“I would’ve been nineteen or twenty years old when I first came here. At that time, I wasn’t exactly progressing in life. I’d kind of just paused, and like life was going on around me…
“I remember when I first came into the building… I was so uneasy. I kind of thought, “I’ve had this kind of help before, and none of it’s worked out.” But here, there’s an abundance of acceptance, which was a helpful tool in helping me to understand myself. When I first came here, I was at a point in life where I didn’t necessarily understand myself. But all the work and growth I’ve done here, that’s helped to unlock pathways to doors that I didn’t know existed. It’s helped me to flourish and grow.
“The amount of potential that I stopped seeing in myself, the team here helped me see that again. In terms of my self-esteem, all the support here helped me to rearrange certain aspects of what was going on in my head, and it boosted me into becoming the best version of myself at that time. People like Claud, Clare, and Angelika, they helped me with self-realisation, pushing myself, and achieving my goals. I had goals that I used to think about, but I didn’t think I could achieve them.
“I’ve always moved around, ever since I was thirteen. There were times when I’d moved, kind of disappeared, and didn’t come back for more than a year, but when I walked through the door, I was treated like they’d just seen me yesterday. Nobody forgets you here. It’s a base of safety, this place. If you’re unsure, if you’re lost in life, the support can really help. It’s definitely great if you’re looking for your place in life, or you know your place in life but need a little push to get there. That’s what everyone’s told me and what I’ve told everyone else; I’ve always been so self-aware, painfully self-aware, but I haven’t had the right support to push me through.
“It kind of feels like a family here. There’s no fear of judgement, which hasn’t always been the case at other services. There were times when I walked out NHS meetings but felt like I couldn’t be honest with other services. Some of the people supporting me had been in similar situations themselves, and they could speak to what worked or didn’t work for them. I think it’s better to connect with someone who has an understanding of what you’re going through. I always thought that was really helpful and motivating.
“This place has helped in so many different ways over the years. I’ve been helped getting housed countless times, with my mental health, and with getting back on track. And everything prepared me a lot more for being a father than I would’ve expected an organisation to help me prepare for. My first caseworker here really helped to bring me back out of my shell, really boosting my self-esteem. She introduced me to Change Grow Live who helped me stop smoking cannabis which I was really struggling with at the time.”
“The best thing I’ve found as well is, even if I’ve been moved out of Brighton which has happened a few times, I’ve always had the support network from the Clock Tower. That’s made coming back a lot easier. Even if my previous caseworker has left, I’ve always been immediately given another support worker or someone else who can help me. I’ve always found that really helpful, and it’s kept me from falling off at times. There were times when I was really stressed and felt like, without that support network, I would’ve quite easily jeopardised some of the progress I’ve been helped to achieve.
“I found the TILS (Tenancy Independent Living Skills) training really great, that was a big achievement for me. When I stopped smoking cannabis, that was a big achievement too. And I really like the weekly days out, those build on the community aspect so greatly as well. It’s not just that you come here, have a keywork session, have some food (those things are great), but on those days out, we all interact with each other.
“All the staff members here, they’ve seen me in so many different stages of life, but they’ve always offered me the same amount of support through all of them. I’ve always found that to be really amazing. For a while, I’d become so self-alienated that the idea of support felt so unobtainable, but what I found really helpful was that nobody gave up on me. It was like CTS threw a little safety ring around me and pulled me back in. Since then, the change has been so great and so noticeable.
“The volunteers are always really nice. The fact that they don’t have to be here, that they choose to be here, that feels special. It’s not necessarily more special than the way the staff members help, but it’s special in a different way. Sometimes, you get to know the volunteers, you disappear for a while, you come back, and you see loads of new faces, but they’re always just as supportive, like they’ve known you since day one as well.
“Things are going great for me at the moment. With the support I got here, especially when it came to my son being born, I was then motivated into getting a job and throwing myself into life. I’m working full-time. I’ve moved into new accommodation which CTS helped me with. I’m talking with my doctor again and have started my medication again. I’ll be turning 25 next year, and I’ll be too old for the service once I turn 26. But I’ve recently started thinking that, considering all the support that I’ve received from Clock Tower, I’d really like to come back, be a volunteer, and help other people who have been in my situation.
“Everyone who’s ever passed through here, all these people that have the best and most capable minds, they could absolutely achieve all of their goals with the correct amount of support.”
Brandon, 24 (he/him)
