After his dad passed away, James* struggled with his mental health and when facing homelessness, turned to YMCA Norfolk.
James’ dad passed away while he was still at school. Unsure how to cope, James regularly skipped school and got into trouble. He found himself on a declining path and fast accumulating rent debt, after attempting to move out of his family home.
Following his disrupted upbringing, James stayed with another local organisation for 2 years, before being referred to YMCA Norfolk. Moving into a safer and more comfortable environment at YMCA gave James the support to begin looking ahead to the future. At the end of his time in MyPlace, James decided that a referral to our Community Housing service would be the best route for him, as spoken about with his support worker.
He said: “YMCA has changed my life in a good way. I have met friends through the YMCA and a lot of good people. They have given me a lot of support, even when I didn’t think I needed it.”
After his relocation, James, through the guidance of his support workers, began to be able to face his issues and deal with them. He began to feel ready to live independently, and started doing local voluntary work through the encouragement of his support system.
James hopes to begin paid employment and sort his previous debt, stating “all the workers that I have had with the YMCA have had an impact on my life, and have helped to shape the person I am now, without the YMCA I would not be the person I am or be where I am.”
*resident’s name has been changed to protect their identity