Chris had been living on the streets for a while before he sought the solace of the woods, he managed to build himself a wooden treehouse in a section of woods next to the motorway.
Chris was in a bad way with his mental health, he’d been using drugs and found it hard to engage with our outreach team. They provided food parcels and kept checking on him which helped to steadily build a relationship and eventually find him accommodation.
Chris is now living in our supported accommodation where he receives practical and emotional support and feels like he can look forward to a better life and getting back on track. Here’s what Chris has to say:
“I think I would’ve committed suicide by now, to be truthful. Struggling out there with the loneliness, the lack of support, not being able to keep myself clean and fed – I didn’t think I was going to make it for the rest of this year to be truthful. I’m really proud of them [Two Saints], they really have helped me out beyond belief”
Chris now engages fully with other clients and the support team in our service and says the interaction from staff makes him feel more ‘human’ and ‘not just a resident’. He’s found a love for cooking and will regularly make meals (and delicious puddings) for everyone living at the accommodation to share as well as tending to the communal garden.
Chris has been helping with the service’s sustainability project and has loved making the communal garden a relaxing space for all clients. A recent trip to the local garden centre with his support worker resulted in a large discount when one of the staff overheard their plan and asked him his story. He was incredibly open and honest, and they were only too pleased to help.
Most recently, Chris has started volunteering for a project called Food Cycle – once a week they provide a hot meal and a warm place to sit and chat. Chris is using his new-found joy of cooking to help support the project and feels it’s given him a new purpose as he now really wants to help others
We’re so pleased Chris is finding his feet, his passions, living life again and looking forward to a brighter future as it could’ve been a very different story.
Chris features in our ‘working here’ video where he talks about his experiences with us.