Case Study: JL

Jim (name changed) is a 45 year old man who has been attending St Wilfrid’s Centre since 2014 when he self-referred when sleeping rough. Jim has a long history of homelessness over the last 20 years and for the last 10 years he has been in Sheffield. Jim has had various tenancies and his benefits have been sanctioned many times in the time we have known him, mainly due to him not receiving letters from the DWP.

Jim binge drinks alcohol & has had issues with aggressive behaviours when intoxicated, but when not drinking alcohol (& this can be for several weeks/months at a time) Jim is friendly, polite, attends the centre reliably & works well as part of the skills workshop team. Jim attended St Wilfrid’s Centre daily during the week for showers, meals & to work in the workshop. The St Wilfrid’s Centre welfare team were able to explore accommodation options with Jim and support him through his benefit issues. Jim was successfully referred to another charity in the city & has now moved into accommodation & full time work.

When asked why he started attending St Wilfrid’s Centre, Jim said: ‘When you are homeless & have nowhere to go, you just want somewhere where you feel safe and that’s why I started coming to St Wilfrid’s. Days are very long & boring when you are homeless. St Wilfrid’s is warm and people are friendly and helpful. I enjoy coming here. I’ve had up and down times in my time here, but staff have always been straight with me and given me other chances.

“Working in the skills workshop has given me my confidence back. I’d forgotten how many skills I had. I’ve worked in lots of types of jobs, but being homeless had made me feel useless. In the workshop here I have been a member of a team and know I have done good work here. ”

Working in the skills workshop has given me my confidence back. I’d forgotten how many skills I had. I’ve worked in lots of types of jobs, but being homeless had made me feel useless. In the workshop here I have been a member of a team and know I have done good work here. I enjoyed the work and enjoy being busy. It has given me a chance to refocus my life and do something positive.’