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Lauren Clarke

“With no home you have no hope, but if I could go back to my teenage years when I was homeless, I would have told myself to not give up. If you have dreams go for it, there is no limits.  Who would have known I would end up working for Two Saints helping others get off the streets?”

Homeless at 16, Lauren has first-hand experience of what it takes to move from the streets towards a better life.  Thanks to support from Two Saints, she’s rebuilt her life and is well on the way to a rewarding career as a drugs counsellor, helping others to overcome their addictions. 

She took part in the Two Saints’ GROW scheme which helps people who have experienced homelessness back into work and is currently a key worker at Lucy Faithful House, our homeless hostel in Oxford.

“Before I was on the streets I thought homeless people were the stereotypical tramp with a can of beer.  Being homeless at 16 was life changing and whilst I wouldn’t want to relive those days, I don’t regret living it as it’s all added to the person I am today. You meet the best and the worst people on the streets, but even five years after being homeless I’m still in touch with people I met, they’re normal people. One lesson I learned is never judge a person.

 

“Working in Two Saints you see lots of reasons why people end up homeless, often it’s just a run of bad luck or having no-one to turn to or nowhere to go.  You can see how easy it is to end up on the streets.  I just encourage people not to give up and to believe in themselves, which is very hard when you are homeless.  With no home you have no hope, but if I could go back to my teenage years when I was homeless, I would have told myself to not give up. If you have dreams go for it, there’s no limits – just look at what I’ve achieved and where I am today.

“I’m really enjoying my role as a Key Worker.  I’m here to support people and my main focus is helping them with their needs. Working at Lucy Faithfull House, I have learnt a lot about the high drug and alcohol intake amongst clients. Because of this, I want to specialise in substance misuse, I’m working hard to get the right qualifications and looking forward to helping even more people.”

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