Fat Macy’s: How one man escaped the Catch-22 of the benefits system

Tarek's descent into homelessness was typical. His escape was not.

Tarek came to London in 2006 from South Yorkshire. He started working in McDonalds, where he used his wages to send money to family overseas and to care for his blind uncle. He was living in a privately-rented apartment, but the landlord sold it and the rent shot up. He couldn’t afford it. “That was it, that was the beginning of homelessness,” says Tarek, deadpan. “Friends disappeared.”