Being on the street wore me down. I slept in car parks, where boy racers threw rubbish at me. You wake up freezing, with no public toilets open. I lost weight; I lost all communication with my friends. I had a nervous breakdown. When I came to the Doorway drop-in centre, I was wearing trainers with the soles falling off. They managed to get me into a room after the government basically failed me.<\/p>\n
I have noticed homelessness going up. Every other doorway there\u2019s someone sitting there \u2013 people are losing their flats because of universal credit, domestic violence, not being able to afford the mortgage; it could be anything. I talk to them because I\u2019ve been in that situation. It does help when someone says hello; most days you wake up with nobody to talk to apart from the pigeons.<\/p>\n
But I\u2019m grateful for what I\u2019ve got compared with six months ago. This Christmas I\u2019ll be in my hostel room. I\u2019ve got a little shower, a TV and computer downstairs, and I\u2019m saving up my pennies to get on the coach to see my nieces and nephews. I\u2019d love to get back into horse-riding, and have my own little flat. I want to get back to being me, because you lose yourself when you\u2019re on the streets. You\u2019ve got to pick yourself up and do the best you can. Life\u2019s too short to sit around being miserable.<\/p>\n