Tariq Khan has dedicated the last two years of his life to helping Newport’s homeless population. MICHAEL JONES met him to hear his story

PERCHED on a sofa in a nook of the Kettle Café in the centre of Newport, Tariq Khan surveys the city centre.

A number of rough sleepers, wrapped in blankets and sleeping bags, are waking up after another night on the streets.

“Where is our homeless champion?” he asks.

Mr Khan, who is 41 this month, has devoted the last two years of his life to helping the homeless.

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“I haven’t had a day off since last summer,” he said. “I have been picking up needles, doing events, litter picks, giving clothes and food out – the amount of stuff we have done is nuts.”

Alongside fellow campaigner and activity Debbie Whitts, he set up Help the Homeless Newport and Cardiff, and has self-funded the rent of a community hub on Commercial Road.

Anyone who is struggling is invited to come in, shelter from the wind and rain and keep company over a cup of tea or coffee. They also offer free haircuts and give out donated food, clothes and sanitary products.

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Tariq Khan with his wife, Sofia, and one of their children.

Having been homeless himself, Mr Khan knows the hardship and difficulties rough sleepers face.

“Basically, we all have moments in our life where we face a few dark times,” he said. “I turned my life around and came out the other end.

“I was very fortunate to have some brilliant, wonderful people around me.”

Mr Khan juggles managing the hub, organising fundraising events - while also working full-time as an operations facilitator at the NHS.

“I am tired,” he said. “It is difficult. I have four kids, I have a wife, who also works.

“When you sit down and think, ‘I just can’t do this anymore’, then something will happen, or you will see something and you can’t not get motivated or inspired.

“I get a backlog of messages on a daily basis. The things people share with me are emotional. But you can’t say to me, ‘Taz, I haven’t got any time to help’.

“You can find motivation anywhere.”

His energy is infectious, and he says he is always “scribbling away” and jotting down ideas in notebooks, on post-it notes and on his arm.

Mr Khan said he was inspired to set up his group after seeing the work Help the Homeless Leicester perform and the project Wrap Up London.

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Yet the next step is bringing together all the disparate homelessness groups in Newport.

“Joining people from different groups is my thing,” he said. “I started noticing there is no unity between the groups. We are all doing very similar things and it’s just a circle.”

He wants to see a “strategy” designed that will incorporate different charities, agencies and departments from the local council.

“We need to support established groups with money, funding, resources.”

The city doesn’t “have a clear progressive plan” to tackle homelessness, he says.

He said: “There is no-one saying: ‘This is what we have got, we are going to do this, this person is in charge’.

“There is nothing – if you just walk down the street you can see it for yourself.

“I have a bee on my bonnet when local MPs want votes, but nothing changes.”

Vital, too, is how homeless people are guided throughout their journey once they leave support groups, he says.

“Are they getting the help and support they need? The access to mental health services, drug and alcohol support services?,” he said.

“Education is a big thing.

“We need work schemes and we need to get the guys into college.”

Aside from homelessness, Mr Khan wants to see Pill – where he was born and raised – become a destination for art and culture.

“I took a visit to East London and Brick Lane,” he said. “It’s a run-down area with lots of problems.

“But now there is loads of art and it is amazing.

“Let’s get the artists in, let’s reverse the trend.”

His son, Zayan, two is a bundle of energy, cutting through the calm of the café. He puts such liveliness to good use, however, helping alongside his sister Zoya, four, at the hub.

“I might not be here in ten years, but I am leaving my children with good lessons.

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Mr Khan’s son, Zayan, two

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Mr Khan’s daughter, Zoya, four, helping out

“I am teaching them kindness and compassion.”

The conversation returns to the lack of a figurehead fighting homelessness.

“You need someone forward thinking, I am not knocking people, but look at the former Sheffield mayor Magid Magid, how cool was he?”

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'Magic' Magid Magid, former Mayor of Sheffield

He says people have often said he should become an MP.

“Maybe, but not at the moment,” he said with a smirk.