If someone has kicked you whilst you are sleeping, urinated on you or verbally assaulted you have real experience of being without a safe and secure home. You know how to overcome barriers that stopped you and others from escaping this terrible situation.
Peer Support started in early 2022 and continues to grow and develop. Some group members have had experiences of sleeping on the streets, drug addiction, family breakdown or poor mental and with our help and their perseverance, have managed to turn things around. We love seeing someone we’ve helped, now wanting to help others.
“The Project Workers saw potential in me and asked if I wanted to be part of ‘Peer Support’. I was able to help others as I had previous experience of sleeping rough, drug issues, as well as feeling isolated from society. The role gave me a routine and purpose again.” – Jorge
Between April 2022 and March 2023, 165 different people were supported by our Peer Support group who gave 473 hours of volunteering during this period. Team members regularly went on outreach to provide food and drink to those living on the streets, supported with upkeeping our garden surroundings, and arranged Saturday Breakfasts. There were also art and poetry workshops held at The Garden House.
We currently have four volunteers with lived experience who are part of the front-line Garden House volunteering team where community volunteers help people sign in, provide a warm welcome and provide drinks and foods. We are really proud of the journeys they have gone on to give back.
We also have one person with lived experience who has now moved from being on the streets to working in the team. They’ve become a Project Worker to help us especially at weekends as we move to a seven day a week service. Thanks to their multilingual skills, they enable us to communicate better with those people who struggle with English.
