Andrew Faris works day in, day out to get meals to those in need. The Guardian angel tracks down a tool to make life a little easier
“I have been doing this for 14 years,” Andrew Faris half yells down the phone over the rush of noise behind him. Volunteers at his charity are preparing dinners for homeless people – veggie curry and chicken wings. “People ask me: do you ever take a day off? But there’s still so much to be done.” Faris, who tells me he is in his late 40s, runs a small, London-based charity called Rhythms of Life. The former photographer takes no salary and has put his life savings, about £70,000, into it. (The charity also receives donations.)
For Faris, this work is personal. He was homeless for six years in the 1990s. He had run a successful commercial lettings business, but overleveraged himself and went broke. His first night sleeping rough was terrible, he says. He sat and thought, “No, I won’t do silly things. I will get through this.”
