Dominic West says he was once homeless for a night in London
‘It was astonishing how quickly you become invisible,’ actor states
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Dominic West has spoken about briefly experiencing homelessness in London, stating that it is “astonishing” how quickly “you become reviled” by others.
In a new interview with Radio Times, The Wire star explained that he once reached a point in his life when he had no money and no place to go.
“What’s so striking is how close we all are to this,” the 50-year-old said.
“I haven’t experienced being stateless politically, but I’ve been without money – I’ve been homeless for a night in London and without money.”
West did not speak further about the circumstances of his temporary homelessness.
His latest television project, an upcoming Netflix show called Stateless co-created by Cate Blanchett, follows four strangers whose lives become interlinked at an Australian immigration detention centre.
These characters include a woman who is on the run and a refugee.
Looking back on his experience of being homeless for one night in the English capital, the actor highlighted how “quickly” he was treated differently by others when they took note of his circumstances.
“It was astonishing how quickly you become invisible, and how quickly you become reviled and how quickly you realise that all you’ve got to appeal to anyone is a common humanity,” he said.
“And that’s just not having money, never mind being a refugee or escaping a regime.”
In mid-June, it was reported that homeless people were being moved out of hotels where they had been staying since the beginning of lockdown in late March.
Approximately 15,000 people who were sleeping rough were housed in hotels or emergency accommodation as part of the “Everyone In” scheme.
Charities later warned that up to half of rough sleepers who were being moved out of hotels would likely not have access to support when they leave.
Organisations stated that up to 50 per cent of homeless people in some areas have a “no recourse to public funds” condition attached to their immigration status, meaning that they are not eligible for financial or housing support, despite being legally allowed to live and work in the UK.
Earlier this month, ministers were warned of a “wave of homelessness” set to occur across England as rental evictions are allowed to resume from the end of August.
Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran said that the “idea that the government want to re-start evictions in the midst of a pandemic is unthinkable”.
“This threatens a wave of homelessness in towns up and down the country, which added to that the threat of local lockdowns could create a toxic cocktail for the disease to thrive,” she said.
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