On Civvy Streets

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Ex-paratrooper Stuart Griffiths was homeless and living in a hostel when he began to take remarkable portraits of former comrades down on their luck. He explains to Patrick Butler why so many squaddies find it hard to adapt to civilian life


Wednesday May 4, 2005
The Guardian

Young and old, their stories are familiar, says Stuart Griffiths of the homeless ex-forces personnel whose lives he has been chronicling. 'There is always a problem with them accepting society, or society accepting them,' he explains.
Many have had difficult family backgrounds, and in the services they became institutionalised and were ill-prepared for civilian life when they left. Their departure, particularly if their career was cut short on medical grounds after being wounded, would have been hugely dispiriting.
Add to this what Griffiths calls the 'real problem with alcohol abuse in the army' and the unpacking, in civilian life, of psychological traumas stored up while in the forces � whether combat experiences or barrack room bullying � and the outlook is bleak.
Many homeless ex-squaddies, he suspects, are consumed by self-hatred. Unable to deal properly with psychological problems, they drag themselves through 'this appalling life' as a kind of penance. Boozing, mental illness and violence are widespread.
He believes ex-services personnel often lack the basic 'sense of security' � the trust in institutions and social relationships � that civilians can take for granted. After the camaraderie of forces life, there can follow real isolation, a feeling that 'when you are out, you are on your own'.


to visit stuart's website www.stuartgriffiths.org

some of his pictures are also on the Guardian site
- follow the link above