"My name’s Anthony, and I’ve lived in Harehills for about 10 years, on and off. I used to live up at Compton Way, but now I’m more in the heart of Harehills. The area has changed a lot over the years. It’s definitely better now. Before, you couldn’t really walk around at night unless you were known; it felt a lot more tense. Now, it’s quieter, more relaxed, and the people are friendlier.
I hear a lot of bad things about Harehills, but I think it’s an unfair image. It’s not like that anymore. It’s multicultural, with people from all different backgrounds and ages. We had a bad bit of press after that incident, but that was a one-off situation that just got out of hand. It hasn’t cast a shadow over Harehills. It’s a nice place, and it’s safe. There’s a lot of help here for people, with food banks, warm spaces, and safe places to go.
I grew up all over the world, with an army background. I was born in Germany and lived all over the world – I lived in Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Malaysia, Australia, Brunei, and Zimbabwe. So, I’ve been all overIt was a regimented life, a robotic life. I wasn’t allowed to walk the way I wanted to walk. I was ordered which way to go, I was told which way to go. The places I lived weren’t as free as people think they are.
That’s why Leeds feels calm to me. It’s relaxed. When you’ve lived in places with barbed wire, fences, and armed guards all your life, coming to a place like Leeds feels like a breath of fresh air.
When I first arrived here, I was homeless for about a year, though it was more by choice than anything else. I’d had enough of being around people, so I moved into the woods with a tent and just tried to clear my head. Eventually, I realised I wasn’t going to get any help that way. No one was going to help me by being away from civilisation, so I decided to come back and be amongst people again. It wasn’t something I wanted to do, but I did, and I got housed.
Now, I run a Saturday table tennis session at Compton Library for all ages. It’s a great, safe place to be, and it gives me the chance to help people connect and point them toward the resources they might need."
