I want to step up from my situation right now. It upsets me that I don't have my own place to live. I know I’ve messed up in my life, but I want to opportunity to fix this and move forward. It is my intention to be able to make my choices about my life, and that is driving me to give everything to finding a job and a place to live.
Currently I’m living in a hostel with St Mungo's. I was with my sister beforehand, but as she had to pay more Council Tax with me being there, I moved out and spent some time sleeping on the streets before I got taken in here. I’m keeping to myself at the moment. In the past I've tried to be the ‘tough guy’ and it got me nowhere. Now I'm here, I'm keeping my room clean, looking after myself and investing in my future as I move forward towards having greater independence.
I’ve had better times than these. After my mum died, I went to Jamaica for three months, where she had lived for over 40 years. When I got back to the UK, I remember feeling lucky as I got off the plane. Things were going smoothly. I had a job within a few months with UPS. I had enough money that year to move into a shared house and to buy Christmas presents for all of my nieces and nephews. It was the best year I could imagine. Yet after some difficult events last year, I ended up without a home or a job and I had to turn to St Mungos to get a temporary place to live.
From where I am now, I need to get my own place to live and to get a job. Beam is supporting me so I can train to drive forklifts. I’m used to working in warehouses, including lifting, carrying and dealing with goods everyday. It’s the kind of work where I can just put my head down and coordinate with my teammates to make sure that we reach our targets. In the past, we would always meet our targets; it was so satisfying to do a good job. I’m looking forward to getting back into it.
At the end of the day I just want to be happy, and being able to make choices about my life is what brings me the most happiness. This is why I’m here, and I’m so excited to get started.