A man spent weeks living in woodland after losing his job because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Dog walker Sarah Inglis, 28, found the man living in the woods close to her home in Tillydrone on April 16 – with a bike as his only possession.
The man is from Romania and had been working in the hospitality sector when the virus hit, leaving him homeless and without employment.
Sarah, with the help of a neighbour, provided him with essential items and contacted Somebody Cares, a charity for those facing poverty.
He has now been placed in temporary accommodation by a city charity.
Sarah said: “Across from my house there used to be a school and it was knocked down. A lot of people dump things there and when I was out walking my dog he went over to his bush.
“I heard something and there was this man. He couldn’t really speak English because he was from Romania.
“I grabbed soup, pasta, and he was very thankful for that. I contacted friends asking if they had things lying about.
“I got him clothes, a pillow, duvet, a mug and I went to the pound shop and got him bits and bobs like razors and shaving foam.”
Robert Smith, operations director at Somebody Cares, confirmed the man was now being cared for by the charity – and said his circumstances are not unique.
He said volunteers have seen increasing demand due to people suffering additional pressure.
He believes the city could continue to experience the long-term impacts of the virus many months after lockdown restrictions have been lifted.
Robert said: “We are running our foodbank at the minute and we are still supporting our regular people, but we are also finding a lot of people are having to ask for help for the first time.
“There has been a marked increase in demand over the last few weeks, because people have either lost jobs or have less money because they have been furloughed.
“Although this gentleman’s case is unusual, it’s certainly not unique.
“We are taking a more direct approach with him than we normally would because of Covid-19. We were able to offer him the basics.”
He added: “We never have all the answers but we do know where to get them and how to signpost people to the services they need.
“It is good there are people out there who are willing to help.”
