Hash, 22, came to the UK 5 years ago after moving from Pakistan. He was finding it hard to balance his university fees and paying for accommodation which left him at risk of homelessness. After reaching out to a friend, he spoke to social services who referred him to Centrepoint. He is now living in his own home, where he loves cooking, working full-time and thinking about long-term career goals.
Journey to Centrepoint
Hash, 22, came to the UK when he was 17 after leaving his home country of Pakistan. He arrived in the UK in the midst of the pandemic and moved into a shared home, whilst he was studying at university. However, after trying to balance his university fees and renting the room in this home, he found that his situation was becoming unmanageable and didn’t know what to do.
He went to his mosque and spoke to a friend about his situation and how much he was struggling during that time. As Hash was a minor and didn’t have any family in the UK, his friend suggested that he reach out to social services, and he contacted them for support and advice for his situation.
“I left my family back home and I moved to England during COVID, and it was really hard. I was studying during that time and then I didn’t have enough money to pay my bills for university and everything. It was a really hard time, but I met my friend at the mosque, and he helped me a lot. He guided me to deal with this really hard situation and he sent me the details for social services.”
He explained his situation to social services, and they were able to come and see where he was living during that time. After reviewing his living situation, it was clear that it was not suitable for a minor to be living in. They made a referral for Hash to meet with a support and progression officer at Centrepoint to explain his living situation and the financial worries he was coming up against, which were putting him at risk of homelessness.
“I contacted them, and I told them my story and at the time I was staying at my friend’s house. They came and they saw my situation and that I had very limited space and they took me to the Centrepoint building where I met with staff. I told them my story and that I was facing a lot of hard time and that I didn’t have any money to pay for university and everything.”
“It was a really really hard time, but I contacted Centrepoint. I went there and I told them my story and how I was struggling with my current situation.”
After meeting with the support and progression officer, Hash was able to quickly move out of the shared house and into a Centrepoint supported home.
Navigating the working world
Whilst living at the home, Hash was still a student part-time, studying for his English qualifications. During this time, he was also interested in looking for jobs that could help him to cover his bills and get him onto the career ladder.
He let his key worker know and together they reached out to the CP Works team for advice. There he met and worked with Rumbie, a jobs and education advisor, and together they began to look for jobs that identified jobs that might be suitable for him and his skillset.
They began by looking at his CV and helping with some employability skills so that he would know what to expect from roles and have the opportunity to build his confidence to start something new.
Together, they were able to find and apply for a role firstly at an airport, where Hash was able to grow a lot of vital skills in the working world. After being there for a little while, Hash knew that he wanted to move into a different field, and they found a role at a café where he could develop hospitality skills.
“I got this job with the help of Centrepoint. One of the advisors, Rumbie, she helped me with a lot of the work and education. She helped me apply for my previous job at the airport and she found this job for me now.”
He’s been grateful for the support of Rumbie and the CP Works team in helping him take these steps into working and being guided through the often-complicated world of applications and work. Being able to take on these roles and have the support of the team behind him, has been vital in helping him to not only develop vocational skills, but also grow his confidence.
“Because of Centrepoint I have really good confidence, I am now fully confident whether I’m working in a café or whatever, Centrepoint supported me, and they guided me during that time. I’m fully confident to work in any sector now and I’m thankful for Centrepoint.”
“They really really supported me and because I have built my confidence strongly. Before I didn’t have any confidence to talk to other people. But now I’ve built good qualities, and I learned a lot from Centrepoint – I have really nice qualities just because of Centrepoint.”
Now Hash is working full time in a café and is thriving in this environment – developing good relationships with his co-workers and feeling supported in his role.
“I’m working in a café and it’s a nice environment there. The people are so nice, especially my manager, they’re really good.”
Key worker support
As an unaccompanied minor to the UK, Hash developed close relationships with his key workers and advisors, who have been there to support him in every step of his journey.
“It was the best experience for me to live at Centrepoint -especially because of the people. They were so nice to me and so helpful. My key workers, the job advisors, the whole staff – day staff, night staff, all of them.”
His key workers were also able to identify where there might be benefit from some additional help and advice, like with the jobs and education advisor. Alongside this, to help with his studies and new job, they applied for the refugee bursary where he could get the financial support he needed for travel to and from college and for a new laptop so he can keep up with his assignments.
“The bursary helped me to get a laptop and with going to school. It helped me with the travel and getting a travelcard. I was doing ESOL at college.”
He also worked closely with Luci, who is a Moneywise advisor, to understand more about how to manage his finances, look after his benefits and give him valuable advice for starting out with work.
“They taught me everything regarding how to save money, how to spend money and everything.”
Moving on from Centrepoint
After four years at his supported accommodation, Hash was able to move into his own home and has been settling in well over the last few months. Now that he has his own space and is earning through his job, he’s made a wish list of all the items he can’t wait to buy to furnish his new flat.
“I have the basics in my flat, but I haven’t decorated it yet – I have a list from IKEA. It’s nice now. I’m saving at the moment and then after that I will buy a dinner table and chairs and some chairs for my balcony. And then some decorations for the living room and the bedroom. I have a nice list.”
With his new space, he has really enjoyed having the room to cook meals and has learnt a lot from cooking channels on YouTube – making sure to make himself healthy and balanced meals that he can take to work each day.
“I love cooking – I learned everything about cooking from YouTube. I like to cook a lot of Asian food – mostly biryanis, curries and a bit of everything. If I can watch it on YouTube I can make it.”
Reflecting on his experiences
Having recently moved on, Hash took the time to reflect on his journey to Centrepoint and the impact that it has had on where he is now. He recognises how much he was struggling at the time and how much he valued being able to have the guidance he needed to achieve his goals.
“I moved to Centrepoint, and they supported me in every single way. Whether in education, in work, and gave me accommodation to live. I was 17 went I came to Centrepoint and now I’m 22”.
“I’m really grateful for the people who supported me in that difficult time. Now I have my own space and I’m working full time as well – I’m a bit more confident now compared to my past.”
He looked back on arriving to Centrepoint during the pandemic, which could have added to how much he was struggling, even more so as he was navigating a new country. However, for him, the support he received made it an overwhelmingly positive experience and one that he remembers very fondly.
“I lived there for 4 years, and it was the best experience – especially coming to this country during the COVID times. It was the best experience to live in a Centrepoint home.”
Whilst living in his supported home, he remembered how frequently the support staff would put on activities for the young people – helping him to feel more settled and build important relationships with his team and the other residents.
“When I was at Centrepoint, I enjoyed the activities they were doing with the young people. We did barbecues and everything – every week we had a games night. We’d play card games or indoor games, which I really enjoyed.”
After developing a close relationship with his key worker, Kieran, he still goes back to the supported accommodation to check in and share his updates. Building that relationship and knowing that he has that support system around him has been incredibly helpful for him taking important steps forwards with his life and career.
“It was a good time – I will never forget that time. I’m still going to the house when I have a day off to visit my old building.”
When thinking about what it was that he takes away most from his time at Centrepoint, it was how much he felt his confidence grow which can be seen in everything he has achieved. .
“I feel so confident because of Centrepoint. I have everything now because of Centrepoint – a job, a home and income.”
Planning for the future
Having worked in a couple of different roles and finding out more about what he does and doesn’t want to do in the future, he’s looking to move jobs and start a new longer-term career path. At the moment, he’s keeping his options open and has started to look into what he might need to move jobs – with a particular interest in TfL or the NHS.
“I’m confused about what field I should choose for my career for the future. I’m fine with hospitality but I’m really thinking to change my career to a more permanent career. I want to pick one field and focus on that career.”
When thinking about the advice that has supported him throughout his journey and what guided him through his time at Centrepoint, his advice focused on setting clear attainable goals and knowing what you need to do to get there.
“Set a goal first and focus on the goal you want to achieve. Whether in a job, whether you want to get a house, or anything just set a goal and then work on it. My goal was to be a good person. I’m always trying to be a good person.”
We wish Hash all the best with figuring out his next step in his career and are excited to see what he does next!
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