By XAVIER SMERDON
EVERY night Les would tie his American Bulldog, Bundy, to his leg as he slept on the streets to keep him safe.
Bundy was the only one in Les’ life that was loyal to him and was willing to be his friend.
After being homeless for more than 17 years he is constantly fearful of returning to the streets and is grateful for every hot meal and every shower.
Les left home when he was 12-years-old due to family problems and hitchhiked his way from Sydney to Melbourne.
He paid his own way through school and while his fellow students were going home to their parents he was squatting in the school in secret, trying to change his future.
No one wanted to give Les or Bundy a chance. He even had a bin rolled over him by a priest as he tried to sleep on the steps of a church.
“Since I was 12-years-old it’s been a way of life for me,” Les said.
“I was like an animal, I had to adapt as all these things changed around me.
“If I didn’t have Bundy with me I don’t think I would want to go on.”
Eventually he made his way to Werribee where he discovered the Salvation Army this year and met Captain Lance Geffrey.
He would occasionally get a meal and a hot drink before returning to the streets.
Mr Geffrey encouraged him to try helping with the food van and help other homeless people. Here he met Ian Grosser.
Ian and his wife Sue opened their home to Les and helped him find a job.
“I could tell that he wasn’t a down and outer or a hobo. He had something inside him,” Mr Grosser said.
“He had plenty of chances to get into the cash tin on that first day but he didn’t.
“I totally trust him.”
Les said his story is the same as hundreds of other homeless people in Wyndham. They have never been given a chance and for most people they are invisible.
His ultimate dream is to find secure accommodation for himself and Bundy and not have to worry about where his next meal will come from.
“Now that I’m helping the Salvation Army I’m on the other side of the help they give out,” he said.
“They were the only ones that always opened their doors to me and saw me for what I was.”
The Salvation will be seeking donations during the Red Shield Appeal and will be knocking on resident’s doors on 25 and 26 May.
For more information or to donate visit www.salvos.org.au
