Following the unexpected death of her friend, whom she had cared for professionally, Sarah found herself alone and penniless, rough sleeping on the streets of London.
Sarah’s experience of rough sleeping and homelessness
“I had been living abroad in Tunisia for some years, caring for a dear friend of mine. When she died unexpectedly, it was devastating. She was such a lovely lady.
I knew I couldn’t stay there any longer. Suddenly I had no job, and nowhere to live. I wanted to return to my family in Dublin, but found out that there was no one there so I ended up in London.
It was very bad at the beginning. For three months, I was sleeping rough. I didn’t feel scared or threatened. I was just so alone. The big thing for me was, how do you keep yourself clean? Because there are no real facilities, except in Victoria train station, where I tended to sleep.
He’s not there now, but I got to know a kind and lovely man who used to clean the toilets there. He used to put those cones up to block off the end of the toilet area, and he’d say, “Your washroom is ready for you!”
If I went really early in the morning, when there weren’t many people going back and forward, I would have a good 40 minutes to wash myself for the day. When you have your own place to live, you can take it so much for granted – you go to the toilet when you want, you can shower when you want. That for me was the biggest thing.
Finding support and rebuilding hope
“From my first visit, from my first day here, I felt supported and cared for and began to rebuild hope for the future. It was at The Passage where I finally found the support and the care that I was looking for. I got involved in the Irish Group and the Art Group which helped me gain confidence and a chance to meet other people with similar interests.
Since last month, I now have my own permanent accommodation.
It makes me want to give back. It might be volunteering in the Resource Centre, helping to prepare and serve the meals, or even just talking to people. It’s about familiarity. Some people I don’t even speak to, I just love seeing how they’re doing. It’s in my nature to look out for people, and that’s what The Passage is to me.
I don’t feel alone when I’m here.“
A message from Emma, Resettlement Coordinator
“Sarah has come so far, and what a joy it is to see.
Now that she’s regained more stability with her accommodation, it’s about working on her resilience. We’ve talked to her about counselling, which is something we may pursue when she’s ready. I know it will take time, and her journey hasn’t ended. But it’s a joy to see her. Some days I wish she could see it for herself how far she’s come.
As the Resettlement team, we’re responsible for any client who walks through the doors of the Resource Centre for the first time. Most clients arrive here via word-of-mouth, on their own, with no formal referral. Being based in Victoria, the Transport for London team will sometimes signpost people our way, and our Outreach team may meet a client and refer them.
It’s our job to gauge whether The Passage is the best source of support for them. If we’re not, we will signpost the client to other services, but hopefully we are able to support them fully. After assessment, they will be given full access to the Resource Centre and allocated a key worker to take on their case.
The joy of this job is seeing that moment when a client gets into accommodation, as has now happened with Sarah. Knowing how far they’ve come and how hard they’ve fought to get there, you see the journey. That is why we do what we do.”
*Names and details have been changed to protect the clients identify.