Daniel Lavelle is a freelance feature writer from Manchester. He left care at nineteen and experienced homelessness for the first time not long after. He graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University with a BA in History while he was living in a homeless hostel. He writes regularly on topics such as mental health, homelessness and culture for the Guardian (for whom he co-authored the series 'The Empty Doorway' with Simon Hattenstone) and has written for New Statesman and the Independent. He has an MA in Journalism from Goldsmiths and in 2017 he received the Guardian's Hugo Young award for an opinion piece on his experience of homelessness. 'The Empty Doorway' won Feature of the Year at the British Journalism Awards 2019 and was shortlisted for a National Press Award. He lives in London.