One of our first tenants at Hope into Action Portsmouth moved on in May 2022. Before he moved out, he shared some reflections on his time with us...
Before I came across Hope into Action, I was in a very bad position... constant drug abuse, alcohol abuse, moving from sofa to sofa. Trying to live.... I'd already tried making changes, but I wasn't actually getting anywhere.
Since moving into the Hope into Action house, I've been able to get my life back on track, and have goals and aspirations to set myself and ultimately conquer, which I feel like I've done to a good degree.
I’m most proud of being clean! Never in my life have I have been clean for that long. Before, it was 16-17 years of just absolute pure abuse. Constant - day in, day out. So, to go two plus years now without anything, it's almost like a miracle. What helped was being somewhere stable. Being somewhere where you know you're in a supported environment, where if you do have any issues, you've got someone to fall back on, someone to rely on - to help you get out of that situation, or even someone to just sit with you and help you understand the situation, so then you can solve it yourself. It's those kinds of things that help you move forward, and it really has helped me.
It's never been easy... it started off a lot harder, and then it's progressively got easier and easier. And now I’m at a stage of moving out, I feel pretty confident... I mean, I’ve never honestly before thought I’d really get this far, so you know, you kind of think, “if I've managed to get this far, then there's nothing really in the way of me getting further!”
The church connection, that's been wonderful. It's very different... always somebody there to help you. It's been nice, to kind of meet up with someone who's outside of my normal bubble. Someone you can talk to... somebody who’s willing to sit and listen and try and sympathise and understand... that's nice, I like that.
If somebody was thinking about becoming a Hope into Action tenant, I would say "go for it!" It's something that helps you get your life back on track. It gives you a bit of stability back into your life, especially for people that have been involved with drug abuse and alcohol abuse. You know, you've never had that stability, so to be putting yourself into a place where you've got that - you've got the home, you've got the kind of support, you've got everything around that you need. It’s a really good opportunity for them to move themselves forward.
I mean, I could pretty much probably have any kind of incident or issue, and I could come to you guys about it. Even if it was something you couldn’t physically do yourself, you would at least try and put me on to the people that could help me. For somebody who's been in a situation where they've never had support, that has been quite overwhelming. Sometimes, even though you know the support’s there, you can't bring yourself to ask for that support. But, just knowing it's there, it’s a weight off my mind.
Hope into Action Gave me my life back! It's given me the ability to actually be able to do something for myself once again... I've actually got a clear path, of what needs to be done to move forward.