Aman, 25, came to UK as a refugee from Eritrea and after receiving his status was forced to rough sleep. He was supported by the Rough Sleeper's Team in Manchester who found him a place in a supported accommodation and the Jobs and Education Team who helped him into a new job.
Coming to the UK
Aman, 25, came to the UK as a refugee after leaving his home country of Eritrea in 2024. He remembers arriving on Boxing Day and being sent to Warrington where he was placed in shared accommodation.
“I came on Christmas Boxing Day, I remember that. When I came first time, they sent me to Warrington and then they sent me to a shared house.”
However, after gaining his refugee status, he was made to leave the accommodation. With no connections to the area, Aman had no choice but to begin to rough sleep during this time. He moved to Manchester and whilst rough sleeping there, was able to meet with Centrepoint Rough Sleeper Support Workers, Taylor and Rebecca, who began to help him find somewhere to stay.
“After the shared house, I was homeless from there. When I was homeless here in Manchester, I came here and Centrepoint helped me a lot. I came here and I spoke with Taylor and Rebecca, and they helped me so much, too much.”
After sharing a bit about his situation with Taylor and Rebecca, they were able to help Aman find some suitable housing. He moved around a few different homes and hostels, trying to find one that worked for him and where he felt comfortable.
“I came to Manchester and Centrepoint helped me so much. I have too much respect for this community, especially Rebecca. She is too much of a good person – her and Taylor have almost helped me too much!”
Finding a job
Once he was settled in his new home, Aman was referred to Jamie, Jobs and Education Advisor to begin to look for potential roles. Aman shared with him what he was interested in doing and where he had experience in the past. He shared that he had worked in construction and security, which might be things he was interested in getting back into.
However, he recognised that he might need to feel more comfortable with the language to take on the role and that he would need to get a CSCS and SIA card to enable him to take on jobs in those areas.
“Before when I was in my country I worked in security in construction, and I have experience in that. I worked in private security and did some work in a police function as well.”
“But what I need to do is to perfect my language. When I’m working with my team, they speak a lot of English so when I have perfected it, I will learn some more about security and construction. And then step by step now that I am in the UK, I will get my CSCS card so I can work construction.”
After helping him identify particular roles and positions where he might be able to practice his language skills, Jamie found him a position at a restaurant, where he could get the opportunity to cook and wait tables. Being able to take on this role, means that he can begin to earn a salary and take those vital steps towards his dream career. After getting his new job, Aman is feeling happy and pleased to know that he has a position he can grow with. “I feel good, I feel great – I feel relieved.”
Moving to his home
After moving between hostels and supported accommodations, and getting settled into his new job, Aman was supported by the Rent Grant Deposit Scheme to help him put down the first payment on renting his own home.
Aman has been incredibly grateful for the support he has received from Centrepoint – from working with the rough sleeper’s team, jobs and education and after being referred for support with the Rent Deposit Guarantee Scheme.
“They gave me the first payment for my house. Sometimes they help me, and they will give us good advice. This team is full of good people, too much good people.”
Alongside getting him set up in his new home, they were also able to help him with getting settled into a new area, like helping him sign up to the local GP.
“They’ve heled me to do tests and register with my GP – so always the good stuff.”
After having moved into his new home recently, he’s been working closely with the team to help him understand how to budget with his new income, and what he needs to do to ensure that his new salary can support him throughout the month.
Reflecting on his journey
When thinking about his time working with the Centrepoint team, Aman has a lot of glowing remarks about the team who have supported him, especially Rebecca who was his main support worker whilst he was rough sleeping. He remembers how important that was for him, especially as he didn’t have a support system around him.
“Rebecca just gave so much advice. When I came here, I didn’t know anything, and I don’t know how to speak with you. She let me have a shower in here, she passed on good advice, and she would teach us to understand the steps we needed to take. She’s too kind.”
For Aman, being treated with respect and kindness, no matter his background or experiences, was really important for him, especially during such an emotionally and mentally challenging time in his life.
“They understand us, and they give us good advice all the time. They are all good staff. They don’t care about your journey or your religion, they just respect you.”
“They give you good advice about how you can live successfully in the UK. They give you good advice to help you from a bad situation to help you come to a good situation. You would think before, I slept in the street, and I don’t have any family or friends here. I don’t have anything. I don’t know anything. I was a new refugee. But Centrepoint help us, like they don’t know about your past and they don’t know about your religion, and they don’t know about anything like that they just want to help us.”
When thinking about his own journey, Aman recognises that his journey is not yet over, and he still has things to learn and improve on before he wants to give advice for others.
“When I have fulfilled things, I can give good advice to another but at this time, I need to take the advice on myself. When I have all my things set and I think good things then I can give good advice for other people. When you improve yourself, you understand but at the moment, just never give up.”
We’re so pleased that Aman has been able to find a home and a job that works for him, and we can’t wait to follow him on the next steps of his journey.
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