Being made homeless as a child starts political journey for leader of Walsall Council

Councillor Garry Perry recalls the ‘ruthlessness’ of the system that left him, his four siblings and parents without a home for over 12 months.

The 49-year-old has shared how his experiences have led him into politics, describing himself as a ‘conservative with a social conscience’.

Born and raised in Pelsall, he grew up in a working-class household. His father was a lorry driver and his mother a cleaner at a hospital.

In the early 1990s, his mum had a health scare, his dad suffered a stroke, and the interest rates were rising sharply during a national financial crisis.

Garry said: “Very quickly it would seem, we had our house repossessed.

“I would be about 12 or 13, my brother would be about 15, my sisters younger, aged 10 and below.

“I remember my mom telling us it was going to happen before it did but when you’re a child you don’t really understand it.

“You just see your mom beside herself and distraught. Both parents, who at that time, were ill as well.

“The day itself is scarred on my mind forever, because you’re seeing everything that you’ve ever known, and that your parents have worked for, gone.

“We had nowhere to go. It was horrendous.”

The family had been to the council for support but the authority at the time was ‘very different’, and Garry remembers his family being turned away.

He said: “The council was quite politically led, and it didn’t want to know.

“It shows how things have changed, because there are statutory duties and things in place that prevent people being thrown literally onto the streets.”

Garry recalls the council telling his family that because there could be equity in the family property once it was sold, they might not be eligible for social housing, despite having nowhere to go in the meantime.

He said: “The only option we had was to live with my grandma in a two-bedroom flat.

“The living room was turned into a bedroom at night, my elder sister used to sleep in with my grandma, and then my two younger sisters used to share a room with mom and dad.

“We lived like that for 12 months, eight people in a two bedroom flat.

“We didn’t want for anything in terms of food, because my mom and dad would never have let it get to that.”

“I often remember mom just used to cry all the time, it was awful.

“People would gossip and they’d talk about things that used to bother her.

“She then wouldn’t tell my dad things, because it might make him angry and because he had this stroke and heart attack, and it might end up making him worse.

“My mom has always been very protective of the family and our reputation, and I’ve never forgotten it.”

Despite poor health, Garry’s mum and dad went back to work to try and get money for a deposit on a private rental property.

He remembers being dragged around to view potential homes each weekend but the family still continued to struggle financially.

Garry’s parents were recommended to go and visit their local councillor for support.

He said: “I wouldn’t have a clue what this was at the time, or any interest in it, but they went to see these councillors at one of their surgeries at the neighbourhood office.

“I remember them coming back frustrated because they sat there for over an hour and nobody had turned up.

“My parents were told someone would visit us at the flat, but they never came.

“We rang them, again and again, and one of them pushed a slip through the door to say that they’d been. My mum and my grandma were at home at the time.

“They felt let down by the system and let down by those who were elected, allegedly elected to help, and they happen to be labour councillors.

“Given our overall circumstances, if you follow political philosophy, we should have been the family that they would have wanted to help, but they didn’t, they didn’t give a shit.”

The family were told by someone else to try and speak to their local MP, Richard Shepherd of the conservative party.

Garry said: “It was his agent who we spoke to. They were shocked and appalled by what they had heard.

“They said Richard will want to come and see you, and the conditions that you’ve been living in. True to his word, he came.

“I remember coming home from school and my mom was crying, and I thought, ‘oh no, somebody else has let her down’.

“But he had been and she couldn’t believe how compassionate he was. He had sat with my mum and dad for a couple of hours and gone through everything, documented everything, and he took the council and the insurance company to task.

“In probably three or four weeks of Richard Shephard’s involvement, and the newly elected conservative councillor Catherine Micklewright, we were offered a house in Little Bloxwich.”

Garry had a paper round at the time and his mum suggested delivering leaflets for Shepherd as a thank you gesture ahead of the 1992 general election.

Garry said: “That’s what I did and he was reelected. He eventually encouraged me to get involved in politics.

“This is a proud community that has tended to vote labour, most of the time.

“I thought, these people who didn’t help me or my family when we needed them, they need a wake up call.

“So when I was old enough, because you couldn’t stand until you’re 22 back then, the conservative party asked me if I would consider standing for election.

“I threw everything at it, and I did it for my mom.

“We went out with a loudspeaker, and I stood on the back of a lorry decorated in union jacks. We knocked on doors the old fashioned way.

“I didn’t expect to win, but I did, and I’ve been there ever since.

“So that was my way into politics. Not what you would probably call a natural conservative. I’d say one with a social conscience and a heart, I’m empathetic in my approach.

“When I became the mayor, my mom was my mayoress, and for me, that was the pinnacle, it was just everything. To see my mom so proud of me, I guess, after what we had been through.”

The leader said because of his experiences he can’t help but go ‘above and beyond’ for others in a similar situation.

He said: “You remember your own experience, and that’s the first thing that comes to your mind.

“I get cases sent through to me that shock and appall me, and whilst I will go through the officer structure to respond to that, let’s just say I’m like a dog with a bone, particularly where children and families are concerned.

“It’s because of your lived experiences you go above and beyond. Some people try it on but you know the genuine cases.

“It’s the families that hurt you the most, because you know that they’re desperate, because we were desperate.

“It’s a basic necessity, food and shelter, nothing else really matters.”

For anybody affected by homelessness, Garry said: “There is always someone there willing to help. It might take a number of times to break the ceiling but eventually you will, and never be afraid to ask for help.”

To find out about the support available for those facing homelessness, visit: go.walsall.gov.uk/housing/homelessness

To alert the council about a rough sleeper, visit Streetlink, click here.

Change Into Action is a scheme which supports charities and street teams to help rough sleepers. To donate, click here.