I enjoy volunteering and tapping into my creativity. I do this through doing makeup, learning new things and film making.
I'm currently living in temporary accommodation provided by my local council. There's a lot of antisocial behaviour happening within the building I live in that's making it a really difficult place to be. The building is also being sold which means that I could be placed anywhere. As I have a long-standing health condition, it means that some spaces are unsuitable for me, so I'm uncertain about this.
My housing issues started when I ran out of funding for my masters. I didn't have any income and was struggling to find the money for my essentials like food. To make matters worse I was being stalked at that time and my long term health issues had gotten really bad. Unfortunately, I couldn't and still can't stay with my family as there are some ongoing issues there. It's been quite difficult.
The biggest obstacle I've faced has been overcoming the self-destructive tendencies that I had. When I was younger I used to self-harm often. What has massively helped me in this regard has been my willingness to self-advocate and ask for support from services. I'm also a Christian and feel like my faith has been a big help.
Being in this situation has taught me that this can happen to anyone. We're taught that if you work hard you can do anything, which I still believe, but I also know that bad luck or a series of unfortunate events can really change your path. I was once told something may not be your fault but it is your responsibility to handle it as well as you can. That's what I'm trying to do now.
My dream is to create a life for myself where I can find meaning in my experiences and help others. It feels amazing to know that people want to support me. It's something I want to do for others when I'm in a better place. Organisations like Beam restore my faith in humanity. For every person that does something bad there's a community of people that are doing good work.
Having the opportunity to live somewhere I feel safe and comfortable is what I'm most excited about for launching my Beam campaign.
Each person we support into housing does in-depth budgeting with their caseworker to make sure they can sustain their new tenancy using benefits alone if necessary.