Stephen gives an overview of the tour  to a group in the London Bridge area

After being homeless for three years, 58-year-old Stephen has found a job that highlights his creativity and resourcefulness.

Groups of people gather around him outside of Tooley Street Station as he collects tickets and makes conversation with his customers.

Stephen works for London’s Unseen Tours, which provide paid work for homeless, ex homeless, or vulnerably housed individuals by hiring them to lead tours through quirky and usually underrated or unnoticed areas of the city.

Stephen has been a tour guide for just over eight months and mixes his personal story with an eclectic history of the area.

“I’ve been on the streets for about 3 years. Before this I worked in construction and before that I worked for TFL. I started drinking heavily and missing a lot of work, my wife got sick of it. So she left. We don’t have any kids or anything so I felt alone and went down a dark path. I ended up losing my job and now I’m out here. Proud to say I’m 7 months sober though.”

Stephen gives tours of the London Bridge area and hopes that he can enlighten people about the ‘unknown’ history of the area as well as highlight issues of social injustice that affect the homeless.

“It’s easy to see all the big tourist attractions and feel like you really know the city. But you don’t. I also hope they change they’re minds about what it means to be homeless. When you hear my story it humanizes me, I’m not just that dirty guy sitting on the corner asking for your change.”

The tours aim to eliminate negative stereotypes surrounding the homeless community by employing them and giving them a platform that highlights their contributions and unique knowledge about London.

The Unseen Tours are a non-profit organisation that uses 60% of revenue to pay the tour guides, while the other 40% is reinvested in operational costs. While the income generated from the tours is not enough to be their only job, many of the guides find that the tours have helped them get back on their feet.

Stephen, who is staying with a friend for the time being, is pleased with the opportunities given to him as a result of being a guide. He is grateful for the income but was surprised how rewarding the job could be in many ways.

“Money, at first, was the obvious incentive. But as I’ve done more and more tours I just enjoy it. It’s quite nice to be able to show people where I live and show them that being homeless doesn’t mean all the bad things they think it does. Yes I was an alcoholic but I wanted to clean up and I did. Sometimes people just don’t get that.”

Stephen takes tourists through the mysterious alleys and hidden pathways of the London Bridge area from the infamous Clink Prison to a hidden archeological dig. He’s proud of his tours as the organisation reinforces an important distinction between touring the homeless and touring with the homeless. The tours “reverse the power balance between our homeless guides and ‘mainstream’ society” as the guides are the authorities that lead us through the tour.

The Unseen Tours began as a development off of the Sock Mob, a volunteer organisation that delivers socks, food, and warm conversation to the homeless on a weekly basis. The tours run in Camden, Covent Garden, London Bridge, and Shoreditch and will soon be operating in Brick Lane.

If you’re interested in taking one of the tours, click here for more information.