“I’ve been coming to Sanky for 7 years, since I was 17, and it’s definitely helped me with growing up. When I was out on the streets, a lot of people who are older, they don’t act very grown up. But seeing people here, it made me realise how important it is to grow and do better.
“Sanky’s helped me in a lot of ways. When I was quite vulnerable, they were there for me, a lot… being that reasonable, adult perspective on things, and without judgement. It just helped, knowing that they were always there for me. When you’re on drugs, and you’re in a bad state, it’s good to just have some kind of consistency, and that’s what Sanky was for me.
“It’s like a big family here, and a support system for young people that are struggling to get support from their own family, or who don’t have family.
“The hardest part about being homeless for me has been the trauma, all the trauma that I went through. But having people that cared is what got me out of that. When I was vulnerable, not really knowing or caring what I was doing… there were people that wanted better for me, and that encouraged me to get better.
“Getting sober, that’s probably one of my biggest achievements. It all kind of came crashing down when I was almost sent to prison. But, because of the help from Sanky, I had support and other services around me. When it got to that point, my caseworker Poppy came to court, my CGL worker came to court… just having someone rooting for you, even that just helps you get through it.
“Without Sanky, things would be really different. I probably wouldn’t have gotten sober. I think I would be way more involved with worse people on the streets. There would have been lots of things I’d have needed, things that I wouldn’t have been able to get from here, and I would have to go other ways about it, just putting me in more bad positions.
“Everyone really cares here, and I just think it’s a really good environment. I think a lot of kids that grow up around the streets, they don’t have anything like this. I think it’s definitely helped a lot of kids get out of bad situations, out of lives of crime, and it’s given them somewhere safe.”
Charlotte, 24 (she/her)
