Nick, aged 21, first came to New Horizon Youth Centre last year when his mother passed away.
“It was difficult. Obviously, my mindset was all angry and very stressed. I didn’t really want to talk about nothing. I couldn’t get enough information to people to actually get my whole situation sorted.
“I met Raf [Sports Coach and Youth Worker] when I first came. I worked with him for a couple days. Then I worked with Chantell [Housing Service Manager] who sorted out my birth certificate, got me universal credit and everything.
“And then for my housing I worked with Natalie [Rough Sleeping Caseworker] because she had more experience with the things that I’d previously been associated with.”
He was referred to Camden Routes Off The Streets at the time and is now placed in temporary accommodation with St Mungo’s. In Nick’s terms it is:
“A stepping stone in the right direction. So, it’s just for the time being… like how buses have the end destination, it’s just like a bus stop along the way basically.”
Although he has not yet moved onto long-term housing, Nick said the biggest difference since coming to New Horizon is:
“My motivation and my drive. Because I have had a lot of time [to think] and a lot of experiences. So I can think in a more positive aspect than a negative aspect. Like, now I know more of what I want in the long term. Which gives me both my motivation and my drive.”
He says there are four main support systems that helped him get to where he is:
“Football [New Horizon’s team FC Hope]. My dog, because she gives me a sense of routine and freedom as well.
“And then the two people that I would say would be Natalie at New Horizon and… my Uncle.
“[Being supported by New Horizon] gave me someone to talk to. I’d also say the routine. [It was difficult] having like housing meetings, phone calls all the time, then on top of that having to deal with a pet and everything. New Horizon gave me a proper sense of routine of like, oh, I need to do this and that, these are my priorities.
“My Uncle, would call me every day, check in, try to do certain things on my behalf; if I needed anything, he was there as well. So it helped.“
In addition to helping him find a safe place to stay, Nick says one of the best things about New Horizon is the sense of community.
“It’s like a community, a safe space, somewhere for people to actually feel themselves. It can help a lot of people in a lot of other aspects, especially mentally or physically, because there’s a lot of different people from multiple different backgrounds. Everyone’s got the same reason that they’re here, but everyone’s got their own different story.”
With the support from New Horizon, Nick is now able to think about his future. He aspires to be a support worker and apply his personal experiences and knowledge to help other young people.
“I’ve done my level 5 in health and social care. And now I’m doing a two-year graduate course. And then once I do that, I want to do a year under the psychiatric unit at UCLH. I would like to like use my own perspective to put it into an actual profession.
“I’d say I have a newer mindset that I’ve only had for like a few months. When I first came here my mindset wasn’t to do with longevity, it was just [how to get through] that moment, today, then the next day.
“Whereas now I can think more long term.”
Nick – 21
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* Story told from young person’s own words with full consent. The name has been changed and the header image does not depict the young person in the article.
