Shelter From The Storm

In the UK and Ireland, alcohol culture is wound deeply into our society. From the small Irish provincial town he was born in to London via Glasgow, Ben found this to be true at every turn. Find out what happens when this collides with an addictive personality, self destructive tendencies and traumas of both childhood and adulthood. Through a series of ever-more dangerous professions including a speedball-and-Guinness powered stint as a roadie, Ben's story is one of extremes and squandered talents: short stories written and then burned for heat in squats; careers discarded in the unremitting search for something else. A poet and a natural storyteller, Ben takes us through his unravelling into homelessness, a 3-day cold turkey and the novel he's writing about his experiences, both light and dark: 'Bedtime for Bono'. "The plan was, there was no plan".

A vivacious outsider from the beginning both at home and in school, Yasmin navigated a childhood of sexual abuse, repression and dyslexia as a Somalian girl in 1970s Scunthorpe. She describes how she has at times been a functioning member of society, and at others slipped through the cracks into a world of alcoholism, prostitution and homelessness. We also get another perspective on the brutal practice of FGM.

When Paul's mother passed away, what started as a recreational cocaine habit spiralled into a destructive force in his life. Find out how a normal life growing up in Highgate and becoming an electrician turned into nights sleeping rough in a garage, isolated from his partner, daughter and an entire social circle, and how he's getting back on track.

In the first episode of the SFTS podcast we meet Lena, the 28-year-old granddaughter of a Guinean King who has spent a lifetime fleeing female genital mutilation. It’s a story about brutality, women’s rights, education, loneliness, and finally hope: a tale about finding your voice against all odds.