Samir's Story

*Samir’s name has been changed to protect his identity.

Unable to find new accommodation and a job in the very short amount of time he was given, Samir came to Glass Door, hoping to avoid sleeping on the streets. With support from his Caseworker, he was able to secure a deposit and first month's rent for a room rented to him by his volunteering colleague.

I came here as a refugee from Sudan. I first arrived in UK in last summer, and I got my Refugee Status around two months later. Normally, after you’ve got refugee status, you have 28 days in the government accommodation to find a new place, before being on your own.  

My plan was to find work and then accommodation. But that is a big challenge for someone that just arrived in the country without any experience here, despite having lots of work experience abroad. The 28 days finished but I wasn't successful in finding work. At first, I wasn't aware that there are organisations like Glass Door that help people in my situation, so I was all on my own.  

I stayed in the cheapest hostel in London. For the whole month, I paid just £400 for my stay and meals, though I only had one meal a day. 

I was applying for jobs and doing whatever I could, but I was running out of money. I had like £20 left and I was losing hope, wondering what's going to happen to me. I don't know anyone here in this country. It was a strange situation for me because I just never imagined myself being homeless.  

A friend told me about Ace of Clubs in Clapham. I wasn't feeling optimistic and my confidence was below zero, but I went there and met my caseworker, Haley. The first time I met her, I could tell just from the way that she was speaking and the feeling that I got from her, that she was the one that was going to help me. 

Before that, I was in contact with the council and they didn't help that much. But I was comfortable with Ms. Haley, so I told her that maybe in two days I will be on the street. That I don't even have money to eat. She was very understanding. And she told me about the night shelter programme. I was very happy that finally, there is some hope there that I'm not going to be on the street. She told me that there was a waiting list for the shelter, but because of my situation, she was going to do the best she could to help me get in the shelter.  

In less than 48 hours, I received a message from her telling me where to go for the night shelter, and that was the first step.  

I spent more than three weeks in the shelter. I was happy with the service that they were providing, giving food for breakfast and dinner. At the same time, I was looking for some accommodation. My local council told me that I had to look for a room privately, but that was impossible for someone like me because I hadn’t found work yet. And I didn't have any financial history in the UK. So, there's no one who will agree to rent a room to me.  

And at the same time as all this going on, I was volunteering seven days a week. I volunteered at a local charity shop for four days and another one for three days. I wanted to keep busy and not think much about my situation. My first language is Arabic and I used to work in business, so I know that the only way for me to succeed in new country is through what I do best, communicating with people. But my language was not that good yet, so I was thinking of ways that would help me to improve my language and my communication skills. The best way to do that is to volunteer and to interact with people. This has helped me a lot to keep my confidence up, especially during that hard period.  

Volunteering gives me the feeling of purpose, knowing that I'm helping. At least I'm giving back a little bit to the community. Even without payment or without money, at least I feel good about myself.  

I also have a lot of friends from there. The thing about charity shops is that people know you are not there to take their money. People come by just for a chat. And my volunteer colleagues are all very nice people and come from all different backgrounds, such as a doctor, pilot, or working in hospitality. My manager in the charity shop asked, what's going on? I told her about my problem and she was very helpful. She started asking around, and put in a good word for me with a volunteer colleague who had a spare room. 

But the biggest challenge was how I was going to pay for the room. The council wanted to pay for my deposit and the first month’s rent, but the process was very complicated. They ask for so much documentation from the landlord. My English at that time wasn't that good, so Haley handled the communication and she took this matter very seriously. I felt like I was the only one she was helping because she gave that much attention and was replying to the emails very quickly.   

I think the council thought I could find another source for the rent and deposit instead of them paying. They sent an email saying, sorry, but your landlord is not cooperating enough and you'll have to find another option. But Haley, she managed to fix it. There was still a shortfall in the payments, so I said I will pay for the shortfall with my Universal Credit money even if I have to eat one meal a day. But Haley found a solution. 

Haley managed to get money for my first month of rent and deposit from Housing Justice instead of the council. I'm very grateful. She also got me £400 to help me with the rent shortfall for a few months until I find work.  

My life here has started since I moved in. After all of that, I was just totally lost, but finally, I'm in the right place to think about what I want to do in my future. Haley said to me, Samir*, we don't want you to go back to your first problem, because you are not stable until you find work. She's keeping up with me, asking for updates and checking to see how I am doing. She's a very good person and a role model for me. 

I know that in my last job, I was in very good position. But coming to a new country that doesn't recognise my previous experience that much, I know I have to downgrade a little bit and mentally prepare myself to start from the bottom. For me, that's no problem at all because I'm confident that with my skills, I can get to a place where I will be comfortable. The jobs I started to apply to are all entry level, but even that was difficult, so I started a training program. Haley also taught me about the Upper Room, and they helped me with my CV. Now there has been progress. For the first five months, I wasn’t getting responses but now I'm going to interviews. 

Maybe in five, six years, I see myself in hotel lobby wearing a suit. But this vision, it wasn't possible if I didn't have a roof over my head, you know? 

I am not worried anymore about where I'm going to spend the night today, where I'm going to sleep. I had almost lost hope because I didn’t know how long I could survive if I didn't find this room. That was the biggest problem, but that has cleared. Now I can think about my long-term plan. Because I have a foundation now with having a home. It’s so hard to think about anything else until you have that foundation.  

Glass Door is like the light at the end of a tunnel for people who are very down. I found someone that would push me into the light, because before it was very dark. My life starts now. 

For me, I wasn’t used to people helping me, I didn't use to ask for anything. I always felt like I was confident to do anything by myself, but the reality is a little bit different. Sometimes you need a little help. And coming here, it starts with forgetting everything that I did in the past, my work, my status, everything that happened, and finding the light in the dark. It's a starting point. I see it like that.  

I will be forever grateful for you, and I hope that one day, when I'm in a good place, that I can contribute to Glass Door. Because I see that you are giving hope to people, you are helping people to start their life and this is the greatest thing that someone can do.