On one of the coldest nights of the winter so far, Mike Parr took to the streets of Newcastle to find out what it's like to have nowhere to go home to. Mike came across people sleeping rough in alleys, lanes and doorways. Every person's experience was different but each faced the reality of having to sleep rough in the cold, wet and windy night. Mike met Stuart, 18, who was sheltering behind some bins on the streets. He found himself with nowhere to sleep after his dad kicked him out and he then also had to move out of his friend's place. Listen to Stuart talk about what it's like to sleep rough in Newcastle. Mike also met Lincoln, still busy busking on Northumberland Street, Newcastle at 2am.  | | Mike sees how the public react to him |
From his own experience, Lincoln feels that Newcastle is a fairly safe place to sleep rough. If he can get four hours of sleep he regards it as a good night. "My usual bed time is about 3," he told Mike. "I'll probably go my den which is nearby... And I'll just nap before the businesses wake up. As soon as it's time for the garbage men to come in and the deliveries it's time to get up." Listen to more of Lincoln's story by clicking on the link below. Mike also recorded his own thoughts as he settled down on the streets under a blanket to see what kind of reaction he would get from the public. He found that people would look at him for a second and then look away, because they didn't want to have to acknowledge him. Listen to more of Mike's thought here: Later in the week Mike met Stephen at Tyneside Cyrenians Elliott House hostel. Stephen made it clear that homelessness is something that can happen to anyone. "You diven have to be an alcoholic and you diven have to be a heroin addict. Homelessness can hit you from anywhere," he said.  | | 'The Garden Rooms' at Elliott House |
"You can think you have a bed in a hostel and come back and find you've been kicked out because you owe a week's rent. It's that bad for beds in Newcastle, you see homeless people on the streets every day... People just pretend that you're not there." Listen to more of what Stephen had to say about how he became homeless. Moving onTyneside Cyrenians is an innovative charity which aims to help people who are homeless or who are at risk of becoming homeless in this region. Stuart Edmond is one of their success stories. Not that long ago he was living at the Elliott House hostel. While there he became involved in the charity's "Garden Rooms" project, helping to construct a new building at the back of the hostel. He did a college course at the same time, got a full time job at the end of the project and is now living with a friend. Stuart chatted to Mike outside Elliott House about his story. | 
