The smart approach

As a former history undergraduate and pupil at a leading public school, doubtless the sight of bright young things cycling along the High stirs memories of his own university days - although, as it happens, lecture theatres did not exactly figure too prominently in his long-gone student life.

For the great thing he learnt at university was how to drink.

He left as a first-class boozer with honours, and a single-minded determination to seize his destiny with both hands - which sadly came in the shape of a bottle.

From Manchester University he would attempt a whole variety of jobs before making his way to London and Oxford, where he was to live on the streets and hostels.

The passage from taking his first drink at university, as a slightly awkward son of two teachers, to being a homeless and hopeless alcoholic was a mere seven years. Remarkably, he had hardly been a drinker at all until he went to college.

The people he knows in Oxford are not academics who may share his interest in European history.

Those who nod to him when he walks along Cornmarket to start his next shift as a market porter are the people huddled in doorways, waiting for the hostels and drop-in centres to reopen.

Although, Mathew struck many of the city's more established drifters and drunks as a bit on the posh side, with his big words and clever sayings, they liked him when he was just another guest at Oxford Night Shelter.

It pleases him that they still appear to like him now that has managed to secure both himself a home and a job as he faces the daily battle not to take a drink.

Perhaps they regard him as something of an inspiration - decisive proof that lives can be mended and things can change?

Who knows?

What is without question is that the burden carried by this remarkably well-educated porter has been made much lighter by a local charity called Aspire.

Aspire was set up in Oxford six years ago to provide homeless and former homeless people with paid employment and offer training and support to help them move into full-time work or study.

Aspire is one of the local charities that has been handed thousands of pounds by the homeless appeal StreetSmart, which The Oxford Times is once again backing in the run-up to Christmas.

As usual the campaign depends on Oxfordshire's leading restaurants coming forwards to help.

As usual they will be adding £1 to the bills of customers, patiently explaining to diners who ask that StreetSmart is all about helping local charities.

And as usual the money is as desperately needed as ever to allow the numerous organisations across the city to continue with their remarkable progress.

Since StreetSmart was established seven years ago it has raised more than £2.7m for the homeless.

Oxford has repeatedly made the biggest contribution outside London, with the 2005 total raised in Oxford hitting a record £30,000.

The charity was founded by publisher William Sieghart and Mary-Lou Sturridge, the manager of London's Groucho Club, which was the first place to introduce the £1 Christmas levy.

Anne Donovan, one of the Oxford co-ordinators, who has succeeded in bringing in a number of new restaurants this season, said: "Thousands of people will be lucky enough to eat out in restaurants in Oxford as we enter the festive season.

"It is good to think that while enjoying themselves they are also contributing to something which is so worthwhile and makes such a difference to those less fortunate at what can be the hardest time of the year for them.

"The important thing for people to realise is that every penny raised goes to local charities for the homeless."

With organisations like Aspire, Night Shelter and the Bridge, Oxford has some of the most impressive facilities for the homeless in Britain.

Some may be tempted to observe that the high standard of support now available has meant the road to Oxford has become a well-worn path for rough sleepers in London and other UK cities, particularly in winter.

But the provision for the homeless is also reason for pride, not least when people like Mathew speak of their debt to the city's homeless charities in helping to rebuild their lives and put them back into work.

His story confirms that homelessness is a trapdoor that is not exclusively for the underprivileged victims of broken homes, abuse and neglect.

Mathew's parents, both teachers at a special needs school in Sussex, were able to send him to board at Millfield School in Somerset.

Through the sixth form he showed little interest in pubs and clubs, concentrating on obtaining good A-Levels and a place at Manchester University.

But his early introduction to alcohol there had an immediate and devastating effect.

It was essentially love at first sight.

"I thought, 'I love this stuff and it loves me. Why not introduce yourself to it properly? Why be afraid? Why resist? What is the problem?' I was strong and felt the invincibility of youth. I couldn't think of a good reason not to. Within days I was drinking in the morning.' "There is always a lot of alcohol around during freshers week. But I think whenever I had come across alcohol I would have established a dysfunctional co-dependent relationship with it. From the beginning I drank in a certain way."

Drawn to the heaviest drinking students, at the end of the night he would drift around Manchester. Instead of being appalled at the sight of the winos in the city centre, he saw something to admire.

"I believed there was a certain honesty about them, even nobility," Mathew told me over a coffee at Borders. "They had no responsibility, no mortgage and no career path."

He quit university in the second year after being troubled by a sense of guilt that he was wasting his parents' money by being there.

There would be many jobs and even a son from a troubled relationship but he recognises that "booze was really always running the show".

His last job was as a civil servant in a DSS office.

One day after a particularly heavy lunchtime session he returned roaring drunk, with the illusion of self-control laid bare, told the boss what he thought of him and joined the ranks of London's street sleepers.

For many months he lived outside the Victoria Theatre, near the railway station, later making his home in a burnt-out car.

"It is amazing how quickly sleeping on the streets loses its threat," he said.

"Once you have done it for a few nights you realise that you do wake up and survive."

While his face bears the scars of one particularly violent attack, he clearly means it when he adds: "There is a certain comradeship, a dysfunctional fellowship. At least you are in the company of other people who understand. You don't have to explain yourself."

Then, while staying in a hostel in Windsor, someone recommended Oxford.

When I ask him when he arrived at Oxford Night Shelter, he gives the exact date - January 28, 2005.

Even now his eyes widen as he talks about it.

"I had lived in central London and all over the South Coast, spending many years on the streets, sleeping on park benches and living in squats. And I've seen most things.

"But I had never been to a place like Oxford in terms of the facilities. It was by far the best-equipped, most comfortable night shelter that I'd ever stayed in. I moved into a single room with an ensuite shower."

A resettlement officer put him in touch with Aspire, which had launched a gardening and landscaping scheme to get homeless and formerly homeless people back into work.

Despite being weakened by years of rough sleeping, Mathew, like many before him, was attracted to the outdoor work and putting his hands in the soil.

"Going out doing the labour and coming home tired was great for me. It was a different reality, which blocked out the drink."

He moved into a shared dry house and was eventually recommended for a job with the city council, setting up the market at Gloucester Green and working as a porter at the Covered Market.

As he prepares for a busy run-in to Christmas at the market, he looks older than his 38 years.

"Drink is the great remove," he says, as he prepares to head back to the Aspire offices in New Inn Hall Street. "It takes from you your family, your financial security, everything, until all that is left is you and the drink."

But many things taken are now slowly coming back to him, thanks in part at least to two Oxford charities that have both benefited from StreetSmart.

• Anyone wishing to help the StreetSmart appeal should contact Anne Donovan on 01865 559141 or Sally Sharp on 01923 856600.

Restaurants supporting the StreetSmart appeal:

Alpha Bar, 89 The Market, Oxford (01865 250499);

Aziz, 228-230 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1UH (01865 794945)

Aziz & Pandesia, 1 Folly Bridge, Oxford (01865 247775)

Brookes Restaurant, Headington Campus, Gypsy Lane, Oxford, OX3 OBP (01865 483803)

Cherwell Boathouse, 50 Bardwell Road, Oxford (01865 552746)

Chinnor Indian Cuisine, 59-61 Lower Road, Chinnor, OX39 4DU (01844 354843)

Jamal's Tandoori Restaurant, 107-108 Walton Street, Oxford (01865 310102)

Jee Saheb, 15 North Parade Ave, Oxford, OX2 6LX (01865 513773)

Joe's, 260 Banbury Road, Summertown (01865 554484)

Joe's, 21 Cowley Road, Oxford (01865 201120)

Kings Head Inn, The Green, Bledington, OX7 6XQ (01608 658365)

Lemon Tree, 268 Woodstock Road, Oxford, OX2 7NW (01865 311936)

Living Room, 1 Oxford Castle, Oxford, OX1 1AY (01865 260210)

Loch Fyne, 55 Walton Street, Oxford, OX2 6AE (01865 292510)

QI Club, 16 Turl Street, Oxford, OX1 3DH (01865 200404)

Rose, 51 High Street, Oxford, OX1 4AS (01865 244429)

The Chequers, Goddards Lane, Chipping Norton, OX7 5NP

The Fox Hotel, Market Square, Chipping Norton, OX7 5EU (01608 642658)

The Millbrook Room, The Mill House Hotel, Kingham, OX7 6UH (01608 658188)

The Navy Oak, 110 Lower End, Leafield, near Witney, OX29 9QQ (01993 878496)

The Nosebag, 6 St Michael's Street, Oxford (01865 721033)

Sir Charles Napier, Sprigg's Alley, near Chinnor, 0X39 4BX (01494 483011)

Vault & Garden, St Mary's Church, High Street, Oxford (01865 279112)

Xi'an, 197 Banbury Road, Summertown, Oxford, OX2 7AR (01865 554239)

Chartities helped last year by StreetSmart

CONNECTION

Works to provide a support service to people in Oxfordshire who may be struggling to live independently in the community. The priority is to support people who would otherwise face homelessness or the intervention of acute care. Support and independent housing for prople with drug or alcohol problems.

THE BRIDGE

Offers people aged between 16 and 25 emergency night shelter, providing food, support and advice.

OXFORD NIGHT SHELTER

Incorporates O'Hanlon House and Julian Housing. O'Hanlan House provides direct access, emergency accommodation for up to 56 homeless people aged 26 or over. During the day up to 100 people may be using the facilities. O'Hanlan House incorporates a resettlement unit. Julian Housing provides supported housing for ex-homeless people. Managing 72 units of accommodation spread across 13 houses, mainly in East Oxford.

ASPIRE

Employs and trains homeless people and ex-homeless people. Projects include landscape and gardening project, including private work and maintenance contracts with local housing associations.

CHERWELL HOUSING TRUST

A purpose-built workshop provides the opportunity to learn skills associated with the construction industry and also basic skills required for independent living. Cherwell Housing Trust incorporates Simon Housing, a 52-bed hostel in the city centre.

THE PORCH (Steppin Stone Centre)

Based in Cowley, the centre provides low-cost meals and laundry facilities, IT facilities, some therapies, cooking classes and an allotment project, which supplies the kitchen. The whole ethos is a shift away from dependency towards independent living and social inclusion.