Delroy

By Maryam Mohammed, BA Korean and Politics

I know that you’ve paused in your tracks to pet a wandering cat. I know you’ve paused to watch a firework spark violently and die out slowly. I know you’ve hesitated to walk past the latest sale. I know you’ve stopped and taken time to tend to a text message in the middle of a bustling street. Meanwhile, on the side sits something you missed. Delroy. Delroy who sits quietly, not asking for attention but solemnly sitting in a sea of books. Books that have been left on the side of the street, like him. Books that have been walked past, like him. Books that have been rained on, like him. Books that want a second chance at life. 

I first noticed Delroy whilst sitting in Pret, comfortably enjoying an overpriced meal. On the other side of the thin glass that separated the cold street from my hot coffee, Delroy sat down. I watched as he laid out his books across the floor and watched longer as both his books and he became part of the concrete ground, everyone walking past him as if he was as empty as the glass I saw him through. In an age where the “grind-set” is the new mindset and looking down on the working class is the template for every “motivational” preacher, I turn your attention to Delroy.

Delroy became homeless after a tragic house fire and, despite pleading for the council’s help, was left on the streets as many are. Sitting together on the pavement, he emphasised, ‘We do not live in a caring society. You can only look out for yourself.’ I wish I could counter his opinion, but the reality lies in the rising rates of homelessness, consistent funding cuts, and a 26% rise in rough sleeping in 2022, reports Crisis. Delroy felt the neglect of the world first-hand after almost dying from prolonged urinary retention. Delroy recounted with distress the way in which the NHS had abandoned him due to his lack of a fixed address. ‘I was put on waiting lists and waited years to get what was a life-saving surgery,’ he says. ‘They gave me no healthcare. I was left to survive and in that time I could’ve died.’

In spite of having suffered the hell of homelessness for three years, Delroy continues to embody optimism. Every day, irrespective of the weather or whether or not he will be noticed, he sits along Balham’s high street, with his books. ‘Whenever someone helps me, I’m grateful. I ask them their name to thank them personally.’ When visiting him, Delroy never asks me for money or even food. Delroy asks me for books. Books on business, maths, economics, science and music theory. Not just to sell but to read. Delroy’s thirst for knowledge and his insatiable appetite for life left me valuing mine just that much more. Now in his 60s, Delroy recalled his youth as a young Black man and his dreams of going to university like me. He calls out universities at the time for racial prejudice and vividly remembers the feeling of being treated as a second-class citizen. Now he’s trying to make up for the education he missed. The gap in education is no stranger to the streets as, according to the ‘Literacy 100 Charter and Report’, at least 50% of homeless people lack basic reading and writing skills. 

Delroy continues to fight the cruelty of discrimination as a homeless man, often subject to degradation and harassment. Nevertheless, Delroy told me with a shift in tone,  ‘I haven’t given up on my dream of being a musician.’ He notes his time in a band when he was younger and despite acknowledging that ‘most musicians don’t make a lot of money,’ Delroy’s passion for music is authentic and evident. After a few visits to Delroy, he came to me with some good news being that the council finally gave him a room in a shared accommodation. ‘It’s the first time the council’s ever helped me in three years.’ Big Issue revealed in 2022 that at least 30,000 people in the UK have waited 10 years or more for social housing. However, Delroy revealed that the accommodation didn’t give much privacy and wouldn’t allow him to practice the guitar.

‘I’m not free,’ he sighed. Three short words encapsulate the profound feeling of all of those at the very bottom of our struggling lower class, not knowing where their next sleeping spot will be. Delroy is not just a friend of mine but of the world. With a drive and resilience that is invaluable to not just the workforce but to the community. Delroy’s motto and message is; ‘The world is your oyster.’ So here I am, using the open oyster of this page to help Delroy and his story reach just a little bit further.

Photo Caption: Delroy [Credit: Maryam Mohammed]