How a chance TV appearance helped Hartlepool man get off the streets and into a job he loves
Less than a year ago Adam Sowerby, 31, was sleeping rough on the streets.
Last summer Adam was interviewed in a film about unemployment rates in Hartlepool which went out on The One Show on the BBC.
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Hide AdIt was shared on social media where it was seen by Chris Richardson, the general manager at Xercise4Less within Middleton Grange shopping centre, who was at Henry Smith’s school with Adam.
Chris got in touch with Adam and invited him in before offering a job.
Nine months on, Adam says he has turned his life around and hopes to be an inspiration to others.
He said: “At the time I was sleeping rough. I had been homeless on and off for about five years.
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Hide Ad“I literally had nothing. I slept next to the civic centre, under the Wesley, various places down the marina and sofa surfing.”
Before hearing from Chris, Adam had applied for 75 jobs without success.
But he says he always remained positive that things would get better.
And they did when old school pal Chris contacted him.
“I’d had loads of applications for jobs,” said Chris. “When I saw Adam was not having the best of times I thought it was down to myself to give him an opportunity.
“I invited him in and offered him a job.”
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Hide AdChris admits head office had some reservations given Adam’s homelessness which he says was due to family bereavement and being evicted.
But Chris added: “He took to it like a duck to water. He is a good worker and is here for the long haul.
“Now he has got a home and can provide for himself.”
Adam is a membership consultant at the gym and is working towards promotion.
He loves it so much that he often goes in on his days off.
Adam added: “I wanted to change my life. My mentality was not to give up.
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Hide Ad“There’s people who are homeless, on drugs and struggle to get out of that vicious circle.
“I just want to inspire other people who are down on their luck and show it’s not impossible.”
In 2015, Adam captained the England football Homeless Team in Portugal and brought home a bronze medal.