In 2014, Mark Eaton-Lees was sleeping in the back seat of a Volkswagen Polo, parked in a restaurant car park in Exeter. This summer, he walked across the graduation stage at Swansea University with a first-class honours degree in criminology and social policy — and a mission to change how Wales addresses homelessness.
Mark, originally from Wolverhampton, found himself homeless after a planned move to Devon fell apart. Without housing or funds, his car became his makeshift shelter for nearly six weeks. “I bought a pillow and duvet, and slept in the car,” he recalls. “By January, I was in poor health. I’m pretty sure I was showing signs of hypothermia.”
The turning point came after a chance conversation with a homeless man outside a cathedral. “He didn’t want money. He just wanted stability. A job. A place to live,” says Mark. “It made me realise rebuilding my own life wasn’t enough. I needed to be part of the solution.”
That moment led Mark back into education. After completing a foundation course, he began studying at Swansea University in 2022. “I didn’t fully know what social policy was,” he admits, “but it opened my eyes to how deeply connected it is to homelessness, especially policies like the Vagrancy Act.”
While studying, he began volunteering with organisations including Shelter Cymru, Llamau, Crisis and Expert Link — from helpline work to board-level advice — and most recently, supporting research at the Bevan Foundation into the impact of temporary accommodation on children in Wales.
Mark is particularly hopeful about new legislation like the Homelessness and Social Housing Allocation (Wales) Bill, and early intervention programmes such as Upstream Cymru, which identifies risks in schools before families reach crisis point. “Wales is leading the way, but there’s still so much to do,” he says.
Now heading to the University of Sheffield to pursue a master’s in social research, Mark wants to explore the link between autism and homelessness — a topic he says remains underexamined.
“It might sound strange, but I’m glad I went through it,” he says. “Swansea University gave me more than a degree — it helped me find purpose. Now I want to help others find theirs.”
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