest, rejuvenate and begin striving to further the business and make a better life for myself.
After catering several events, I found that sometimes there were leftovers and I would give it to homeless people in the more deprived side of town. I started to build a relationship with the people, having empathy for their situation, drawn from my own personal experience.
I have continued to run my business, staying afloat and keeping up with my commitments but I have also been doing what I can to assist others. I have remained in touch with the homeless community and have several phone numbers to call when there is surplus food available to distribute.
I have just released a self-funded music video ‘Homeless’. During the making of this video, I gave away 40 free meals to people in the community (whilst being homeless myself).
I have received amazing feedback with people asking me to do it again. I would love to build on this momentum, but it's difficult to manage alone. Please join me in building this movement and donate whatever you can afford, so I can continue to raise awareness and help those in need who don't have the opportunities to share their stories themselves.