This part of Ben’s* story starts once we had been working with him for over a year. During this time, he’s been staying in a shared house and has always been keen to stay active and keep himself in work.

But recently, Ben attended some sessions that we’ve been hosting for our friends – and things have started to look even better for him…

 

Activity days lead to life-long friends

We’ve been holding Mix Sessions since the beginning of 2022. These are where we invite our friends on our resettlement scheme to join us for a day of activities – from picnics in the park and watching a movie at the cinema to a trip to the Football Museum. The sessions are designed to help those we support build new friendships and start to see life in a new way, outside of the frame of homelessness and towards a more positive outlook.

Ben attended every single one of our Mix Sessions and has made some long-term friends. It seems to have had a positive impact on other areas of his life too; he also volunteers anywhere he can, and has been using a free gym membership almost every day that we were able to source. Ben has been the most avid gym goer of all our friends, and is particularly loving the spinning classes. He also now has more regular contact with his teenage son which has made him much happier.

 

Personal and professional milestones

Ben eventually met his now girlfriend, Their relationship seems to be going from strength to strength, and they’re really happy together. What’s more, he’s completed his Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) course, which we also supported him with. This enabled him to work for a few agencies initially, and he has now managed to find work that’s much more stable.

Fast-forward a few more months, and Ben and his girlfriend have made the decision to live together, it feels like a steady and good move in a really positive direction. Our resettlement team (and Alan the van driver!) helped Ben collect his things and we moved him over to his new home.

 

Our door is always open

Ben couldn’t have thanked us enough for the help he has received in his moment of crisis, and we have faith he will thrive going forward in this new chapter. He’s doing amazingly well and we’re confident he doesn’t need our support as much anymore.

Of course, Ben’s fully aware that our door is always open if he ever needs help at any point in his life again. He can call up our team any time he likes – just like anyone who has been formally ‘discharged’ from our service. And we always love catching up with our friends.

We wish Ben all the luck for the future. If you’d like to find out more about the work we do from our Beacon Support Centre, check out our website. And if you’d like to help us play a role in more success stories like this, please consider supporting our charity.

*Name has been changed to protect our friend’s identity