Brighton author’s tale of homelessness

Brighton author Chris Ellis tells how a writing group saved him from sleeping rough and gave him back his pride.
Frank le Duc reports

Brighton author Chris Ellis tells his own remarkable story of being rescued from homelessness in the latest issue of a local charity’s magazine. Mr Ellis started a new chapter in his life when he started going to the creative writing group at the First Base Day Centre in Brighton. In Express magazine, produced by Brighton Housing Trust (BHT), he describes an amazing turnaround.

He wrote: “Let me tell you a story. Seven years ago I was on the streets, sleeping in car parks and waking up in doorways. I went to First Base Day Centre to eat and get clean. I also started attending their creative writers group.

“It’s one of the many strange things about being homeless but it really feels like you don’t have a voice or if you do that no one is listening. So I started attending the writing group, not with any thought about what would happen, not really caring whether anyone would ever read my words. At first just as an excuse to have somewhere to go and something to do for a couple of hours a week.

“Then something I had written was published in The Big Issue. Me. A nobody. Just another government statistic. Just another shadowy form that sits on the streets and is ignored by everyone. Even today I can’t describe the feeling of sitting down and reading my words printed in a magazine, knowing that there were others out there who were reading my work, taking note and paying attention.

“I started writing on the Express magazine. First Base arranged for me to attend courses in creative writing, editing and critiquing. I started getting more and more work published. This all may sound like idle boasting. But it did have an effect on my drinking, my whole outlook on life.

“It gave me a focus, a way of rebuilding my confidence that allowed me to take stock of my life. It gave me a strength of purpose that allowed me to make better-informed decisions about my recovery.

“So what’s all this got to do with the First Base writing group now? Well, I am the new facilitator. I have been running the group now for about four months. When I started I thought I knew how to write. After all, I’ve been published. I was there to help people learn the art of creative writing.

“The truth is, with every week and every group, I meet people whose work and talent leaves me amazed. Their work, not just pieces about their time on the streets but stories from their past or prose and poetry about their hopes and future, shows just how much we all have in common.”

Mr Ellis has written a book, Writers Block, which has been published on Kindle and is available through Amazon for £5.15. He describes it as a semi-autobiographical account of his life on the streets and in supported housing, dealing with alcoholism and memories of his past life. The 342 pages are shot through with honesty and insights into a hard world.

A reviewer on Amazon said: “I was gripped by this story from the first few pages. It has an immediacy about its style which I really enjoyed. A tale of homelessness, alcoholism and possibilities, it successfully treads a fine line between depressing and hopeful, while at the same time never being disrespectful of its subject matter. I followed the relationship between the two main characters with interest. I’m hoping that there will be a follow up, as I’d like to find out what happens next.”