At just 18, Nadine, like over 70,000 young people in the UK this year, was pushed into homelessness due to a breakdown in the relationship with her family.
“I was kicked out from my family household”, she recalled, “and I didn’t know where to go at first.”
Nadine had been sofa surfing for a few weeks and ran out of options when a friend recommended New Horizon Youth Centre.
Finding a home
With support from our Housing team, she was placed into supported accommodation, where she stayed for two years. When it was time to move on, despite working three jobs, Nadine faced more challenges navigating a complex housing system and ended up on the streets.
Our Rough Sleeping team intervened and helped her access emergency accommodation.
“They placed me into accommodation… it was very useful and helpful for me because I didn’t have a permanent or temporary place to go. It was like a place where you can just sleep. The most important thing is where to lay your head. And yeah, they really helped me through that and I’m grateful. Instead of you know, sleeping on the bench, instead of outside.”
While the journey has sometimes been frustrating, Nadine has learnt resilience, “I’ve learnt how to be patient because housing it is something that you need to cultivate patience. It’s very, very difficult and hard.”
She currently has a safe, stable place in temporary accommodation, while she bids for a permanent council property.
“It feels amazing. It feels so good. I would never jeopardize that place, never, never. Like that’s my house. It’s very hard to maintain like get a place to stay. I don’t want to jeopardize that.”
Building confidence
Before arriving at New Horizon Youth Centre, Nadine was shy and found it difficult to communicate with others. She gained confidence by taking part in various activities and established a support network she could rely on.
“One time I had a conversation with one of the youth workers and because my name means hope. He just motivated me and was like “Yeah, you know what? Your name is hope, why not come to FC Hope [New Horizon’s first football team]?”.
Nadine participates in weekly sessions with Faith United, New Horizon’s women’s & non-binary team and attends our weekly Women & Non-binary Space. She has expressed feeling more positive about her body and has observed other changes as well.
“It has changed me in a lot of ways. I’ve stopped procrastinating. I’ve stopped being lazy. Even socialising… I used to be bullied a lot before, and I didn’t want to communicate with people. But going into an environment like that, where we go on field trips, go to plays, and we did a lot of things, a lot of outings. That helped me a lot because you’re interacting with a lot of people, and I think that was a new skill added into my life.”
As well as housing support, New Horizon has helped Nadine through really difficult points in her life.
After an incident of sexual assault, Nadine received lots of support from our nurse and counsellor. “At one point, I was raped. I was scared. I was very scared of what would happen. So the nurse really helped me.”
Through sessions with our counsellor, Nadine had someone to talk to about her experiences and learnt the tools to help her deal with her past traumas.
“Just you know, having someone to talk to you or just someone who’s there, they can just listen and give you advice that can help you. That really helped me a lot.”
Freedom to think about the future
For Nadine, one of the key aspects of finding a safe place to call home is the stability it offers, along with the freedom to plan for her future.
“A lot of people of my age, a lot of them already finished uni, they’re going a step further into their life. By the time I turn 25, if I was still the old me, I don’t know what I would do. I don’t know how I would end up.
“But New Horizon have been supporting me into studies. When I used to live in the YMCA [temporary accommodation] I used to concentrate on working, working. But a lot of the team members here showed me ‘Nadine, working is good, but you need to maintain a stable income, something that will help you in the long run.’ They opened my eyes to be honest.
“Before, I contemplated a lot of ways to make money so I could sleep on someone’s couch. Having a home is helping me a lot, now I’m concentrating on my essays.”
Nadine is currently studying for an Access to High Education Law Diploma and currently has three offers to study law at university. She wants to go into family or housing law.
“That was my dream since I was young. I used to see [lawyers] as people that can change people’s lives. It’s something that really intrigued me and I have this thing of wanting to help. With a degree, I will have an advantage to do a lot of things.”
A core value for Nadine is her desire to give back, “I know I’m not going to change the world, but I want to make changes in one person, or two or a few people.”
New Horizon Youth Centre is here for any young person, like Nadine, who finds themselves pushed into homelessness in London.
With your help, we can give them the freedom they need to determine their future. Donate now and help open up a New Horizon for young people experiencing homelessness.
New Freedom, New Future, New Horizon.
*The story is true and quotes are directly from a young person who attends New Horizon Youth Centre, but the name and photo have been changed to protect their identity.
