Alan became one of our guests in winter 2023 after experiencing a personal tragedy,

being made redundant, losing his home, then sofa surfing and sleeping rough for a few years.

 

My story – a year on

It all started with the death of my 13-year-old daughter Abbey that led to the breakdown of my

marriage, sent me into a spiral and then to compound the problem I was made redundant from a job

I had been doing for 10 years. Despite keep applying for jobs none were successful so I ended up

running out of money and having my house repossessed.  I ended up at first sleeping in a tent at

different places and then a squat with other homeless like me, then to a disused garage.

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My turning point was finding The Maidstone Winter Shelter in February last year, that helped by

signposting me to the MBC outreach team and the DWP so I could make a claim for Universal Credits,

and also from them sending referrals to different agencies to help me find accommodation which

happened just after the shelter closed. I was given temporary accommodation in a shared house with another man. Just after this I started volunteering at the Maidstone Day Centre making up food parcels and collecting from the donation points in the supermarkets and I saw this as giving back in a small way for the help I had received from them.

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In July I was offered permanent accommodation with Cutbush & Corrall.  On the 19th July I picked my keys up and moved in to my own flat, and in October I had the honour of meeting HRH Princess Anne with her looking around my flat and the new flats.

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At the end of the year, I was told about a position for an overnight project worker with the Winter Shelter and applied straight away.  I was overjoyed to be offered the job as again in a small way I was able to give back for all the help I had received from them, plus I could share my experience to help the people that used the shelter this year and also support them in any way I could.  I enjoyed it a lot.

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When the shelter finished this year, I was lucky enough to be offered a job I applied for at the day centre as a support worker at Goodsell House, their supported accommodation, and again I am enjoying the challenge.

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So, as you can see, within a year and the help from a small but wonderful team of people I have come full circle.

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