I was doing a project on homelessness in London. I wanted to highlight a few stories and give real homeless people an opportunity to be heard and not exploited. I started volunteering at Brixton Soup Kitchen, interacting with homeless people, giving out food and collecting stories. Solomon - the founder of the kitchen, introduced me to Paul and suggested I sit down and interview him.

We sat down for two hours and I recorded his story as he wanted it to be told - I heard things that I never expected, tales of tragedy, love, death, murder, robbery and rape. His story was so delicate and personal that I decided to give him his own book. He'd been selling 'The Big Issue' for over 10 years, and I wanted to give him the opportunity to make money selling his own book and story, which he loved the idea of.

This could be the beginning of a campaign, in which we give homeless people back a sense of dignity and pride, where they can sell their story and make money from it.