Author 'Poems From a Runaway' and Welcome To Leatheton' - Ben Westwood was born in Staffordshire and when young moved to the small former-mining town of Rugeley.

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After relationship breakdowns at home, by ten years old he was running away from home frequently and going missing from days or weeks at a time whilst sleeping rough and wandering around the county and surrounding areas.

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After going into foster care, he first ran away to London at twelve years old where he spent much of the next four years living on the streets of London whilst finding it difficult to settle in foster homes and children's homes.

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In 2016 he wrote his childhood story 'Poems From a Runaway' and self-published it a year later which he spent the next couple of years sharing his experiences with social workers and foster parents at safeguarding events as well as missing children's charities and online blogs.

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Ben does his best to give a voice in the world to those who have had similar experiences in life to him. 

Despite his achievements with the book he still faces much stigma and rejection from the world around him and currently talks about this and other issues or life experiences on TikTok.

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Despite being an unsettled kid with a criminal record from his youth, and despite not doing much high school at all, and despite being the underestimated underdog that few give the chance without wanting to try to exploit, he don't think he's done half bad for himself. 

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Through his journey he aims to show (sometimes effortlessly) the huge impacts that societal stigma towards people like himself face has. 

Wether it's care leavers, the homeless, or those experiencing mental health problems, Ben has been all three of them and knows how it is to feel like your trapped on the outside looking in.

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But through this confusing and gruelling journey, there's always one or two gems show up eventually, those that 'get him' a little more perhaps.

 

Ben is offering his writing skills to anyone that will have him. Just contact BenWestwoodUK@gmail.com and he'll be more than happy to assist you. 

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