A homeless man who has been sleeping in his car for the past eight months says he has been ‘overwhelmed’ by support shown to him by the Callington community.
An online appeal on Go Fund Me for Steve Davis has now raised nearly £2,000 which Steve hopes to help him move into a flat with his dog.
The appeal for the former Kelly Bray resident and dad of two young daughters was sparked by a post he put on Facebook a few weeks ago, thanking a couple who left some quiche, a piece of cake and a bottle of water on the bonnet of his car while he was sleeping inside on the side of Kit Hill.
Describing the kind gesture as ‘very much appreciated’ his thanks prompted offers of help from people in Callington — from hot showers to food.
Over the past few weeks he has had people dropping off food parcels for him, an owner of a gym in Callington has offered him a shower when he needs one while Kerry-Anne’s Diner in Callington has fed him.
Steve has also been invited to the Callington Christmas lunch at the town hall on Christmas Day.
‘It has been amazing, absolutely amazing, said the 45-year-old. ‘It has been quite overwhelming since I posted that post on Facebook. The people of Callington really have rallied round.’
‘It all started from that person putting a note saying thanks for the quiche and the bottle of water – it snowballed from there. The community of Callington and the surrounding area have been fantastic.’
Despite this, Steve still have nowhere to live and is facing a Christmas sleeping in his car.
‘My car is like a fridge at the moment,’ he said. ‘There is condensation on the windows, mould on the roof and two leaks in the car. All the wet we have had hasn’t been great, to be put it mildly.’
Steve suffers from fibromyalgia, a long-term condition which causes pain all over the body. His is exacerbated by living in his car.
He has been homeless since he was evicted from the house he was renting in Kelly Bray, after falling behind with the rent.
He says the house was too large for him, but he moved there because it was all he could find to rent after his relationship with the mother of his two daughters, four and eight, broke down.
He is still homeless as he has not been able to find anywhere smaller that will accept his dog.
He said he had previously been told he would need to rehome his dog, but he said that his dog was nine years old and had been with him since a puppy he was not prepared to do that.
He went on to describe Homechoice – Cornwall Housing’s rehousing register – as ‘a joke’.
‘I got offered one private rental property but that was in St Austell which is miles away,’ he said. ‘It is not practical to be all that way down Cornwall when all my support network is here.
‘This is the thing I have come up against Cornwall Housing, they keep saying I should rehome my dog and I’m not going to rehome him. My dog has been my dog for nine years already and my daughters would miss him.
‘I have been homeless since April. I’m unable to work at the moment because I have got fibromyaligia and I have got ashthma. I have got my mental health problems too because of the situation I’m in and they didn’t take any of that on board. I’m classed as a non-priority.’
However, the money donated by people in Callington via the Go Fund Me site has given him fresh hope of finding comewhere to live.
One suggestion was a caravan and he admits that even this would be better than his current predicment.
He has also in the past week signed on with a lettings agent in the hope for finding a one bedroom flat.
‘Hopefully I am looking for a one-bed place with him, because he takes on the people that the other estate agents won’t take on,’ he said.
Cornwall Housing was approached for a comment but had not replied by the time the Times went to press.
See the sponsorship page for Steve at https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-steve-get-a-house
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