“Wayside has been a lifesaver to me ”
In October 2023, I was living comfortably in a rented house, working full-time as a carer in an elderly nursing home. I loved my job, putting a smile on residents’ faces. I felt settled and enjoyed having a routine. In November, my landlord gave me a notice to leave because he’d decided he wanted to sell the property. I was frightened as I didn’t know where I would go.
Despite looking around for somewhere else to stay, I couldn’t find anywhere, so booked myself into a hotel which was close to work and stayed there for nearly a month. However, I soon realised that this wasn’t sustainable as it was becoming incredibly expensive.
My manager at the time kindly sent an email out amongst colleagues asking if anyone had a spare room for me to stay in. Thankfully, someone did, and I moved into their home in December. Just 3 months later, I lost my job, and because of that had to move out of my colleague’s room. I went back to live in another hotel.
I was on the lookout for work, but nothing came up, and again, I couldn’t remain in the hotel as it was just too expensive. I spent time sleeping in A&E and on the streets of Redhill. While I was living on the streets, I soon started mixing with the wrong company. I had an outreach worker who was supporting me during this time, and they were concerned for my safety. They reached out to Wayside to see if there was a vacancy for me here, which eventually there was.
“If I could summarise my experience here in one word, it would be ‘brilliant.’”
“I’m forever grateful”
Whilst here, I got to listen in on the Bible studies which take place every Tuesday. I found it so interesting and felt excited to learn more about Jesus, and decided to go to my local church at Easter to see what it was like. I’ve started attending church more regularly now and I’ve made some new friends. I’ve also started doing some courses about care work whilst at Wayside, as I’d like to return to a role helping others. I’m looking forward to getting back into work, and I’m hoping an opportunity arises soon.
“I would be back living on the streets if it wasn’t for this home”
Wayside has been a lifesaver to me. I would be back living on the streets if it wasn’t for this home. I’m forever grateful. If I could summarise my experience here in one word, it would be ‘brilliant.’
