"I was an addict for 16 years and hated my life - now I'm living on the streets"
Warning: This article contains discussions of drug addiction and suicide which some readers may find distressing.
A dad who spent 16 years taking cocaine and alcohol before turning his life around is now choosing to deliberately sleep on the streets over winter.
Richie Roncero took his first line of cocaine at just 15-years-old and had been kicked out of school, marking the beginning of a long battle that saw him made homeless.
He suffered from psychosis and believed people were in his house sneaking around at night. At his lowest, he faced overpowering suicidal thoughts and ‘knew something had to change’.
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In 2014, the now 42-year-old went on to completely transform his life, starting a family and a charity to help others facing similar struggles, with the help of another former addict.
He was inspired to take action after witnessing what he said was a major shortage of residential rehabilitation space for those grappling with addiction and life on the streets.
A report published by charity Phoenix Futures in April, based on Freedom of Information requests to English local authorities, estimates that state-funded residential rehab placements have fallen by almost 50 per cent over the past decade.
Despite this, in England, 329,646 adults were in contact with drug and alcohol treatment services between 2024–25 - the highest number since records began.
Now, Richie has embarked on a gruelling six-month challenge; sleeping rough on the streets across the UK to raise £1million for vital addiction recovery beds for others to get clean.
Speaking to LADbible, he explained: "My addiction lasted for 16 years. It began with cocaine then later alcohol.
“I used it regularly which led to psychosis. It was awful, I believed people were in my house sneaking about at night.
“I hated myself and my life. Ultimately, it got to the stage where I experienced suicidal thoughts where I regularly fantasised about dying and I knew that something had to change.
"The turning point was when I met a recovering addict who took me through the 12 steps. Having a support network without judgement or fear was a real inspiration. It totally changed my life.”
As part of the fundraising efforts, Richie will spend Christmas and New Year this year on the streets without his family, arguing that people in need are ‘dying’ on waiting lists in the UK.
It was last weekend that the Edinburgh-based charity founder left Hope House, a residential recovery facility run by his charity Steps to Hope in West Lothian, before beginning his challenge on the streets of Glasgow.
He has already inspired supporters to raise more than £250,000 through donations and charity challenges of their own, with Richie now hoping to reach the £1 million milestone to expand their recovery services.
He will sleep on the streets across the UK, spending seven nights in each of 26 different locations without any money or everyday comforts to raise awareness of the realities faced by thousands of people experiencing homelessness.
The challenge aims to fund the construction and running of five additional bedrooms at Hope House, the charity's existing ten-bed residential recovery facility, which opened in 2024.
“It’s to meet the demand for our services,” Richie explained. “We have so many people every day phoning to come in here.
“We are doing so many assessments and we can’t turn beds around quickly enough.
“It got to the point that people have passed away on our waiting list because we haven’t been able to get a bed quickly enough.”
Richie has begun his six-month challenge in Glasgow this weekend, before moving on to London, Manchester, Durham, Dundee, Cambridge, Dunfermline, Belfast, Derry, Cardiff, Swansea, Stirling, Westminster, Newcastle, Inverness, Birmingham, Bradford, Aberdeen, Leeds, Bristol, Liverpool, Perth, Sunderland, Bath, York and Carlisle.
Between 17 October and 17 April next year, he will sleep rough every night, carrying only a sleeping bag, phone, toothbrush, and 100 information leaflets for each stop.
Despite his previous experience on the streets, Richie admits the prospect of setting off into the coldest months of the year is taking its toll.
He explained: “There’s not one bit of me that wants to do this. I’m losing sleep already, up in the middle of the night.
“My head is going while trying to prepare myself for six months on concrete. It’s not safe, there’s no guarantee, no certainty, I’ll be alone and isolated.
“I’ll miss Christmas and New Year with my family, and I’ll be out on my recovery birthday when I turn 12 years sober. I’ll be out on my actual birthday as well, and I’ll be missing my daughter’s birthday too.”
He added: “I’m giving up my security and risking my mental health, putting it all on show for the world to see which is daunting.
“It’s hard to carry yourself and motivate yourself when you’re at low points with your mental health, and that will happen - but we have people dying on our waiting lists and I take calls from parents, and kids, people begging for their loved ones to get support.”
He added: “I’ll be sleeping 20 minutes at a time, because if you hear a noise, your head’s up, checking if anything’s coming. It’s exhausting.
“But Steps to Hope is my life, seven days a week. My juice comes from watching other people's lives get better and improve. I can see that magic in Hope House, I can see that getting better every single day.”
Richie has so far raised more than £300,000 at the time of writing. Donations can be made online here.
If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can talk to FRANK. You can call 0300 123 6600, text 82111 or contact through their website 24/7, or livechat from 2pm-6pm any day of the week
And if you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123 or contact Harmless by visiting their website https://harmless.org.uk.
James Holt