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Personal Experiences

Back to Independence - Stephen's Story

24 February 2011

"I am 22 years old and have been living with the Simon Community for almost 2 years now. Becoming homeless was something that I never really thought about until it happened to me. Up until then I had quite a good life. I was brought up by my grandparents who were really good to me. When I was 17 they both became quite ill and I spent most of my time nursing them. By the time I was 19 they had both, sadly, passed away.

"For me homelessness happened overnight. My grandparents' house was sold and there was no family that I could stay with. I started staying in friends' houses here and there, but I didn't always have somewhere to go. I spent many nights sleeping out on the streets - but you don't really get much sleep. It's quite scary and you can hear everything that's going on around you. I lost loads of weight and became very quiet and nervous. Eventually I couldn't take it anymore so I went to see the Housing Executive who sent me to a Simon Community hostel.

"Since then everything in my life has improved. I was quite sick when I came to the hostel but the staff organised doctor's appointments for me. A counsellor has also been helping me. I have put on some weight and started sleeping properly at night. Having my own bed and my own stuff around me gives me a lot of security. Within the last few months I have moved from the Simon hostel into the Cluster Flat Scheme where I have the luxury of my own flat and the ability to practice living independently again with the safety net of having staff there if I need them. I have a real direction for my life. As well as being part of Simon Peer Education Group, 'Outspoken', I have just got a job and I am in the middle of a computer course.

"I think every young person should know something about homelessness. I was really ignorant of it until it happened to me. It really is a weird thing to be homeless. Everyone's story is different and they are all so sad. It scares me how many people - especially young people - are becoming homeless and how easily it can happen to absolutely anyone."