When I think back over all that’s happened during the last 5 years, I get tears in my eyes.
I first became homeless at the beginning of 2014. After being picked up rough sleeping by Streetlink, I got placed into an all-female hostel in east London. In there, I reached my lowest point; using drugs had become so painful that I wanted to die, and I asked for the help I so desperately needed. I went into detox in February 2015 and completed 6 months of rehab before being placed into a hostel for people in recovery where I’ve stayed ever since. Today, I’m so grateful I have the tools to stay clean. Only now can I see that for so many years I only knew about surviving, not living.
My life circumstances left me with the core belief that I’m not good enough - that I’m stupid and will never succeed. Whilst in recovery, I faced these fears and went to college to start my accountant training. You can imagine my reaction when I came top of the class and received distinctions in my level 2 and level 3 exams. These results have shown me that I can be both a good accountant and a productive member of society. Now I’m looking to fund my final accountancy qualification before starting work and finding my own place to live.
When I was sleeping rough, I used to see people passing me in the street. I envied their normal lives but thought I could never be like that. Finally, after all this time, I feel like I can.