Homelessness – Karl’s story

I had a normal childhood with my parents and brothers in the East End of London. I played in the hills, went to school, and just was a boy. There is too much drama there, so I like it down here in Kent. I moved down here to be safe. I did not talk to or trust people, so I had to build myself back up. I just played it by ear.

I was drinking and didn’t want to be with my kids. I was sleeping rough, and the outreach team found me. It took about nine months for me to talk to them properly, and then I had a peer mentor. I built a bond with Sam, and she was the only one I felt I could trust. Because of the alcohol use, it’s hard to trust.

I am now in a good environment in shared accommodation. It’s temporary, but I will then complete the forms to bid for a permanent place from the council.

Pathways offered to place me in one of their community settings, but I can’t handle that many people and would rather be on my own.

I never thought I could be a Peer Mentor. But then I realised I wanted to help people and share my experiences. As a peer mentor, I go out with Sam or Lloyd or another Peer Mentor and help others.

Without Pathways, I don’t know where I would be. Not just Sam and Michael who gave me the nudge to change. But if you want to change, you must do so on the inside.

All those years of sleeping rough, so many things happened to me. Then I fell in the snow, hurt myself, and ended up in hospital. That was my rock bottom and I realised I needed help as I was in a bad place.

Peer mentoring involves helping people complete forms and advising where they can find soup kitchens and so on. I know the areas where the homeless are because I have been there. There is help, and there’s hope, and I will help you, and we can go from there. Also, for people who have just come out of prison, there is help. Being in prison and coming out is difficult.

Pathways helps people through outreach. The council is trying its best to get people out of the environment. But we need everyone to work together, the government, agencies, organisations like Pathways, and individual people to help. There are so many homeless people. Some people choose to be homeless because they can’t afford accommodation and to live, so they struggle and decide they can’t afford it anymore. For some people, what they earn is not enough to survive.

The people who come in on boats are looking for another life, and we should be able to help them. I have been in a dark place, so I can empathise with others. It does not matter what colour or where you come from, we all bleed the same.

You are never alone. There is always somewhere out there who can help.