I never thought I would be in a situation of homelessness.
Like many, I always thought my home would be my safe space and had the attitude that “it’ll never happen to me”, but it did.
Within 24 hours, I lost everything I knew. I was living with a family member who was fighting addiction; it wasn’t safe for me to stay in the home any longer. This is when I experienced homelessness.
With the job security the Social Bite Academy gave me, my mental health started to improve, and I signed a lease to my own home
The Social Bite Academy supported my journey back to independence. Firstly, I was assigned a manager, Babs, who went above and beyond anything I could have asked for.
During my biggest struggles, Babs was there with food packages and would take me to hospital appointments. She went out of her way to make sure I never felt alone.
I had space to focus and feel human again
The programme is set up to provide wraparound support. Social Bite is great because the team there understand that it’s not just the support needed to get back into employment, but the security and help you also need in your personal life as you find your feet again.
I had the opportunity to plan my future and think about what I wanted to do, giving me space to focus and feel human again. With the job security the Academy gave me, my mental health started to improve, and I signed a lease to my own home.
Thanks to the Social Bite Academy, I was able to break the cycle of homelessness. I was provided with access to courses to help get myself into social work to help others in similar situations.
Looking back over the past four years the support, kindness and resources that Social Bite has to offer, I honestly believe I wouldn’t be sitting here today without them.
To find out more about the support Social Bite can give, please visit social-bite.co.uk.
Four years on from finding herself in a situation of homelessness, Dana McCulloch now has a career in social work
