Londoner who was homeless at 17 and 'thought it was the end' is now competing for Miss Great Britain
In the running for Miss Great Britain, Alicia Shah says she became homeless and went into a hostel at 17 because she didn’t know how to express herself in a healthy way. She said: “At 17, I thought it was the end.” The 30-year-old, from Richmond, who was a runner-up for Miss London and is now Miss Hertfordshire said her homelessness and her mental health were linked. Now a carer for her Mum, Alicia has always played the role of carer in her family as she grew up with a disabled brother and a single Mum. Alicia said the divorce of her parents in her early childhood years caused her to “lose her sense of self.” READ MORE: London photographer raped aspiring model after plying her with alcohol and leading her back to his studio where she blacked out Speaking to MyLondon, Alicia said: “At 17, I wasn’t coping with the responsibility of having a single Mum and having 2 other siblings who I had to help raise. I craved independence but I came from a complicated background. I didn’t have a ...