The children’s residential home did not prepare me for life
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Pavel Voldřich was born on the 8th of October in Kralovice in Western Bohemia. He comes from a dysfunctional family - of nine childen, some were put for adoption, some grew up in residential homes. Pavel was taken away from his parents by the Child Protection Services when he was one year old. He lived in several facilities, he had mental problems, he was scared of people, he nad problems speaking. He went to school for special needs children, when he was 15 years old - still under the custody of the residential home - he got a job as a factory worker. He left the residential home when he was 17, he moved to a boarding house in Plzeň where he worked in the Škoda factory. He was imprisoned several times, mostly for petty theft or for assaulting the police. In the 1990’s, he ended up living on the street, in summer, he would spend the nights outside, in winter, in homeless shelters. He was able to find some stability in life thanks to the Nový Prostor street mamazine whose purpose is to help the homeless. Income from the sale of the magazine allowed him to pay rent in a boarding house where he still lives. He found religion - faith brought him peace of mind and helped him to sort out his life. He managed to end drinking. He sees his future in selling Nový Prostor [New Space]
