Theo’s* story 

“For me, homelessness has looked quite different over the years. I had a difficult relationship with my family, and when I left, I was sofa surfing with friends but I kept going back to the family home, hoping things would get better. I had a regular rotation of friends who would let me sleep on their sofa, but that wasn’t always fair for them, so I slept outside as well. This was going on for years before I came to Your Place.

“I had options of different hostels in my local area when I went to the council; the first one I went to was a nightmare. There were fights breaking out all the time, and the environment was horrible, it didn’t feel safe.”

Theo’s* experience of hostels had been difficult, and initially he was nervous about coming to Your Place. Having been coerced into gang culture when he was young, one of his firm priorities was ensuring he was far away from any threat of that happening again.

“When I came here, I was nervous but George [my key worker] took my case straight away, and helped me feel at home. He spent time getting to know me, but it wasn’t until after being here for a year that I started really opening up about how I was feeling. Try telling a man to open up about his feelings! It’s really tough.”

Theo* has been working as a Youth Worker for the past three years, and loves his job coaching young people ages 8-21 in sports. After a health scare, he had to pause working while he recovered.

“I had a health scare a few months back, and had to stop working for a while. I think not knowing what was going on with my health and losing my job had been making my health worse. Having some stability at Your Place, and knowing that George was helping me get my own flat, was definitely helping with the stress. 

“George has been working his magic to get me into my own place. We had a good bond anyway, but once I was able to open up about what was really going on for me, he knew what was getting in the way of me getting better and getting my own place.”

Theo* and George met regularly to chat about what was going on for him. Being able to open up with someone was a huge step in planning his next steps. Soon, he was referred to Talking Therapies, to speak with a mental health professional.

“I’ve been doing talking therapy for a few weeks now and it’s a really new experience for me. It’s been tough, I can’t lie, but it’s refreshing. It can feel like therapy isn’t for black men, our mental health is just so stigmatised, but now I really believe that talking is healing. That’s one of the things I’ve really appreciated here; getting myself a safe place to live is a big focus, but so is my mental health, and I’ve been helped to get the support I need.

“I’m now in my new place but it’s great that I can still get some support here [at Your Place] if I need it. My health is my main priority now. Having my own place is great to clear my mind and get myself focused, and it wouldn’t have been possible without George and the way they work at Your Place. I’m looking forward to getting back into work, and I’d also love to compete in Muay Thai and Boxing again. I’ve been doing martial arts for the past twelve years, so teaching and competing, and being back in good health, is where my priorities lie right now.”

Theo* has asked for his privacy to be protected, so we’ve used a different name.