He’s been working with our teams in Torfaen to make that a reality.
Jeremy was sleeping rough, on and off, in Torfaen following a relationship breakdown in 2018.
During the coronavirus pandemic, he was placed in temporary accommodation, where local authorities across Wales commandeered unused hotels to keep people experiencing homelessness safe.
When he was not indoors, Jeremy often relied on a tent for shelter.
The Wallich’s Outreach team began supporting him in January 2021. He was on a housing waiting list, but needed help with setting up his Homeseeker’s account, obtaining a supporting medical letter to be used as ID and supporting him to engage with the local housing department.
It’s hard to predict how long someone will wait on a housing list and it can be a time of uncertainty, stress and anxiety for people on the streets.
Jeremy later began working with The Wallich’s Housing First team. The idea is to provide wrap-around support which helps keep people in their home.
At points of receiving support, he was able to regularly speak to his expert support team at The Wallich to help him organise his life and plan for the future.
The Wallich supported Jeremy to set up his tenancy, budgeting, benefits assessment appointments and attending the Job Centre.
As most things are now online, he needed help with accessing certain services. Jeremy now feels more confident asking for help digitally than he did before.
When he moved into his new rented accommodation, he had nothing to move in with him. The Wallich secured grants and donations for white goods and furniture to help Jeremy make his house a home.
Wrap-around housing first support also meant support from our team to help improve his mental health and making new friends.
It has been almost eleven months since Jeremy moved into his new property and we’re pleased that he continues to maintain his tenancy.
Our intensive support has naturally reduced as he’s settled into his new life.
Jeremy’s main objective was to have some stability for his family and to have somewhere he could call home. His child now regularly stays with him and is happy where he lives.
“It took me a while to believe that I was actually going to have somewhere to live, somewhere safe that my son and I could call home.”
When I first met Jeremy, he was losing hope of ever getting housed, causing him to become despondent and frustrated.
It’s been fantastic to see Jeremy move into his home and make it his own.