Fearless

I was homeless, staying in a park. I used to live with my girlfriend. But we broke up because she went back to Germany. It was no choice to be homeless, I had no passport, I couldn’t go with her to Germany. One of my friends found the number to contact Connection Support. He said they would help me, but the number didn’t go through. Next day, I was in South Park. It was six o'clock in the morning. It was very cold. One guy passed me with a dog. He was seeing me and he came to me and said, what are you doing here, it’s cold and early? I explained I don't have a place to stay. He had a sandwich. He gave it to me. I said thank you. He went to the shop and bought more food and drink to give to me. He asked me my name, where is my location, all my details. The next day someone from Connection or Asylum Welcome came to see what was going on. They say to me, we gonna find you a place as soon as possible.

The first house was very far from Oxford. I’ve been in Oxford since 2015. I’ve got a lot of friends here, and my GP is on Cowley Road, so it was hard to come from far away to see the GP, or Asylum Welcome. Five months I was living in this place far from Oxford. I moved to my friend’s house and stayed there instead. Then in July 2022 Connection Support contacted me and said we have good news for you. I know you’ve been waiting for a long time. And they say there is this one house in Garsington. This is a very good location. It’s a two-bedroom house. We have a living room zone. And we have a garden zone. So it's good. Good and big space. Everything clean. I moved there straight away. I’m very happy.

Now I've gotten my place I can do future life. When you’re proper homeless, there is no way to shower. No kitchen. No washing machines. It’s cold and there is no safe zone. When I was homeless, I was just sitting all day, waiting, because there is nothing to do. But now, there is too many things I can do! I have a day and a night now, for example. In the night you can get a rest and watch TV, there is movie watching, you can make yourself busy. After sleeping all night you can go out and run, make breakfast, and in the afternoon you can come to town, or see the GP or Asylum Welcome. Everything is happening step by step. When I was homeless, I couldn’t do anything. Now, I can be fearless.

If I need anything, or have any problem with the house, I can contact my support worker from Connection Support. They support me straightaway. They know how to speak to us, so they can understand us. It’s making my life easier. I've been planning more for the future, but I’m still waiting until I get my case from Asylum Welcome for refugee status. So still there is too many things left to worry about. But now, with a place to live our life, we are fine. If I get my passport, one thing that I have to do is get my driving licence and look for work. But it's very hard, waiting for refugee status. I like to have my own bank account. But if I go to the bank they ask me about passport or proof of address, or driver's licence. So all this is connected with my case. The judge is gonna see I’ve been homeless and now I have this place and what has changed from that time to now. Maybe it will work. Then I can find work, get a place to rent, and everything is gonna be perfect.