I’ve never got on with my family, so from the age of 14, I was always running away. As I got older, I managed to get myself back together and working, but then I lost my partner. And because I wasn’t on their rent, I ended up being homeless again in 2012.

I moved to London because I enjoy it – it’s got an energy to it. And being on the homeless scene here is better than being in a rural place, because you don’t get that much help in a rural place. There’s no resources at all.

I’ve lived in doorways, I’ve lived everywhere to be honest. The rain’s bad. People are bad. They don’t see you as what you are, or what you could be, or what you have been – they just see you as a dosser.

Men will approach you wanting something for nothing – they think you’re a sex worker, whether you are or not. They say “I’ll give you a fiver to do this.” Because you’ve got nothing. Every woman on the street is vulnerable. Put me there when I was 17 or 18 – it could have been a whole different story. Luckily, because I’ve worked in men’s environments, driving, I can handle myself. I’ve never had anyone try to overpower me – well I have – but they haven’t got very far.

It makes you feel dodgy about people all the time. You always think, “Who’s that person, what do they want?” Even if they’re just making sure you’re okay. It makes you suspicious.

I was living in the subway when the queen died. That’s when I was helped into a St Mungo’s hostel. I’ve never really done hostels. It’s a place that’s overrun by men, it is very male dominated.

But it’s actually different to what I thought it would be. You only have to go to the staff and tell them if something’s going on. You can talk to them confidentially and it gets sorted.

I found a lot of good and heartfelt things, when I started working with St Mungo’s. A lot of support. They put themselves out there. If there’s a problem, it hasn’t been like, oh it’s okay, push it under the carpet. They say “Let’s bring it to the surface, and what we bring to the surface we’re going to sort out.”

I haven’t ended up with a worker that’s not been good to me. I can’t say there’s any person I’ve interacted with who I haven’t got on with. I’ve had a good experience. They have backed me every step of the way. If I phone my support worker up and say I’m having a bad day, they will drop things just to make sure my mental health is there.

At first I was staying in an emergency room, then I ended up getting a longer term room. And from today I have an actual place to live. I’m ecstatic to be honest. If it wasn’t for staying here, I wouldn’t be getting my flat. I wouldn’t be in the position to be having a flat. I can’t fault it.

Michelle’s Story was shared as part of our International Women’s Day campaign #MungosVisibleWomen.

My name’s Denise, I’m disabled with a weakness on the right side of my body, and I use a wheelchair. It’s been a hard road.

I’ve been homeless on and off for a while, but five years ago I suffered an acquired brain injury after falling off a wall. Since then I’ve been moved around more than 60 hotels, and I’ve had to fight and fight to get suitable accommodation.

Before I got this flat I was sleeping rough for about seven weeks. I slept outside the hospital, or outside the train station in my wheelchair. I was vulnerable – anything could have happened to me.

The police would come and take me to A&E, then A&E would send me back out again because I’m not an accident or emergency, I’m homeless. A&E put me in their side room in the end and left me there, because I said it’s up to somebody to look after me. You cannot put me on the street anymore. Who’s duty of care is it? Police, council, or hospital? I’m not going anywhere.

Eventually, my social worker helped me to get my flat. When I was on the street anything could have happened to me. Now I can shut that front door and lock it. It’s safe. There’s nothing nicer than knowing you can lock the front door behind you and you’ve got your own stuff around you.

Sadly, it doesn’t give me my health back. I can’t get out of my front door, or the main door of the building. It’s not accessible for someone in a wheelchair. So my life consisted of getting up and going to bed.

Luckily, I was referred to St Mungo’s and they’ve really helped me. They come in as many times as need be. They help me with doctor’s appointments, and pay for my taxis. They take me to art class. I get so depressed sometimes. But they’re there, all the time. Woody, my support worker, is even helping me to get my door sorted.

Unless you’ve got a good social worker, or someone like St Mungo’s around you who can fight for your corner, you’ll be tired and just give up. I can imagine this is how lots of other people who are homeless feel. There’s never a day where it’s stress free.

Denise’s story was shared as part of our International Women’s Day campaign #Mungo’sVisibleWomen.

Nine years ago, I found myself homeless after my landlord at the time decided to sell the property I was living in. Because I had my dog, Moby, it was difficult enough to find that property to rent, but finding another at short notice was impossible.

This turn of events led to me and Moby sleeping rough in Brighton for a number of years. I didn’t see a way to access services that could help us both and still keep my best friend safe, loved and most importantly, with me. That was until a member of the public befriended me and contacted StreetLink. Very quickly some people from St Mungo’s Outreach Team made contact, reassured me that everything that I was worried about would be ok. The next night I slept in a very comfortable hotel bed, with Moby snuggled up next to me. And… yes, he was under the duvet!

The speed with which my circumstances changed because of St Mungo’s support, left me inspired. When I moved into my own flat, my mind turned to returning to work. I realised that I wanted to use my experience to help others that found themselves in the same position I had and give them the same chance to rebuild their lives too.

My previous career was in Hospitality Management and to successfully change sectors I decided to gain some experience by volunteering. I was in the process of applying to be a Peer Mentor for St Mungo’s when I was told about the opportunity to apply for an Apprentice Assessment and Reconnection Officer at the No Second Night Out (NSNO) service in Brighton. I applied and got the job!

My average day as an Apprentice Assessment and Reconnection Worker is hectic. Pretty much anything that can happen, will happen, and the best laid plans sometimes have to be shelved in favour of taking a more dynamic approach.

My previous career was in the hospitality industry, so undertaking an apprenticeship within St Mungo’s has helped me to develop my transferable skills in terms of working within the adult social care sector. It’s also given me the knowledge that I needed so that I have a strong foundation to build on for the future.

My dog Moby is truly my best friend. Moby’s been there with me through some of the darkest and most hopeless times of my life and because of him, I kept going. I’m extremely proud to work for an organisation that sees how important dogs are to people and especially to people experiencing homelessness, because often, their dog is all they have left. The fact that St Mungo’s accepts dogs in its services really sets the organisation apart from others in the sector and is a testament to the overall holistic approach that we take when working with people to resolve their homelessness.

Lee is 55 and lives at Hilldrop, one of our specialist care services for people who have experienced homelessness.

Before being supported by St Mungo’s, Lee slept rough and struggled to find food.

“It had its ups and its downs, good days and bad days. When the weather was good it was tolerable but when it snowed or there was torrential rain, getting dry was a real difficulty, waking up in the sleeping bag all wet. You just have to sit there, it’s all you can do.

It’s hard work walking past restaurants and people are eating while you’re starving, you’ve had nothing to eat for three days. I used to get handouts sometimes. On a Sunday there was one in Waterloo, they’d give you mince and potatoes. That was good. But some of the places I didn’t like to go to. People can get really nasty over food, fighting over it.”

He was later supported by St Mungo’s Tenancy Sustainment Team, who tried to help him maintain his own flat. But he struggled to look after himself, and needed more support.

“I’ve been off the streets for a couple of years now. I had my own flat until things got on top of me. I got depressed, really depressed. There were all the bills and I didn’t know what to do with them. I wasn’t eating or sleeping, just getting as many drugs inside me as I could, it was all I was living for.”

Lee struggled to feed himself, and had frequent hospitalisations. He knew he needed more support, and was then referred to the Hilldrop team.

He came to Hilldrop after being in hospital after a fall, caused by tremors in his arms and legs. He said just before the fall, he had been struggling to eat.

“I ended up in hospital in a bad way. I was really ill. I didn’t realise how sick I was until they told me. I slipped into a coma. I was in hospital for two and a half months learning how to walk again, getting the energy to walk.”

Since being at Hilldrop his health has really improved and he hasn’t needed any more hospitalisations. He’s also managed to recover from his drug addiction.

“I’m stable now. I’m not doing drugs so my health has improved. I’m eating and sleeping more regularly. It’s a relief to know I’ve got somewhere stable. I’ve got support and help if I need it.

My medication, I didn’t take it before I came here. That’s how I managed my medication before, I didn’t take it. Just drugs, it was just a waste of everything. Staff here looking after my medication is a god-send for me.”

His eating has also improved, as he now has people to prepare his meals, and make sure he’s eating enough.

“Having food now means a hell of a lot to me. I’m not a big eater but it’s all provided. We’ve got a good cook, good food. She looks after us. I’m not quite as scrawny now.”

Hilldrop is one of two specialist care services run by St Mungo’s for people who have experienced homelessness. We recently launched a review into care provision for people who have experienced homelessness, hoping to start a sector-wide conversation, leading to collaboration and change.

For the first time in years I feel safe again.

When lockdown began in the UK, John* found himself in a difficult situation and needed support to help him survive. With the support of our Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch outreach team, he has been able to self-isolate in safety and comfort.

I’d been living in my car for three and half years. It was initially just meant to be for a few weeks, but it went on for a bit longer than expected.

The first thing I noticed when lockdown started was that the gym was shut. I had been using the gym to do some training, have a shower every morning, and to charge up my USB battery for the day. The gym closing was a big problem for me. I had to start cycling for miles to use the public showers on the beach in the middle of March, which is definitely something I wouldn’t recommend to anybody!

When all the cafes and fast food places shut down, I had nowhere to use the internet. That meant I couldn’t do my daily job searches or log in to my universal credit. Everything was shutting down around me.

A world that was already quite difficult was starting to become impossible.

I’d always refused help before. A few days into lockdown Christian, an outreach worker, came and spoke to me. He spoke to me with such decency and respect it just changed something for me. He offered me a room in a B&B and I moved in the next day.

My life changed overnight. Having plugs and taps was a bit of a novelty! There’s a big bed in the middle of the room. At the moment I’m still finding it hard to sleep – I’ve been sleeping rough for so long and it takes time to adjust – but I’m working on that, I know it will come.

For the first time in years I feel safe again. When you’re living on the streets, safety never really comes into it.

I’m a musician – a guitar player and singer. For the first time in years I can pick up my guitar and play when I want for as long as I want. I’m even writing songs again, which I just couldn’t do when I was sleeping rough.

For someone who’d been on the streets for so long this has just been amazing. There is help there. There are people there who can help you get off the streets, and they’ve definitely done it with me.

Things are looking good now. I feel a lot more positive that there’s a good future for me.