He's done it, he's walked 500 miles!
A few weeks ago we reported on Irish Comedian Francis Cronin walking from San Francisco to LA and sleeping rough along the way to raise awareness for homelessness. Here at CollegeTimes we have been following Francis's inspiring journey which he has been documenting on his social channels along the way. His story caught celebrity attention with Bridesmaids actor Chris O' Dowd sharing his support for the comedian. The walk was in aid of his chosen charity Home Health Care Los Angeles who do a lot of great work with the homeless in Skid Row in downtown LA.
In an interview with Cormac Moore for Sunday Night Live on FM104, Francis spoke of the deceleration and the trauma of the journey. Francis raised 20,000 dollars which all went directly to the Home Health Care Los Angeles and 10,000 dollars for post-production for a "Rough Set" pilot. In the interview, he describes the journey as the greatest thing he has ever pulled off. Francis walked for a total of 41 days, averaging about 15- 20 miles a day. Along the way, he picked up injuries, food poisoning and twigs to the eye. What he found the toughest was the physiological battle becoming part of a group largely cast out from society and people treating you differently the more disheveled you might appear. In the interview, Francis describes the feeling of losing his sense of self and his self-esteem when people wouldn't make eye contact.
He felt like he learned so much along the way, particularly about the plight of the homeless. He shared a lot of these honest and candid reflections with his followers.
Here are just a few of my favourite Tweets from his journey:
Ppl always ask what has been the hardest thing about this project. 2 things: The lack of eye contact & knowing all the people I met are still experiencing that.Please smile,make eye contact&take a moment to connect w/someone who is living in the streets.Maybe make it a new habit.
— Ireland / John (@ireland) January 29, 2019
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Hard to explain how good it feels to have Irish people come out to support. #RoughSet pic.twitter.com/MNnSK0iShA
— Francis Cronin (@GLOWPUNK) January 20, 2019
Good morning... just waking up...pretty emotional moment ‘cause it’s my last day sleeping out after 40. BTW This is Beverly Hills. Looks kinda like Ireland with all the wheelie bins ....and Irish people. pic.twitter.com/kTu3qOsA1m
— Ireland / John (@ireland) January 29, 2019
Following the experience, he described the surreal feeling of sleeping in his own bed for the first time after his journey. Next steps, with the help of Jeff Garlin from Curb Your Enthusiasm as a mentor, Francis has set his sights on a movie or a book on his experiences of living rough. I can see it now, it would be like "Into the Wild" but with some humour. After this journey, Francis has set his focus on bringing real value outside of himself to the world. In the interview, he speaks of experiencing intense solitude and the feeling of spirituality he found in nature, concluding that 'there is something out there that we distract ourselves, be it with coffee, messages and phones'. Wise words. Francis aim was to get on the Ellen Show following his journey, he has done the pre-interview so keep a lookout.
You can listen to the full interview here
