City councillors have taken a tour of the newly developed Brighton YMCA and heard how the scheme helped a former homeless person.

Kerry, a 25-year-old former homeless client, told Brighton & Hove City Council councillors how the new generation hostels with state of the art work and learning facilities have helped her back on her feet.

Kerry didn’t take her GCSE’s at school as she was pregnant and her school was not able to support her to take her exams.
Kerry said:
“It made me feel stupid that my friends had qualifications and I didn’t.  I knew I could do it, but I didn’t have the certificates to prove it.”
 
Following the breakdown of her long-term relationship, Kerry ended up living in a homeless hostel.  She started working with the ‘Step-by-Step’ literacy and numeracy service five months ago and has since passed her exams in level 1&2 numeracy.  She has sat literacy exams.
 
Kerry is starting college in September and plans on training to become an accountant.  Her work placement with Business Action on Homelessness has enabled her to get some experience and develop the skills she wants to utilise in the future.

Kerry added:
“Now I’m determined to make something of myself…without Step-by-Step I never would have felt like that.  My advice to anyone would be to give it a go.  No matter how you feel at the start, there is support to help you through any problems you’ve got.”
 
The councillors heard Kerry’s story on a tour of the £5.1m newly redeveloped Brighton YMCA’s George Williams House, which takes council nominated homeless people and is funded by Supporting People.
 
The hostel offers 37 studio flats and 5 houses with 5 bedrooms in each. The new development provides supported housing for single people, offering an accredited life skills course that includes personal development, IT skills as well as basic cookery and budgeting.
 
Cllr  Maria Caulfield said:
“Kerry’s story is testament to how easily anyone could become homeless.  But through our new generation hostels with work and learning facilities we can help people back on their feet and ensure we increase the opportunities of our most vulnerable residents. Kerry now has a real future ahead of her as an accountant which is fantastic news.”
 
The tour was part of National Housing Federation (South East) Supported Housing Month, which showcases services provided by Brighton & Hove City Council and its partners to support over 5,000 vulnerable residents.

For more information about Brighton and Hove Council view:
www.brighton-hove.gov.uk