Report transcript in: HOUSE Project - NACRO Story - Storyteller describes his experience with housing

Please Report the Errrors?

and then

I'll ask you the question. So

can you tell me about the most significant

change your accommodation has made in your life?

Uh,

it's giving me stability.

Security,

Uh, it's gave me by self growth.

Is it? A

showed me that I can actually pay bills on time.

You know, I can

open up accounts and I was very much a cash in hand person.

ventured into the realm of direct debits and things like that.

It showed me that I've got potential to

move on and do other things,

and it's given me a bit of inclusion

because I wanna

where I live personally, I'm on a private city

and I actually communicate with my neighbours

now.

Previously

I didn't have communication with,

and

I meet people in my life, and it's it's a It's a massive, massive thing for me.

You know that it's a

growing up the way it did and living in the way it did previous to where I am now.

It's

it varies much. Uh,

we can do things. No, I can do things,

and

that's how I try to let me live.

It is, you know, be part of included in the community

and not separate from it.

What do you think has helped with you feeling part of of a community?

Well,

neighbours, for

start.

This is G,

man who lives next to me. And

he's a lovely, lovely man. And, you know,

I try and emulate that box.

You know, the

I was very much of a

I used to tell people that I didn't

I'm not a people person. I don't like people

where it was more. On the other hand,

I actually wanted to be around people,

but because I was

in bad situations and

abuse and drugs and drink,

I told people that I didn't don't like,

I don't like being around people. And,

um,

you can convince yourself of a different

way of being even even though now you know, it's

it's not,

you

know,

probably

people,

you know.

I'll try anything too fit

and

you know that can be detrimental.

But

being around people and

trusting in people,

I've you know, I've learned a lot about myself because

now we can actually pick in boundaries

around

neighbours,

other people in the community,

you know that I see wandering around

and

a fine. Build up good

memories.

No.

The bad boundaries that I used to

put

in before, you know, I had quite

bad boundaries. I would let people

do anything. Come and use

my flat. However

they wanted to.

There is no that. My thoughts

were

I'm responsible for it.

I'm responsible for who comes in it

and what they do while they're in there.

You know,

everything is down to me.

What?

Only learn that through, You know,

through the community that I built

not

just where I stay,

but

who I

interact

with.

I've got good people in my life, like not

the bad people.

And what do you think was like the turning point that helped you get those

more like positive role models in your life?

I think it was going through treatment

before me drug and alcohol addiction because I

I didn't know anything about myself. I didn't know what I liked what I liked doing.

I didn't know what clothes I liked. I didn't know what music I liked.

I just I just I. I had no clue. It was It was like a check. It was

you

see, when you drink

when you start That's the age you start growing

and

I was stuck

at that

age. I was stuck at night

and

I didn't know much about life in

general.

Pay bills, computers,

you know?

Yes, I had jobs, but every job I had,

I either had to

leave before we got sacked

I just up and

left.

And

that's not how

no atoms

and

that

was

atom.

But go through treatment and

I've been through a whole process drug and alcohol addiction.

I've been through treatment for that.

I still do fellowship meetings.

I've no got the confidence to

go learn new things,

you know,

going to learn, competing because

although I can do it, I'm terrible at it.

But

I've got the confidence,

and that's part of the self

self growth.

When you're in your own place, you know you have opportunities to go out there

and try new things.

It don't matter if you fail at it. It's

That's OK,

you know, as long as you give it a go and try

it.

What

I've been through a move on process as well,

which was part of the drug and alcohol rehab.

You then share the house with

other peers

because of his

Google list.

I had

what they call a chain number,

and the chain number allowed me access to temporary

housing.

But

I had to make sure myself that I was ready for that process

and I spent

three years sharing a

house with people.

Sharing a house with people is quite difficult. It's, you know,

because it's not like friends.

It's

got friends that you've grown up with and you've decided to go share a house.

It's people from different walks of life

and

you know, you have your ups and downs,

but

because they're in the same addiction or a similar addiction to you,

you learn how to work through things,

and

it it's all a process and it's all new things in teaching

and things. You know,

I've got to remain teachable in myself and to grow.

And I think that helped me for what I then got me temporary accommodation.

So you talk about having like, the kind of

like a growth mindset you're looking at ways you can develop. Is there

anything

any

I know we spoke before about volunteering that you do.

Is there any ways that you help other people

like grow and develop themselves.

We have a thing through fellowship

meetings. It's called the

Steps,

and

I'm coming

part way through mine,

and I have never people that

want me to take them through the

first steps.

I because I'm not totally complete with mine.

I can only offer suggestions and advice,

and I help them that

through me volunteering,

I'm always asked questions about

addiction and stuff, and

I can only tell them what I've done.

I can't tell them what to do.

I can't tell. This will work. You do that and you do this

because

different things work for different people. And

I can only suggest things and

tell them what what for me. And

that's the only thing I can

do.

It's

lead by an example and,

yeah,

a good example, you know, because they work in

an establishment.

We have guidelines. We have rules by government,

and

I've got to follow them as much as what the people living in there.

So,

you know, it's

not just that. I'll tell you what to do because I'm volunteering there.

This is what we all have to do. This is what we all have to vote for

because,

you know,

we all have somebody higher than ups.

And, you know,

at the end of the day, it's government.

And yeah,

never mind your manager,

but yet they above you. But

there's government. There's police. There's,

You know, there's only some of the above,

you know,

And I just tell him, like, you know, I'm not in charge,

You're not in charge,

So the people we have to be available

and everybody's kind of got the responsibility in themselves as well, I suppose.

Yeah,

yeah.

Is is there any any other things you want to reflect on in terms of, like,

the most significant changes that your accommodation need?

I know.

I'm trying to think back to what you said at the start.

There was, like, three key points.

Yeah, I'm I'm quite stable when you

like.

Previously I drug control

sleeping on the top bench.

Yeah,

sleep on somebody's sofa

to have a flat,

but not being responsible for that flat and

not paying the rent and giving it

up.

You know,

I've got security now

anyway,

because

when I close the door,

I'm safe.

Got the things that I need within that flat. You know, it's

very much of what I need and what I

you know,

I might I might want a

60 inch flat

screen TV, but,

you know, I don't need that.

I've got a TV as long as I can see it and watch it.

Yeah, no,

I forgot a cooker. I forgot food there.

That's

that's me I don't need I don't actually need much in life,

you know? I don't need lots of money.

You know

who's been for these?

You know,

my council tax

paid

by,

you know, I just have to top up and, you know,

I have the ability to do it now.

Whereas before I would have run away from I think

I think pain. I think

you know the

electricity. You know, I would be in the house

drinking and using.

And although it worked,

I still didn't have electricity.

But I do know it's it's one of my

me O,

CD, V.

I've got to make sure there's electricity,

You know, I've got to make sure all my bills have come out on the day

that they're meant.

And I checked that now with me bank.

You know I didn't care what was in me bank. Once it was gone, it was gone.

You know,

it's

I'm not, You know, I'm I'm a like that.

It's,

you know, having your own flat.

It's

a privilege.

You know,

I'm quite a spiritual person nowadays, and,

you know, I find it less. It's, you know, because not a lot of people have,

um,

for me, it's, you know, somebody looks after me. Somebody supports me,

you know,

in this case, not pro.

They support me, and

you know they're here if I need to.

And do you think

like the relationship?

But what's the relationship like with the With With

Macro and the people that support you here,

I can pick up the phone anytime.

I understand they might not be able to answer straight away.

There's other people like me

that they help,

but they will always get back to me.

You know, they will always

contact me. Make sure I'm OK.

It's great. It's

you know

it's great,

and I'm even in a really fortunate position that

the boss of this

area you don't live too far from me. I tend to see him every

couple of weeks.

Brilliant.

And is is there anything else that you'd like to share or reflect on?

do worry

about the next step.

Yeah, OK, because it is

only temporary housing.

You know, I understood

that when it came in.

I do know people that have gone through similar processes with

different companies

and

with the, uh,

they went on to their

what they call forever home.

I don't know. I know there's a bidding system that

I'm getting put

on to for

natural.

There was talks about, you know, maybe going back into shared town.

That kind of upset me,

because to me, that's like going back.

And I didn't know

I'm not in control.

And that frightened me

And, you know,

on a personal

issue,

I don't think it would be

right to go back to where a place where you came from.

I think social housing should be available.

You know, whether it be,

uh, local authority, whether it be housing association,

but

put you on the label that you're that you're on.

Yeah, definitely.

No, no, I think that's it.

Thank you. Thank you for sharing. I'll stop recording

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Posted By

Author

Georgia Davenport

Post date

01/11/2023