22 August 2014

6th May 2014

Hello all.

As you know, it has been some time since my last update on Michael. As you can imagine, this a complicated and sensitive situation and Michael’s privacy in all of this is of the upmost importance to me. In all honesty it has proved to be a very difficult balancing act between respecting his privacy, maintaining my sanity and keeping you all informed after donating so generously. From this ‘experience’ I can at least say that I have learnt that I am never going to please everyone 100% of the time, so I have tried to just trust my own instincts.

It has been nearly three months since I first met Michael. Firstly, I just want to outline again how overwhelmed and grateful I am for the amount of support the gofundme campaign received.  I realise now that it may have been somewhat naïve but I genuinely thought as I am sure many of you did too, that when money was raised that the hard work was done and the ‘simple’ matter of booking a flight home for Michael should take no time at all. In my last post I explained how I quickly realised this was not going to be the case but rarely did I consider the possibility that I might not be able to help Michael at all….

It appears that Michael may have changed his mind about not just returning to Jamaica but also about having me or any organisations help him any further. If you have been following my posts you will already know that I have been working closely with Thames Reach (a homeless charity) who have a wealth of experience in dealing with those living on the streets of London, just like Michael. Despite this and many fruitless searches of the area we have not been able to find Michael since before I went to Uganda at the end of February.

One of the main reasons I have decided not mention this until now is because I have wanted to respect Michael’s decision (and this is HIS decision) and also not open the door for people to start trying to ‘hunt him down’ for some kind of explanation as to why he doesn’t want the donations that people have so kindly gifted.

I realise this is potentially something that the likes of both you and I might find difficult to understand but the last thing I have wanted to do is to make him feel like he can’t carry on the life he has chosen without being hassled about it. I am so sad that this has happened and I almost feel guilty about it sometimes but there is honestly nothing more I can do in the current situation.

So that’s the latest, I have no idea where Michael is and whether I will ever see him again. This is his choice and I have to totally respect that and I really hope that you will too.

I have thought long and hard about where to go from here. Do I donate the money? Do I refund people? Do I give people the option? I am sure you’ve already come to your own conclusion about what you would want to happen and again I am not totally happy with what I have decided to do… but, to be brutally honest, I am rather tired of feeling as though I almost need to defend myself and my actions when all I have ever tried to do is a good thing.

Whilst the majority of the public support for Michael has been overwhelmingly positive I have also been sent some really awful things saying that this has all been a scam, that I have spent the money and one person even claiming that I have purposefully used Michael for my own personal gain to pose as some kind of philanthropist! I cannot stress enough that all of this is rubbish. The money is still safe and UNTOUCHED. Even when I saw Michael for the last time I gave him my own money from my own personal account as I wanted your money to be used as a fresh start for him.

I am a normal girl with a full-time job, I am not in any way shape or form an expert in this area, nor do I pretend to be and I have struggled to understand where and why this went wrong. I am trying desperately to do the right thing by Michael and by you. I really hoped and believed that this was destined for a happy ending. To write all of this breaks my heart to be honest.

I said to Michael when we met that I would get him home in a year. He knows the money is there for him but for whatever reason, he seemingly doesn’t want it right now. I feel like I want to give him a bit more time as it stands… He has my number… maybe he will get in touch? If not, I have decided I will refund you all.  It’s hard to know what to do for the best here but I would rather people got their money back than believe it has been used for any other purpose – you can always donate it to another worthy cause (please do)!!

I will review the situation at the end of July and update you. I do want to say also I really appreciate all of your support in this matter and I want to thank you again for so many lovely and wonderful messages – these have got me through some of the low points (there have been a few)!! I am just sorry it hasn’t so far worked out the way we all would have liked. I am not quite ready to give up all hope though so we’ll see….

Please continue to support me in this decision as you have on the rest of this journey.  Much love,

Jenny xxxxx

I have asked Kirsty from Thames Reach with whom I have been speaking with throughout this to give a potential explanation as to why this might not have gone the way we envisaged and also give details of the amazing work that they do for those of you that are interested in trying to help other people in need.  As hard as this has been, I really don’t want this to deter anyone from trying to help others in need. We can all make a difference even if we just try...

I would also really like to take the opportunity to thank Kirsty and the Thames Reach team for all their personal support to me, what an amazing job you do!!!

Thames Reach statement...

Thames Reach staff and volunteers carry out outreach shifts covering all 33 London boroughs every night of the year. We work with thousands of homeless people, some being London’s most vulnerable and complex rough sleepers to ensure they get the help they need to live fulfilling lives.  Our teams not only help people to find accommodation but also get them into drug and alcohol treatment or treatment for poor physical and mental health, as well as supporting individual to return home to family and friends.

Thames Reach due to client confidentially is not able to comment of Michael’s current situation, however would like to take this opportunity to recognise the wonderful intentions behind Jenny’s recent viral campaign to help Michael. Jenny has not taken on the challenge to help Michael lightly, she has continued to have Michaels best interests at heart by seeking professional guidance and along with Thames Reach made several attempts to formalise plans and put to use your generous donations to get Michael off the streets. I believe this has been somewhat of a learning curve for Jenny and those around her, that the situation on the streets can be more complex than the public realise and with all the best intentions. Some individuals bed down and sleep rough and when contacts made are ready to take the next steps away from the streets. Equally others who rough sleep occasionally, sofa surf or who even have accommodation, use the streets to beg to support a drug or drink habit and who are not ready to take on the often daunting transition away from their street lifestyle.

Though the result as yet hasn’t been what we would of all ideally wanted for Michael, help will always be on offer to Michael and others currently experiencing homelessness. The efforts of outreach staff and volunteers could be strengthened if the public are willing to help by becoming our ‘eyes’ on the streets, and providing information on homeless people they are worried about. People can now phone the Streetlink helpline on 0300 500 0914 or go to www.streetlink.org.uk.

The emergence of viral fundraising campaigns could play a vital role in helping us fund our work. We can help target the money made in these campaigns towards helping some of society’s most vulnerable people in a constructive and planned way.

Thames Reach believes by working with the public we can help more homeless people turn their lives around. We need more people like Jenny coming forward and showing such admirable determination to make a difference. Talk to us and we can guide you through the minefield of how you can best help.

21.02.14

Hello all,

I am sorry that I haven’t been able to give you the news we had all hoped to hear yet but like most things in life, I have encountered factors in the last week, which weren’t even a consideration when I set up the ‘Get Michael Home’ campaign. I never expected that all of this would move anywhere near as quickly and ‘successfully’ as it has money wise and I want to thank you all for standing by us during this time and for all your wonderful messages of support, encouragement and offers to help. I think it has shown us all just how much we really do care about others, even if we have never met them, which is incredible and so touching. 

I want to give you an insight into my experiences in the last week. Along with the many highs that I have gone through over the past 12days - seeing the total going up and up, the story appearing in The Times newspaper and the joy of telling Michael the news - it has also brought with it a lot of questions, stresses and pressures which I never imagined could even be a possibility.

As you know, Michael is a homeless man and has been for some time. As you can understand there is some information that I need to keep to myself to respect Michael’s privacy and safety. I posted just two statuses on Facebook. That was it, so until now I had never experienced or really truly grasped first hand the power of social media. It’s pretty scary and my intention has never been to make Michael feel uncomfortable or force him into any kind of ‘limelight’ with all of this. All I will say is that to make a transition from the life Michael has been leading to the one that he has dreamt about is obviously going to be a huge one whatever happens and one which may need to take a lot more time than we had all originally hoped for. 

In the beginning this was purely about getting Michael back to Jamaica. To reach the £800 goal in half a day and to go on to raise £10,215 in 5 days has now opened up a lot more opportunities. It’s, of course, amazing to have options but with these possibilities brings with it the scary reality that this money could end up causing Michael some problems too and that is something I honestly never considered, expected or intended when I set out on this quest and even when I watched that money going up. It may seem naïve in hindsight but this all happened so quickly and it only ever seemed like a positive thing at first.

Don’t get me wrong, how amazing that Michael now has the money to not only get to where he wants to be (which is his decision alone) and to also have the chance to maybe turn his life around. But another thing that hadn’t crossed my mind before but has now, and become apparent from talking to a lot of well-informed people, is that this money could now actually end up causing him more harm than good. Jamaica, I have since heard, can be an exceptionally dangerous place for not only its current residents and visitors but even people returning to live there. For Michael to just go back with what is now a LOT of money could have some serious repercussions for him. Not only that, how easy will it be for him to just adapt back into a ‘normal’ life here or somewhere he hasn’t actually resided for a very long time? I’ve had to ask myself the horrible question - could I live with myself if something happened to him over there?

I know there are a number of people out there (I’ve spoken to some of them!) that will and do currently think that I have done ‘my bit’ now and that I should just do what I set out to do - get him a plane ticket, give him his money and wash my hands of it all. I could do that…. but if I did that I would honestly be defeating not only why I wanted to help this man in the first place but also I’d be going totally against who I am as a person and what I feel in my heart is the right thing to do. So no, if any harm came to this man now, because of what I started, I don’t think I could forgive myself. I want to ensure I have done everything in my power to make sure this has a happy ending for him and I will.

I cannot begin to tell you how overwhelming the past couple of weeks have been, even just for me and my life is not set to change at all! I have gone from being overwhelmed with happiness to hearing and listening to the harsh reality of what this might have done and feeling like I could have accidently made a huge mistake. I can honestly say this is the first thing I wake up thinking about every morning and the last thing I think about at night. At the moment, I want to give Michael sometime to let this all sink in. Sometimes the reality of change is a scary one. I have always wanted to go and work in New York, for example, but if someone offered me that ticket and opportunity to go tomorrow, would I still want to do it?? I’m not sure.

I know that many of you want to see him on that plane tomorrow now that we have all this money and to hear that he is back in Jamaica reunited with his family. Unfortunately this isn’t going to be an overnight process, this could take some time. I can tell you right now that no one in the world wants that more than me right now. But as much as I love to be a dreamer, I have to be realistic in order to keep Michael safe and happy if I can. I got him into this current situation and I promise for every person that has helped, donated and sent a message of goodwill, that I will see this through to the end. I just have no idea where that end lies right now. What I can tell you is that Michael is staying with a friend in the mean time so he is ok.

I want to thank you all again for your supportive messages!!! You probably have no idea how much these have comforted me through this and it’s lovely to know that people know I did this with nothing other than the best intentions.

Sending you all the love in the world.

Jenny xxx

14.02.14

So, as you probably all know by now, I was out last weekend and I met a man called Michael. What started as an innocent meeting now has the potential to change this man's life forever. What makes it even more special is that it's ALL down to the kindness and generosity of strangers. Together we raised £10,215 in 5 days!!!!! 

Whilst I don't have any more news to report currently, I will use this page to keep you updated on important progress in this journey. But, as I hope you already know by now, my main priority is Michael so please understand that some information needs to be confidential until he is safe and well and back in Jamaica. I will then be happy to share all of the news with you. 

I just want to thank you all so much on a personal level for all your kind and wonderful messages too. I am massively inspired by you all and the incredible generosity of strangers…. Keep spreading the love and hopefully we can change more lives for the better.

Jenny xxxxxx