Kelvin's story - 14/10/2024

“This life has been one messed up journey, from one extreme to the other, and now I'm a Peer Support Worker for the homeless. You couldn't make this all up!”

Kelvin’s story is a complicated and at times traumatic one. From spending time in care as a child, and growing up in Guernsey, where, “lots of people have long memories and nobody forgives and forgets”, to family conflict, addiction, time in prison, experiencing homelessness, featuring in a documentary about the importance of pets to many homeless people, and even a brush with celebrity. 

Kelvin has been clean, housed, settled, and employed for several years, and now uses his experiences to support others on the streets of Sheffield in his new role with South Yorkshire Housing Association, alongside Sheffield City Council’s Rough Sleeper Teams and Street Outreach Service.

Kelvin explains more:

“Honestly, I didn’t believe that with my past, and my convictions, a professional role like this would be possible! At times, it’s still a surreal experience for me; being employed in a role like this. I thought I’d be stuck in construction, or warehouse work with irregular hours, and that would be me done. But from my first meeting with Good Work, my worker said to me that she thought this role would be a great fit for me, and here we are”.

“Because of what I’ve been through, my experiences of addiction, violence, and trauma, I can relate to people, and they know they can trust me and open up about what’s going on. I’ve had problems with my mental health in the past, as most homeless people have, so I know what that’s like. I’ve experienced those feelings of hopelessness, and I’ve come out the other side, so I can talk to people about that, and remind them that the support is out there if they want it”.

Picture of Kelvin during his time sleeping rough

 

“I’m really good at building relationships, and reaching out, connecting, and engaging with people from services, charities, and on the streets. I can see potential in people, even when they don’t believe that its there. People on the streets just need more time and more support. Services are doing their best, but they’re stretched and the number of people needing support is rising. It’s an ongoing battle”.

“I’d like the general public to understand that the huge majority of people on the streets are not bad people. They are there because of things that have happened to them, what they were born into, and what’s happened to them during their life. Society isn’t open to people on the streets. If they need the toilet, they can’t just walk into a pub or restaurant and use the toilet like ordinary people can. They are judged everywhere they go”.

“I’m glad I’m away from the chaos, but I’m still tired. My body is worn out. I’ve got COPD, and then I’ve developed arthritis from sleeping on the cold ground for so long. If it wasn’t for my dog Loki, I woulkdn’t have got through everything. He needed me, so I had to get clean and sort myself out. He gave me a reason to keep going, and that makes me lucky, because lots of people don’t have that”.

“Supporting the outreach teams, and working on the Recovery Van reminds me every day that there’s still so much work to do. I don’t want my new role to be in vain and for us still to be having these same conversations in ten years. Something has to change because at times it feels like we’re not getting anywhere…”

 

As told to Alison Wise for Help us Help

October 2024