The plights faced by European migrant workers who become homeless in Bradford will be highlighted by a sponsored walk this weekend.
Adam Clark, 27, of Buttershaw, and James Clayton, 29, of Allerton, will walk from Centenary Square, Bradford, to the Polish Consulate in Manchester to raise awareness of the struggles of the workers who sometimes face the same 35-mile walk to replace stolen documents.
Mr Clark and Mr Clayton work with Bradford homelessness charity Hope Housing, which provides vulnerable people with shelter and support.
Mr Clark said: “Some of the work we do to get them off the streets is to get documents. Being on the streets without documents means you have to stay jobless and homeless.
“You can’t go home either. You are stuck. There is a black market trade in fake ID, of course, and so if other desperate people suspect you have these things, they can be stolen because there is money to be made.
“Once your passport has been stolen, if it were not for the help of Hope Housing, you would be faced with a 35-mile walk to Manchester to get a new one. It costs about £150 to buy a new passport, get your photos taken and pay for travel which is beyond the means of most who are homeless and jobless in a strange land.”
Mr Clayton said: “Whatever your political stance, these people have a fairly modest dream of working and earning some money. When it goes so badly wrong, we are glad to be able to show some human compassion and understanding and do the little we can to get their lives back on track.”
To sponsor the men on their walk, visit hopehousing.org.uk.
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