Sometimes people who we have supported contact us years after their time with us just to say thank you. It is always wonderful to hear from people who have turned their lives around, and a powerful testament to the long-term impacts of our services.
Steve got in touch nearly ten years after he stayed at Phase One, our high-support hostel for people who are homeless in Brighton, where we work with people to address the root causes of their homelessness. This was Steve’s message to us.
Hi all at BHT Sussex,
I just wanted to email you all as it’s ten years next month since I left Phase One in Oriental Place.
To say my life is different would be a huge understatement!
Ten years ago I had nowhere to go, I was drowning with addiction and was homeless with nowhere to turn. I remember sleeping in a church for a few weeks and was eventually moved into a room in Phase One.
The team back in 2010 were so helpful and caring but with a tough edge which we all needed (I mean that in the most positive way). I was helped into support groups, fed, looked after and given a safe space to work out what had happened and how I was going to work my way out of the position I was in.
I moved into one of the basement flats and although things were still hard, I always felt supported. Later that year I moved out to live with a friend and left Phase One in a much better place than when I arrived. I was 22.
Since that time, life has had its ups and downs, but 10 years on I have my own flat, a partner, I’m driving, my bills are paid on time and I’m clean and sober.
These are little things to some people but HUGE to me.
I’ve had numerous jobs over the years with one at a secondary school which was so rewarding. I’m currently at home on my day off from work, a job I was lucky to keep through lockdown and I’m earning the most I’ve earned in any job I’ve had.
I’m so grateful for the support I received in 2010 and will never forget what was done for me back then.
I also want you all to know the impact your actions have for people like me. From a simple smile or a quick nod to check if I was OK, to giving me a safe space to regroup and recover.
Your support has afforded me the opportunity to help others along the way in the past few years. I know for sure that without your support I couldn’t have done this as I’d still be stuck in a vicious circle.
Please pass on my thanks to all involved and keep doing what you’re doing because it has, and is still changing lives.
THANK YOU ALL.
Kind Regards,
Steve
