A homeless man who fashioned himself a home from a wardrobe in the middle an East London street now has a place to live. Lukas K, 30, built the home from a disused wardrobe donated to him even had his pad hooked up to electricity as it was next to a car charging point.
Lukas, who grew up in Fulham said he built the home in just two days on Bethnal Green Road because he “has to live somewhere”. He added that it was a far better alternative than a shop doorway or park bench.
He was given the wardrobe by a friend who was about to chuck it away, and said he once had a great job but his life turned upside down after becoming hooked on Class A drugs. All Lukas wants is to be a “functioning member of society,” and should life work itself out for him – he can’t wait to pay council tax, which he’d do “in a heartbeat”.
READ MORE: Homeless man builds himself a house out of an old wardrobe and is now living in it on a London pavement
The home even had a door number on it
(Image: MyLondon)
“I want to be a functioning, contributing member of society and not a drain,” he said at the time. “[I] always suffered from depression because I had a very violent and abusive [childhood]. I was a victim of extreme violence and the only way I could deal with it was through drugs.”
He ended up using drugs to cope with the pain, and selling cocaine to feed his heroin addiction which eventually saw him receive a custodial sentence. “I’ve seen people die from it [heroin] and it was the year in prison that made me question myself. You see those people every day and they don’t care about anything anymore, I’ve even seen people’s legs rotting off,” he said.
“I really don’t want that for myself. I want to go back to working and helping other people. I want to inspire other people to tell them it doesn’t matter how bad things get, you can always make a change.”
Lukas’ home has since been knocked down by the council after they provided him with emergency accommodation.
A Tower Hamlets Council spokesperson didn’t say why it was knocked down, but told MyLondon: “The person accepted our accommodation plan and now has a place to stay. This is emergency accommodation and so our team is working with them to find a longer-term solution to address their housing need.”
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https://www.mylondon.news/news/east-london-news/council-knocks-down-homeless-mans-24039682
