In some cases, we’ve been asked to change their names.
Jim’s Story – St Martin’s Day Centre
My experience of being homeless has been probably one of the hardest experiences I’ve had to go through. It all started when I was living in a shared house with a friend. As many people may know, living with friends doesn’t always work out for the best and eventually I had had enough and decided to move out not knowing what sort of problems I was about to face.
My first port of call was the council who, to be honest, were of no help at all. They gave me some housing forms to fill out and told me to go to St Martins Day Centre for homeless in Bognor Regis. I left the council office feeling completely lost and alone, what was I gonna do? Where was I gonna sleep that night? I walked around for hours trying to think of some way I could get out of this situation, then I remembered St Martins Day Centre and thought “what the hell, I’ll give it a go”.
From the moment I walked into St Martin’s I have had nothing but help. When you’re sleeping rough, spending all night just trying to find somewhere safe to settle for the night, the day centre is a godsend; a bit of breakfast, a friendly face, help with the mountain of forms I had to fill in for the council, a nice hot lunch and just a chat with the staff and others in the same situation as me was a great comfort. Whilst I was sleeping rough I came across an abandoned beach hut which I cleaned out and used to store my the belongings. I returned there one evening to find everything I owned gone.
In the month I was homeless, St Martins Day Centre referred me to Bognor Housing Trust, where my application was successful and I currently rent a room with support. I still use St Martins Day Centre for any extra support I might need and am currently on their housing waiting list for for when I leave the Bognor Housing Trust.
Robert’s Story - The Old Glassworks & St Joseph’s Night Refuge
I've been asked if I'd write a short bit on the Old Glassworks and St Joseph's night shelter for the newsletter, which I said I'd gladly do. Well, what can I say about the benefits of both the day centre and the night shelter?
A friendly and safe place to go 9am-3pm, if you're homeless or not, and if you're homeless, it's a godsend. As long as you show respect and kindness and don't take the piss, the fantastic staff will bend over backwards to help you especially if you're in dire need of help from a doctor or with getting accommodation. As soon as you walk through the door you receive a smile and kindness and with today's society you can't ask for more.
Then there's night shelter; clean rooms, good food, a safe environment and a good night’s sleep. What more can you ask for? I don’t care what people say, we're very lucky to have both the Old Glassworks day Centre and St Josephs Night Shelter.
“Samantha’s” Experience at The Sands Project
“Before finding recovery I had 13 detoxes, some in hospital and some at home. The first one was when I was 21 years old, I consider now that I was an alcoholic from this point. I later occasionally used heroin, but soon started excessively using cocaine, enough that I had to sell my house to fund my use. Then I had a cardiac arrest, brought on by an alcoholic fit and on top of this I was suffering from drug induced psychosis, I remember them giving me a head scan! Even then I didn’t really want to stop. It’s only now I can see the true power of the addiction I had.
Anyway something changed at this point and I started to fight for a placement in a treatment centre with the help of a local DAAT worker (Drugs and Alcohol Action Team). Following assessments and referrals, I gained a place in Ravenscourt Treatment Centre in Bognor Regisand commenced on my recovery learning about and working a 12-step programme.”
Samantha came to us having completed three months' rehabilitation at Ravenscourt in Bognor Regis. She immediately settled in well and carried on with the 12-step recovery programme she had started there. On commencement she attended the Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous local meetings regularly. She also continued doing written step work here, as well as attending all internal groups. Within Linkwork support Samantha expressed an interest in continuing her NVQ in Care which she had abandoned due to her addictions. This was achieved by taking up voluntary work in a local nursing home during her stay. Towards the end of her stay in Sands, Samantha started an Access to Higher Education Course at Chichester College to progress in her education.
Samantha then moved into our move-on dry house, with support continued from the Sands Project. She then applied to Brighton, Guildford and Southampton Universities to start a Nursing Diploma, in preparation for when she completes the Access course at Chichester College. Over this period, she found that Maths was a struggle, so within her own budgetary constraints she started private tuition to bring up her marks.
Nearly a year passed and Samantha remained strong in her recovery. This was rewarded by being accepted by all three universities and she accepted a place at Southampton. Support from her Linkworker continued, focusing on housing in Southampton. This proved to be very difficult to obtain, bearing in mind that most shared student accommodation involves some degree of a drinking culture! However after continued searching, a suitable home was found.
“Without Ravenscourt, Sands and, in particular my Linkworker, providing me with the continuing help and support I needed, I would not have done any of this. Thank you”.
Have you got a story?
If you’ve had good experiences of Stonepillow’s services, why not let us know? Staff at the Glassworks and St Martin’s Day Centres would be happy to listen to your story and we’ll put it on our website for you!
