Jason shares his experience of homelessness after two unexpected bereavements, and losing his accommodation which was tied to seasonal work.

Jason has now secured his own permanent place to live outside of St Petrocs accommodation, and will be moving on from our services soon.

"In February 2022, my mum died and then four days later, I lost my partner...

We had already made plans to move to Cornwall, but now it was just me and my dog. In the August, I went into Padstow and asked around to find out if there were any jobs.  So, I had two jobs, one a Kitchen Porter, and the second in a hotel in Padstow, which provided me with accommodation too.”

“You have to think out the box, don't you? And that's what I did.”

Due to the seasonal nature of some employment in Cornwall, hospitality workers face a particular risk of losing their employment in the winter months. When your job is tied to accommodation, this can be devastating.

“In December, the hotel said, “We don't need you anymore… so you have to go”,

I said, “Okay, give me 24 hours.”

 They said, “No, you go now.”

"That was on a Sunday at 5:00 o'clock, so I had to pack, and that's when I ended up sleeping in my car."

"I was living with my dog, so when I found out that I would be sleeping in the car, I went to search for accommodation in loads of places. I had the money because I was working, but no one would accept pets, which really surprised me. I rescued her when she was 1 year old and she's 12 this year and she was a God send to me, because I had some dark days when I lost my partner...people say it's only a dog but it's not, they’re more than that, especially in my case.

I had to finish my second job because of my living situation, but I wanted to stay in Cornwall. I didn’t tell them the reason why I had to quit. So I thought, right, I'm staying in my car. I was living in my car in the car park in Padstow for about 10 days..."

How did you come into contact with St Petrocs?

“Someone said that it's getting cold, when there was a real cold snap. They took me into Padstow Town Council, and they contacted St Petrocs’ outreach team. Rose from St Petrocs then phoned me, and said “I’ll come to see you, if you're living in your car, this is no good. You need to go, you need to get a house, you need to refigure.”

So, I met them, I’ll always remember it, on the 13th of December, and there was Rose, Emma and Trish...

They phoned me and said, “I've got a room for you". We met at midday, and by 2 o’clock, I was in here in my room.”

"At the time, I thought, yes it's a room, but when I did live in my car for that period of time- a room was paradise, that was paradise-big style."

“You forget about that, you adapt to the difficult situation you're in. I got on with it because I couldn’t change it…  Since I’ve been here, I haven't looked back.

When I came in here, all I wanted to do was get a job, so straight away I was down to a local restaurant. I just can't sit around, so I went down there and by the end of March, I had a job there in the front of house team because I had worked with them before. I've been there ever since."

"I've always worked, you see. I've always worked because I can't sit still."

 

How does it feel to be moving out into your own house?

Jason has now secured his own permanent place to live outside of St Petrocs accommodation, and will be moving on from our services soon.

"It is another level, it is amazing. It's just amazing to think that I'm going to go in there and when I leave in the morning, I'm going to go back, open the front door and it's going to be the same as I left it. I'm so looking forward to it, so so excited.

It's just everything, you know, the help that St Petrocs has given me has been amazing because I think subconsciously, you lose your confidence and you lose your self-belief and I never thought I did, but I did. When I came in here it's like, ‘my God, I've got a roof over my head’, you finally relax."

Following your experience of homelessness, what should people be mindful of?

"That Christmas before my partner passed away, we had a big sort out of all our stuff, and we gave away our old clothes, hats and everything to people experiencing homelessness. They just couldn't believe it and that was so nice - to put a smile on their faces was just incredible..."

"Then, there I am in the same sort of position the following year. You just don't know, it can happen to anyone, absolutely anyone, and people shouldn't be judgmental at all, at all."

"People can be very judgmental. When you walk by someone in the street, just don't think they're a 'druggie' or an alcoholic, because 9 times out of 10 they're not."

What advice would you give to anyone facing the experience of homelessness?

"Don't give up, believe in yourself and just don't give up on yourself because you're worth something. You know, you really are, you're something, you're someone! Believe in yourself because you are worthy, you are someone, so just think of that, and you'll be fine."

"If you want it badly, it will work out for you, but you need to want it to get there and then it will happen.  

Today is today and tomorrow can be better. If you can get through a bad day, you're going to get the good days, and you're going to really appreciate it. You will appreciate them like I did. You have to have that enthusiasm and that motivation, and if you’ve got it, the world's your oyster, you can do whatever you want, no matter what situation you’re in.

I have some really dark days. But looking at it, you can have cloudy days wherever you are, but behind the clouds there is always the sun, and the clouds will move away, and you'll get the sunshine again."

 

Perspective

"You have to be happy within yourself, then you'll find happiness. If you're happy with yourself, then everyone else will like what they see - that's my philosophy anyway.  And that's how I think you move forward.

I must have had a little bit of a sheltered life … I had the perfect upbringing. I've had a lovely life and then all of a sudden it all goes wrong for you and I've never experienced that."

"But, it had to happen, it’s the law, that somewhere along the line you’ve got to have a bit of a bumpy road. That was tough, but something just kicks in and you get through it."

"If I can rub off a little bit of my enthusiasm onto you and it helps you then I'm happy, I've done a good job.”

“No money in the world can get you walking again or get your health back…. No money in the world. So just be grateful that you got up, you're upright and you're walking, put one step in front of the other because a lot of people don’t have that.  Whatever your background, be grateful for what you got."