Stephen Daniels watched hundreds of legs pass him from an empty shop doorway on Market Street. It had been two months since he found himself sleeping rough in Manchester city centre.
A struggling alcoholic, Stephen had no hopes for his future. He once had a home and a job and lost it all in the blink of an eye.
But that all changed on December 5, 2017. Stephen glanced up from his cold sleeping bag to see a woman stood over him. That woman, Louise Kakanskas, was also homeless. She asked for a lighter and the pair got chatting. Four years later, she would become his fiancée.
“Meeting Louise saved my life,” Stephen, 50, told the Manchester Evening News. “If I never met her, I would be in prison or in hospital. We’ve not spent one night apart since we met. We’ve spoken about engagement before, but one night we saw a ring on the telly and we ordered it and that was it.”
Stephen, from Altrincham, first became homeless while living in Bournemouth in early 2017. He had moved to the area for work.
Sadly when he lost his employment, and the two-bedroom flat that came with the job, Stephen found himself with nowhere to live. He slept in car parks, on benches and even under a pier near the beach for six months before moving in with his parents back in Greater Manchester.
But, due to his alcohol addiction, his family could no longer offer him accommodation and Stephen became homeless once more. When he met Louise, 54, she had been living on the streets for around two weeks. The mum-of-three lost her home after struggling to keep up with her rent.
The couple searched for safe place to stay for a long 12 months. By the time suitable accommodation came along, it was only accessible if they agreed to live separately.
But all that changed when Stephen was referred to Sanctuary Supported Living’s Victoria House, which is part of the CONNECT Manchester service, in 2018. It helps provide accommodation to homeless adults in need of accommodation.
When he told project workers he was in a relationship with Louise, they understood she was a key part of his life and support system.
The team got in touch with Stephen’s referral agency and asked if they would also refer Louise to Sanctuary Supported Living. After her support needs had been assessed, she was offered a place at Victoria House and the pair were finally offered a home together.
Since then, they’ve worked with staff to facilitate some positive outcomes. For Stephen, this meant kicking his alcohol addiction. For Louise, she agreed to set up a payment plan to help clear some of her rent arrears.
After four years of rebuilding their lives, Stephen popped the question. The couple are now engaged to be married and are waiting to find their very own property as they make plans for the future.
“It’s been one of those experiences you think you’ll never be in,” Louise, from Clayton, told the M.E.N. “But it could happen to anyone. You’re only two pay checks away from it happening to you. It kind of worked out for us and now we’re looking forward to getting our own home.”
Reflecting on their time on the streets of Manchester, Stephen said: “You learnt to adapt. I would sit in the library all day and then depend on church donations for food.
“I once spent Christmas in hospital with a fractured skull, I got smacked in the face by someone from behind. He was drunk and he got done for it.
“When we met on Market Street, it was a lot of sitting outside and sleeping in doorways. You get talking to a lot of people on nights out.
“We were never really begging, we would just get into conversations with people. I’ve done a lot of sales in the past so I’m a bit of a chatterbox.
“We met a lot of nice people. We didn’t take drugs but there were a lot of people who did and struggled really badly. Sometimes there were a couple of us who would sleep in the same area together to watch each other so we never really had any trouble when we were asleep.”
On finally finding accommodation, Stephen added: “Supported housing allowed us to explore our relationship as a couple, before making the commitment to be with each other for the rest of our lives.
“If people like us are homeless and facing adversity with multiple needs, experiencing love and companionship is really important. Relationships are a human need - just like any other support need - but it’s a need that is rarely met in homelessness services.
“We're happier and we feel so much more secure. We’re looking forward to a future together.
“We’d like to say a big thank you to all the staff at Victoria House for their help and support. They’ve helped make our engagement possible. We hope to tie the knot next year at a small wedding with family and friends.”
READ MORE:
- 'I just sleep with a jacket to keep warm and woke up with no pants on this morning - it was freezing'
- Grieving mum, 36, and four kids facing homelessness before Christmas after partner's sudden death
- Rough sleeper, 41, at centre of emotional family reunion in Manchester dies next to his dog outside Costa
- Woman invited homeless man in - he then stole her money, killed her cat and pawned her valuables
- 'I got the racist who attacked me with an umbrella convicted - but the sentence left me heartbroken
