Sam didn’t have any problems at home. But after his grandfather passed away, an event compounded by his own mental health issues, he decided he needed to get away – first to Paris, where the City Of Lights offered him very little support, then to Amsterdam, to do drugs, sleep with prostitutes and end my life, really. I didn t have anything going for me.”
In Amsterdam, however, he managed to find a support network that was able to help him in his hour of need. But coming to terms with his sexuality – and facing homophobia on the streets – was tough. After returning to England, he ended up in various cities across the country: “Manchester and Birmingham were like Paris, very difficult, very scary, because you didn t know where the services were. It was a dog eat dog world. People were fighting for your pitch,” he explained. People threw money at him in London, but, “They wouldn t even acknowledge you or ask what you need it for.