When the government announced that everyone had to stay home, he was sofa surfing at his friend’s but was asked to leave because the landlord saw him and gave his friend a warning: “I ended up sleeping in my friend’s car in London next to a station.”
New Horizon Youth Centre‘s housing advice team worked closely with NHYC’S partners to help ensure Ed (22) was placed in a London hotel as part of the Covid-19 rough sleeping provision. This is in part thanks to LandAid’s £10,000 Emergency COVID-19 grant that helped to ensure NHYC’S staff could continue to support young people in London in the most efficient way possible during the first lockdown.
Previously Edi was studying to become an electrician, and he was using NHYC’s employment, education and training support to help him achieve his potential and try to get into work.
“I’m looking for a job. I want to be a delivery driver and I have applied and I’m waiting to hear back. At the moment I’m thinking about being an electrician as well. I have experience, I have done two years of it so why don’t I continue it.
When I came to NHYC my life changed forever. I’ve found lockdown really hard. I’ve been in the hotel nearly a month now. I now have somewhere to wash and clean. There are a lot of things I want to do in the future.”