A man who slept in woods for six months has a new permanent home from the Housing First scheme.
Fraser, 44, had experienced several periods of homelessness, with no home to call his own for most of his adult life.
Now he is one of 250 people who have been allocated a home in Glasgow under the Housing First programme, where as well as a tenancy with a housing association, they get targeted support for other issues they are living with, like addiction and mental health issues.
READ MORE:Housing First helps ex homeless man who lost 21 tenancies in Glasgow
Other life skills , like budgeting and cooking can also be part of the support package designed to ensure they are able to adapt to managing a tenancy again.
Fraser, a former bar worker, now has a flat in the north west of Glasgow, close to a friend, after getting the keys last month.
He said: “It’s been brilliant since I moved into this flat, before I was in a temporary place. Now I have a sense of permanency.
“The flat’s mine, I can redecorate, I can plan for my future, I can get a job and look forward to things. Hopefully, one day, I can get a dog.
READ MORE:Rent arrears fund for tenants in Glasgow
“The location is fantastic, I’m 15 minutes away from my friend in Drumchapel and 20 minutes away from my friend in North Knightswood. That gives me a sense of security. It’s awesome.”
The support is vital for Fraser as he said in the past he ignored problems until they became unmanageable and he cut himself off.
He said: “In the past, if something went wrong, I would stick my head in the sand until problems such as rent arrears mounted up.
“Then I’d become overwhelmed and just up and leave - walking away from the tenancy. In my mind, it was easier to walk away from everything than deal with the problem.
“At one point, I slept in the woods for six months. I knew I could declare myself homeless and get into a hostel or temporary flat, but I didn’t want that, I just wanted the world to go away and leave me alone.”
The dad of three is now looking to lead a settled life and is taking steps to get back into work.
He has been on a training course building and refurbishing bikes and is now volunteering regularly with the charity that offered the training.
Fraser added: “ “It’s hard to adjust to having things again, when you’ve had nothing for so long, but I love going out on my bike and playing my guitar.
“My life has shown me that anyone can end up in a bad situation. Life can throw you a curve ball and you just don’t know what to do. It doesn’t mean that you’re a bad person, because you can’t hold on to a tenancy, it’s just life. I’ve seen lots of people who society might look at in a certain way, but they are just good people who have lost their way, or life has done something tragically awful to them, and they can’t cope. Thanks to Housing First, that’s now being addressed in a logical, residential way.”
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