Luke's story

Luke* came to Emerging Futures in July 2016, and has proved to be a model Housing First tenant. His has an easy going and pleasant manner and has embraced our culture, making massive changes and directing his life towards independent living.

Although Luke has experienced periods of sleeping on the streets, before joining us he was living at his mother’s house. This proved unsustainable for Luke, and difficult for his mother; it was a cramped one bedroomed property, and Luke had to sleep in the living room, resulting in hygiene issues, with the situation worsened by his bouts of alcohol abuse.

Luke told us that he had been incapable of sustaining a proper home on many instances previously, and that he felt like he always messed up and kept making bad decisions. He looked back on his upbringing with fond memories, but spoke about how he had taken the wrong path, and found it difficult to make his way back.

Luke really enjoys living here. He feels accepted and although a once shy individual, who still struggles socially from time to time, he feels much more confident in himself. He admits that his life before lacked motivation and his days consisted of boredom, watching TV and doing little else. The stability and structure that we have provided through his weekly plans have given Luke a chance to thrive. He now has a sense of responsibility, purpose and direction, and feels more independent, which has helped him look forward to the week ahead.

Since joining us, Luke has had considerable lengths of time sober, and although he has the odd relapse, he continues to make the best of efforts to move forward. He feels he gets on well with other tenants and staff members, which has helped him feel a part of the community. Luke has continued to be in regular contact with his family and remains close to his mother.

Luke has actively put himself forward for a range of activities including cookery, walking group and bowling, and has recently been booked onto the accredited IT course. He has also spent some time doing voluntary work for The British Heart Foundation, which he felt gave him the opportunity to give back to the community while gaining new life skills.

Luke is about to begin an Intuitive Recovery programme and is excited about the possibility of attending an addiction recovery service, which he feels will help him to sustain sobriety and give him the chance to work on his own personal growth. Luke has also been making bids for a property through the council’s Home Choice allocation scheme and feels confident of securing a home in the near future.

When discussing the future, Luke feels hopeful, and is determined to be alcohol free for good. He believes in maintaining some stability, and his goal is to get back to work as a refuse collector again soon – something he enjoyed doing many years ago. Ultimately he would like his own home, and to someday start a family.

*To protect identity, the name of the client has been changed. Man in image is an actor.