One of the many services delivered by the Good Shepherd is the AfEO programme, which supports people who have an offending history within the last 12 months into private sector accommodation with the relevant package of support attached.
The support is for both tenants and landlords, and is funded by the City of Wolverhampton Council with an initial two-year lifespan.
Leading on the project for the Good Shepherd is Senior Key Worker Tina Lane, who provides regular one-to-one support and is a single point of access and mediation for both tenants and landlords if needed.
One of the people recently helped into accommodation via the AfEO programme is Errol – and this is his story.
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I came out of jail last October, and, when I came out, I was effectively homeless. I had nowhere to go and I had to stop here and there for a while.
I was initially put somewhere with another person who was having difficulties with his mental health – he wouldn’t take his medication and would smash up his room and accuse me of taking his clothes.
Then it was someone who was a heavy drinker who would come in late at night and put something in the oven or on the hob and then fall asleep which would burn everything up.
It’s not that I would never want to be in accommodation with someone else but it didn’t help me trying to settle back into normal life and when I spoke to Tina at the Good Shepherd, and this flat became available, I couldn’t wait.
I have met the landlord who has been great and have worked really hard on the property to make it feel like a home and it has given me a fresh start.
I had been in prison before but after I came out of there in 1995, I promised my mother, before she passed away a couple of years later, that I would give up a life of crime.
I got back to a settled life and a happy life but at the end of the day, certain things happen and another incident took place which led to me returning to jail.
I was in bed late at night when the incident happened and I panicked and reacted, and both of us involved ended up in hospital and I had a heart attack as well.
I have served my time and am still in licence and probation but I am determined to put it behind me and, even if it’s baby steps at the moment, move forward the best I can.
Prison is a place where I think you get labelled and people make a lot of assumptions about you being in there. But they don’t know you as a person or understand what you have been through.
There were a lot of challenges when I was in there, but I have always been someone who can fit in to his surroundings and I always try to treat people as I would like to be treated.
I am a barber by trade, and that helped me, doing a lot of haircuts in there, and I was able to take each day as it came.
Now it is about staying positive, keeping away from negative vibes and walking away from anything that might get me into trouble.
I just need positive people and positive things around me and I’ve been doing well so far, reconnecting with family and friends, rebuilding relationships, adjusting back into life and having everything fit into place.
Having my own accommodation which I am able to rent privately is a massive part of that, keeping me settled, and that is why I am so grateful to the Good Shepherd.
Tina has been such a fantastic support all the way through, as well as Donna (Good Shepherd trainee), and they couldn’t have done any more to help me.
I have met a lot of the staff at the Good Shepherd now, and they are all so nice and polite, and I can’t speak highly enough of what they do to help people.
It’s up to me now, to stick to my probation and keep all my appointments, and that is what I plan to do.
Being able to get away from stress and having some comfort and being able to relax in my own place is a big thing in helping me make this fresh start.
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Tina says:
“Errol was initially referred to us after his release through the AfEO project, and we were able to get him onto the programme very quickly. Then it was a case of a bit of a wait as he was keen to have a single unit but finally one arrived, and he has settled in very well. We were able to work with Errol and talk to the landlord, and provide support with a deposit and rent in advance which is such a key part of the AfEO programme. Now he is in and settled we will continue to work with Errol to provide low-level support and help him sustain his tenancy and we can also provide guidance with his benefits assessment and other issues which may arise. While he is on the programme, we will check in with him at regular intervals and he always knows where we are if he has any other questions.”
- Contact [email protected] for more information about the AfEO programme.