An author and writer who has left a series of uplifting and heartwarming notes around Manchester says he is trying to help others who may be feeling lonely or having a hard time.
Adopted Manc Jay Ventress has penned a dozen letters which he posted at different locations around the city centre. The handwritten notes all contain examples of random acts of kindness he has witnessed or positive messages penned by Jay.
One posted in Stevenson Square in the Northern Quarter, which has been circulated on Twitter, says: "This morning I saw a stranger drop her wallet on the tram and somebody jumped off to chase after her to give it back.
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"Yesterday, I saw a man get knocked over by a car on his scooter and every stranger around ran to help him. Luckily he was okay. It's moments like these, misfortune followed by unexpected beauty where I find beauty shines the brightest.
"Even though I've been through hell myself and had to battle many demons along the way, I desperately want to believe angels exist too. I guess that's why I search the streets for humanity and post these letters, to show people still care about people.
"To prove the world is not completely corrupt. That angels walk among a crowd of demons too."
In another, in a 'portrait of Manchester', he describes the city as: "The land of smiles, ravers, rockers and genuine people who'll say hello to you no matter where you came from, how much money you have, or who you know.
"People are just people in this town what you do for work is irrelevant. Manchester attracts a certain type of soul. A genuinely punk soul. A soul that refuses to let the world make them bitter.
"That's how you prosper in this city, be kind, help others up not kick them down, and treat others the way you'd want to be treated. The motto of the North 'be friendly, don't be a ****."
Whilst in another he says: "If you feel like a stranger, too complicated to be understood, too romantic for your own good, a true believer in your dreams, a lonely soul wandering an overpopulated world, I want to say hello friend. There are more of your people out there. There's one behind this letter. A stranger."
The 26-year-old, who currently works in film industry, is originally from Yorkshire but moved to Manchester as a teenager and lived and worked here before starting to travel the world four years ago.
Jay, who said he has previously struggled with his own mental health, posted his first message following the arrival of Covid which coincided with a 'dark' time in his life.
"I started in Australia during the pandemic I was kind of stuck there, and I wasn't in a good state because I couldn't come back and there was no work going at the time," he told the Manchester Evening News.
"I applied to be a dishwasher and there were 200 applicants, and there was no government help, so I was going through a hard time.
"I started talking to a lot of the homeless people in Melbourne. They were the only people that would really talk to me. And they started giving me loads of wise, really beautiful advice. So I started to channel all of these learnings, and nice things they'd told me, into letters to make myself feel better first.
"Then I would post it and walk away and someone else would read it and I thought 'oh that's nice.' And people started to respond to them so I started writing more and more. They also started helping the homeless people I was writing about, as I would always include where they were on the street.
"So that was kind of the beginning." Two years ago, Jay left Australia and returned to the UK. However, his girlfriend lives in Belgium and he began leaving letters in Brussels which focussed on the issue of loneliness.
Each note as part of the 'Dear Stranger' project, includes a link to Jay's Instagram handle, @jaytheauthor, and he said he was overwhelmed with responses. "It blew up," he said.
"In Brussels more than anywhere, people really engaged. I got literally hundreds and hundreds of messages and I've been on TV and radio there talking about it."
He also left notes in New York which talked about dreams. However despite considering himself an adopted Mancunian, he had had never posted letters here in his 'hometown' where is now back living and working until a fortnight ago.
He has now stuck 12 different letters, all of which he writes in his own time after work, at different points across the city centre including the Northern Quarter and Gay Village.
"In a way, Manchester is my hometown so I was interested to see how they'd react," he said. "And it just blew up again. I didn't expect it to. But I've been receiving so many beautiful messages from people in Manchester.
"People's reactions, responses, and messages help me create new letters so it's a living, breathing project.
"I also started to understand and see the city better through the people's eyes. It's really beautiful. People were sending me messages about what Manchester means to them, telling me they're lonely or telling me their life stories.
"I'm in a good place now but I always remember the time that I wasn't and I know other people feel like that so I like to tap into that.
"Just to make people fell less alone. In a way, I just want to show people that no matter who you are, we all go through problems and you're not alone. To remind people not to give up on their dreams and to remind people not to let life beat them down."
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