When David’s parents passed away, he and his brother were made homeless. While they were able to access temporary accommodation, the trauma of losing his mum and dad, and his home, led to a serious impact on David’s mental health, which in turn led to a dependency on alcohol. As a result, David lost his right to take care of his brother, which only perpetuated his struggles.
All of this made it difficult for David to keep his employment, leading to rent arrears on his property, and eventually he faced homelessness again. With no money to pay his arrears, he started to sleep rough. This is when David’s support worker, Kristine, was able to help. Kristine applied for a grant from St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity on David’s behalf to pay his rent arrears. This meant he was eligible for supported accommodation – which he’s now living in.
Kristine told us how well David has been doing since accessing accommodation. He has been in stable employment for months and is engaging with services that will help him recover even further. He hopes that soon he’ll be in a place where he can have his own accommodation, independently.
Talking about when she let David know he’d been awarded a grant, Kristine said,
“I cannot explain the emotion involved, the relief on his face. It is and was, a huge help.”
Thank you so much to our donors – for enabling so many support workers across the UK to help people like David.
*Names have been changed to protect privacy
