It’s Tuesday afternoon and Stuart ‘Pottsy’ Potts receives a phone call from a concerned relative of a homeless man. Word has spread that he is offering shelter to those in need at his one bedroom flat in Middleton.
Listening intently to the phone call between Stuart and the worried family member are Naeem Iqbal, Leon Taaffe and James Swales. Three men from different backgrounds who have found themselves at a similar crossroads in their life and have been taken in by Stuart.
Stuart’s scheme runs on trust, he says. People who come to his door are asked not to partake in hard drugs, do not need to pay rent and are asked to be respectful and kind to others in the flat. Speaking on why he has opened his door to the homeless Stuart, 41, said: “If everybody did it, nobody would be homeless would they?”
