There’s no question that 2020 has been a difficult year for all of us. It has particularly impacted on people who are facing homelessness - leading to worsened mental health, feelings of isolation and worries about the future.

Andy’s Story

Sitting on the edge of an inflatable bed at his home in Ripley, Andy reflects on the long journey he has taken in 2020 since the moment, nearly exactly one year ago, he was standing by Chesterfield canal with his rucksack on his back.

“I know that Covid-19 has been very difficult for so many people,” he says, “but compared to what I’ve been through, that part of it has been like a walk in the park.”

This is because what happened next 12 months ago was that Andy jumped into the water, intending to commit suicide. What happened next he does not remember, but it involved him being spotted by a passer-by, dragged out of the canal, resuscitated and then taken to hospital.

By the time he really came to, he found himself in a mental health unit at Chesterfield Royal Hospital. While he was there, Andy was diagnosed with asperger’s syndrome, which is characterised by significant difficulties in social interaction and communication combined with restricted patterns of behaviour and interests.

That was where the 31-year-old spent Christmas and effectively saw in the New Year until he was discharged some 21 days later and left to fend for himself.

Before this, Andy had been working long hours in hospitality, but he says that last year it all got too much. “I wouldn’t say I had a break-down, it was if my body just stopped working.”

Then his mother died, and, in his grief, Andy’s life fell away. “That was the catalyst,” he says. “I couldn’t cope with anything after that.”

Over time, Andy lost his job, his home, the support of his family and his friends. “When you’re going through difficulties like I did, especially when it involves your mental health, you become less of a person and people don’t want to know,” he says.

“Everyone assumes when you’ve got mental issues that drugs are involved, while if you’re not working you don’t have a purpose or an identity. It’s like you’re not a human being.”

Although homeless and friendless, upon his release from hospital, Andy was not altogether hopeless. Waiting for him was Hugh, a support officer working for a scheme called Healthy Futures, which is run by Derventio Housing Trust in partnership with Chesterfield Borough Council.

His job is to work with people like Andy by getting them somewhere to live on their release from hospital and then working with them to rebuild their lives.

Not that things were plain-sailing for Andy. The shock of moving from hospital to the world outside was more than he could bear and before long he was readmitted and it was many months before he was in a position to start the work to rebuild his life.

Now he has taken his biggest step so far – leaving Derventio’s managed accommodation and getting his own, rented home.

The downside is that his new home has not a stick of furniture, which is where Derventio’s empowerment fund comes in. Set up to give residents and soon-to-be-ex-residents a helping hand, it has agreed to give Andy £250 so that he can buy some essential items to help turn his new house into a home, and get on with his life.

“I’m so grateful for the money, it makes a huge difference to me,” he says. “I don’t have many possessions, I’ve basically got a blanket and my engineering text books.”

Although he had done well in hospitality, Andy’s heart always lay in engineering and he has now applied for university, where he wants to study for a degree in mechanical engineering.

Andy has his new belongings, he has hope and he has a future, but he also has a vote of thanks to Hugh and Derventio for working with him when he was at his lowest.

“Hugh has been there for me, he’s like a mate, a non-judgemental friend – that’s the best way I can put it,” says Andy.

“I didn’t have a lot of friends and family, but when you’re homeless and in trouble, they step away. They just don’t know how to, or want to, deal with you and what you’re dealing with.

“The loneliness that you feel at that time is crushing, but I’m so grateful for Hugh and Derventio because by being there for me, they’ve allowed me to build myself up and rebuild my confidence, so that I finally feel like a normal human being again.

“I’m so thankful. I don’t live in a war zone or anywhere my life is in danger, even despite what I have been through, in the grand scheme of things I consider myself to be unbelievably blessed.

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