Shelter For Sheriff

An impassioned plea for your help to put a roof over a local homeless man’s head.

Jarek or the “Sheriff of Angel" as he is better known, was a soldier and a carpenter, who has found himself homeless for the last seven years, living rough on the streets of Angel, Islington.

Like so many, it has been impossible for Sheriff to avoid the harsh realities of life sleeping rough. The years of living on the streets have taken its toll on his physical condition, to the point where over the past six months his health has deteriorated. He suffers from septicaemia and pneumonia among other ailments, consequences of prolonged malnutrition and exposure to the elements.

I have engaged numerous government agencies, charities and shelters, but none have been able to offer any feasible option for stable/permanent shelter for someone with impaired mobility. 

Therefore, I am proposing to raise funds to buy a small boat that could be moored on Regents Canal. 

A small boat would provide a roof over his head and shelter from the extreme cold, a place that he could call a home of sorts and possibly a foundation from which to get back on his feet and begin to re-build his life.

Read on for the full story…

Jarek or the “Sheriff of Angel" as he is better known, was a soldier and a carpenter, who after a string of unfortunate events, has found himself homeless for the last seven years, living rough on the streets of Angel, Islington. The past two of which, have been spent sleeping in the portico of St Mary’s Church, on Upper Street. 

A Sheriff is a "designated official responsible for keeping the peace throughout a Borough on behalf of the Queen!" This most certainly describes Jarek, he is a unique and likeable character, who is well known and highly regarded throughout the local community. 

Over the years I have heard and witnessed numerous accounts of Sheriff’s kind gestures: returning wallets and handbags untouched, my own personal laptop! and sharing with others in need any food or clothing he might have.

I met Sheriff just over four years ago and during this time I have helped him out; providing my sofa as shelter from the cold, the odd shower, sourcing fresh clothes, cooking him dinners and taking him to the barber’s.

However, it has been impossible for Sheriff to avoid the harsh realities of life sleeping rough. The years of living on the streets have taken its toll on his physical condition, to the point where over the past six months his health has deteriorated.

In early November 2014 Sheriff’s health rapidly declined to the point where he could not walk due to circulatory problems, I called an ambulance and he was admitted to University College Hospital (UCH) suffering from septicemia and pneumonia among other ailments, consequences of prolonged malnutrition and exposure to the elements.

Sheriff spent over a week in intensive care, where Doctors gave him a 50/50 percent chance of surviving. Miraculously, after two weeks he stabilised and after four he was deemed fit enough to be discharged from hospital.

However, although numerous Government Agencies and Charities were consulted (including St Mungos, ICWSS, Housing Justice and EASL among others) no permanent accommodation could be found for Sheriff. The only option being to crash on the floor of a series of Church's/night shelters for one night at a time, but his lack of mobility made getting from Church to Church every night, very difficult. 

With little options due to his impaired mobility, Sheriff returned to the streets of Angel, spending the next seven weeks over Christmas and New Year on the portico of St Mary’s Church (see photo).

Aware of the danger of being exposed to freezing temperatures, I kept an eye on his condition, bringing him soup and bread and the odd duvets to try to keep him warm. Unsurprisingly, his condition failed again, to the point where one night he could not even speak, I hailed a taxi and brought him back to my house for fear of him succumbing to the elements.

Having already given Sheriff my duvet and any spare blankets I owned, all I had left was some old curtains that I threw over him (see photo). His condition did not improve and he went into thermic shock and could not stop shaking. I called an ambulance and he was re-admitted to UCH, where he has spent the past week.

In summary, I've engaged numerous government agencies, charities and shelters, but none have been able to offer any feasible option for stable/permanent shelter. 

Therefore, I am proposing to raise funds to buy a small boat that could be moored on Regents Canal (see photo). Through extensive research, for a few thousand pounds we could purchase a very basic boat, potentially in need of refurbishment.

A small boat would provide a roof over his head and shelter from the extreme cold, a place that he could call a home of sorts and possibly a foundation from which to get back on his feet and begin to re-build his life.

It is a fact that should Sheriff return to rough sleeping, it
would only be a matter of time before he succumbs to the cold, especially with the wheather predicted to regularly dip below freezing over the next few weeks. 

So please help by donating whatever you can, to give Sheriff an opportunity to change the course of his life for the better.

Thank you for your support.

Jonathan