Autism campaigner Tom talks to Llanelli Rotary

Autism campaigner Tom Nasmyth-Shaw was the guest speaker at the weekly meeting of Llanelli Rotary Club held at the Stradey Park Hotel.

Tom explained about his “life-changing” experience sleeping on the streets of London for a week to help families affected by autism.

Tom, from Burry Port, decided to sleep rough in the capital to support the cause after his four-year-old son Jack was diagnosed with autism.

After months of fund-raising, Tom jumped on a Paddington-bound train armed with just warm clothes, his phone, a stab vest, and a sleeping bag.

He told Rotarians: The experience was mentally draining and overwhelming.

There were a couple of times when I wanted to give up, but I didn’t.”

During the week living rough on the streets of London, Tom kept a blog and tweeted about his experiences.

It was his first night that proved to be the most dramatic. After bedding down in a doorway in Victoria, Tom had a rude awakening by a man standing over him. The conversation took a nasty turn and Tom said he was lucky to walk away unharmed.

Throughout the week, Tom walked miles across the capital and had to contend with the cold weather, stares from strangers, lack of interaction with people, hunger, and constantly missing his wife Kelly and son Jack.

The hardest thing Tom had to contend with was the public’s attitude towards homelessness.

“People just ignore homeless people,” he said.

Now safely back home, Tom is devoting himself to raising cash for families with autistic children living locally in Llanelli, Burry Port and Kidwelly.

He said the services provided by the NHS and local authorities were good, but families often needed swifter and more practical support.

Through his week on the streets and other fund-raising activities, Tom has now raised more than £15,000 for families with autistic children.

Llanelli Rotarians chipped in with a further donation of £500 to Tom’s fund-raising efforts.

Tom said he was now working towards setting up a charity to help families with autistic children.

The vote of thanks for Tom’s talk was given by Rotarian Joanna Isaac.