When society talks about protecting vulnerable people, what does that really mean?

For Stephen Kidd, it’s meant being forced to spend over £3,500 of his own disability benefits just to keep a roof over his head — abandoned by the very agencies meant to support him.

Stephen, who lives with significant mobility needs after suffering a stroke while in prison, has been left moving from hotel to hotel across Manchester.
The latest place he found — in a desperate attempt to save money — wasn’t even accessible. No wheelchair access. No handrail. His wheelchair stranded outside in the beer garden while he struggled up a flight of stairs to reach his room.

Inside, the hotel was filled with long-term ex-offender residents and foreign nationals, leaving Stephen feeling unsafe, isolated, and invisible.
“I feel like giving up,” he admitted.

Probation have now directed him back to a previous hotel — but that means another £400+ a week out of his own pocket, without meals, taken straight from his disability payments.
That’s over £3,500 Stephen has had to spend so far — just to survive — because nobody has stepped up.

No council safety net.
No agency solution.
No support — just endless dead ends, closed doors, and broken promises.

And through it all, Stephen has kept fighting, silently carrying the weight — until today.

“I’ve held this in for so long, Sophie. But you just broke me then,” he said.

Nobody should have to fight this hard just to exist.

The Backstory: A Miscarriage of Justice

Stephen Kidd’s nightmare didn’t begin with housing.

In 2009, he was convicted under the controversial joint enterprise doctrine — a law that allows people to be found guilty for the actions of others, even if they didn’t directly commit the crime.
Stephen has always maintained his innocence, stating he was not involved in the murder he was convicted for. But under joint enterprise, his life was torn apart anyway.

While imprisoned, Stephen suffered a massive stroke, leaving him permanently disabled. He lost almost everything — his freedom, his health, his future — and yet he continued to fight for justice from behind prison walls.

In his own words, written while imprisoned at HMP Berwyn:

“Hello my name is Stephen Kidd A9166AZ
I’m a prisoner in Wales called HMP Berwyn
For a change you have read
It’s called Joint Enterprise and wrecks lives
Over a thousand of us given life
I’m not guilty and wasn’t involved
I’ve battled it with all my might
Ten years of my life have been taken
A stroke has left me in a wheelchair
I’ve lost my family and friends along the way
Because our Government(s) just don’t care”

Today, despite being free, Stephen is still paying the price — emotionally, physically, and financially.
And still, no one steps in to help.

How You Can Help

A GoFundMe has now been set up to help Stephen cover the basic costs of safe housing, mobility needs, and survival while he continues to battle this injustice.

If you can support — even just a little — it would make a world of difference.

Link to: GoFundMe 🙏🏻❤️

Stephen’s story is not just about one man.
It’s about every vulnerable person failed by a system that talks about care but delivers only cruelty.
And it’s about standing together when institutions walk away.

Stephen has been left to fight alone for too long.

Let’s show him he’s not alone anymore.