Manchester presenter Matty White has spoken candidly about his past experiences of homelessness as he becomes an official ambassador for the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity.
has notched up an impressive list of career achievements to date, having produced and presented on stations including BBC Radio Manchester, 5 Live, 6 Music and XS Manchester, as well as featuring in regular slots for the likes of Channel 4’s Steph’s Packed Lunch and Manchester’s Finest.
His warm demeanour has helped rack up millions of views across his videos profiling Greater Manchester’s best eating spots. But it hasn’t always been so peachy.
Having grown up in the Midlands, Matty experienced homelessness from age 16 – a period he describes as exhausting and relentless. Now 47 and having carved out a successful career and homelife, he’s in a place to champion and support the type of services that helped him turn things around.
He said:
“I was sofa surfing at first but then I was sleeping in train stations, on benches, in photo booths. At one point I was kipping in a battered yellow mini metro that had been abandoned for years at the back of a pub.
“One of the lowest moments was trying desperately to sleep under a tarpaulin on rubble at the end of train platform, having just been moved on from a photobooth. I was just hit by an overwhelming sense of failure and fear and it came out in tears. You’re hearing drunk people having fun with their mates and you feel like you’re just on the outside. With nowhere to go and no place of safety, I just walked and walked to try and put off the need to sleep, it was exhausting and relentless.
“I’ve only ever really spoke to my wife about it all, but I’m at place in my life where I can acknowledge the experience, recognise what got me out and hopefully be part of the change.”
It was thanks to charities that Matty eventually found temporary accommodation. They supported him to get his own place, get it furnished and find ‘hard graft’ jobs to get a stable income, which he says marked the beginning of the end of his struggle. He eventually went back to college and relocated to Manchester to study media.
Now, he’s flying the flag for the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity as an ambassador, joining a diverse line-up of champions, supporting fundraising and advocating for the charity’s mission to end homelessness and the need for rough sleeping in Greater Manchester.
