There’s no hope in John McDonald’s eyes. “I haven’t eaten in three days,” he says, glancing down at the floor. “I’ve been on the streets since my mum and dad died four years ago.”
It’s a sad reality for too many. John, 58, says he lost his job as a joiner when the company shut down in 1979. In a tragic twist of fate, he broke his neck shortly after, leaving him in pain and out of work ever since. Homeless and alone, he now spends his days sleeping in parks around Gorton.
Many work hard in the bustling, diverse neighbourhood south-east of town, holding down multiple jobs to make ends meet. But John is among thousands out of work. New figures have shown that 8.3 per cent of people in Gorton are unemployed – the highest rate in Greater Manchester and the ninth highest in Britain.
