By Simon Oxton
“I didn’t see it coming. I wouldn’t wish it on my enemy,” Caleb said.
Caleb’s life took an unexpected turn when, at 33, he found himself homeless during the early days of the pandemic. While staying with a friend in east London in April 2020, a misunderstanding led to his friend asking him to leave the same day the government lockdown began. Suddenly, he discovered that even the money he had to find a place to stay had little use during the lockdown, and his options were rapidly dwindling.
“There was nowhere really to go, maybe a friend. There were times when I would just be in a car. You can’t say precisely how your night will end, where you’re going to sleep. There was no B&B. Everywhere was closed,” he recalls. Eventually, night bus rides became his refuge.
As the days went by, he became even more afraid to ask for help: “Looking back, it was really hard, to be fair.
“How many people do I want to be calling to tell them I’m homeless?” he thought.
In 2021, the London Borough of Newham provided a brief respite from his experience of homelessness by allocating Caleb a place in a hostel. But in the summer, he faced another setback as he was asked to leave on the same day that he had an appointment with the hostel to discuss his housing situation. Thus began his rough sleeping experience in London and Manchester, which he endured for two years.
He finally had a breakthrough when an acquaintance referred him to the NEWway Project, who then referred him to HOPE worldwide UK. In March 2022, HOPE worldwide UK found Caleb accommodation in Lewisham.
“You know when you have a breath of fresh air? That’s how it felt,” he said. The stability of having a home brought a renewed sense of peace, allowing him to appreciate simple joys like sleeping without interruptions, having a hot shower, and planning for the future.
Reflecting on his experience, Caleb emphasises the day-by-day uncertainty of homelessness, and how the nights on the streets seemed to last forever.
“It’s not a good experience. You have to stay strong for yourself. I didn’t want my situation to get worse or make choices that would make it worse,” he said.
Caleb, now 37, has just completed an apprenticeship in cyber security and is continuing his studies in IT. Regarding his period of homelessness, he believes the experience strengthened him, and gave him the resolve to take responsibility for his life.
“It made me realise when it comes to people, and friends, nobody is really coming to save you apart from yourself.
“But I am grateful for an organisation like HOPE worldwide UK. Their approach defined their name — they gave me hope,” he said.
