Danley’s Story
"For the first time, my dreams seem to be achievable. I feel empowered, independent and successful. "
I became homeless after a relationship breakdown with my partner. She regularly kicked me out of house and stopped me from seeing my daughter and I found myself sofa surfing, moving from one friend to another. I wanted to return home but knew that I couldn’t. Eventually, I ended up rough sleeping and that’s when someone told me about StreetLink and was referred to Your Place.
When I first moved in to Your Place, I was nervous as this was a really big change for me. However, I soon settled in and started to make friends. I felt very safe to live there and was able to access other services that they provided. During my time at Your Place, I participated in a number of employability and life skills sessions which helped me to boost my confidence and taught me how to be independent. I later progressed into a one-week course with Strive training for the civil service. For the first time, my dreams seem to be achievable. I feel empowered, independent and successful even though I have not reached where I want to be yet.
I finally felt ready to live independently and applied for a home through the London Borough of Newham nomination scheme. The staff were very supportive and helped with the application process for my new home, and ways to manage my finances. Since I moved into my own place, I’ve been really focusing on my self-care and self-development. I am a better version of myself than before; I stopped hanging out with wrong crowds and stopped falling into any bad habit or problems.
Your Place has taught me that my past doesn’t have to affect my future and anything I put my mind to I can achieve. Thank you to all of the staff members at Your Place in helping me reach my goals in life.
