Tuesday, June 28, 2011 2:42am ET by  
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Glee's Cory Monteith visits homeless shelter

Canadian actor and star of 'Glee', Cory Monteith, took time out from touring the UK with the musical cast to speak to residents of a homeless shelter about his own troubled youth. 

He recently opened up about his drug-fuelled turbulent past and during the 'Glee Live! In Concert!' dates at London's O2 Arena he made a point of excusing himself and visited The Foyer, in west London, where he encouraged the people staying there not to be defined by their circumstances. 

"I moved to Vancouver because I wanted to act. I had nothing more than a plastic bag full of T-shirts and slept on my drama teacher's floor and friends' floors."

Monteith already works with 3 homeless charities, including Foyer Federation, The Albert Kennedy Trust and Depaul UK, and is an ambassador for the Virgin Unite Foundation through which he shares his own experiences with the aim to inspire others. He added:

"This is a personal issue for me. I've been at risk and living in a marginalised situation and my passion is to give something back."

"That sounds so hokey, but it's a shame to be in a situation and not raise awareness for the greater good."

Watch Monteith talk about having to deal with the reality of homelessness here: