Moving Out Of Home
My life between the ages of 16 and 21 was a mixture of experiences.
I moved out of home when I had just turned 16 as my parents no longer wanted me there, because I was always overdosing on paracetamol and it was too much to bear for my parents seeing me in and out of hospital every week.
That was how I ended up in my first hostel, although it wouldn't be my last. The hostel was for young people between 16-21. During this time I had my first taster of many things such as drugs, smoking, drinking, shoplifting and riding in stolen cars, as it became very hard to avoid these activities when they happened all around me and it was all I had to keep my days going as I was homeless and on benefits.
The drugs are my biggest memory from my hostel life as I must have tried nearly every drug given to me. I overdosed on heroin, and again by mixing alcohol with ecstasy; being 16 made me very vulnerable and badly influenced. Had I not been rushed to hospital I would have died on both those occasions. Still, the hospital beds were more comfortable than the ones in the hostel.
At 17 I was raped in an alley by a guy I knew from back at my first hostel. I was drunk and he made me believe that going down a lane at 3 a.m. to go to a Chinese takeaway was OK, and whilst walking down the lane he attacked me in the dark. When he had finished he just walked off. A few days later I worked up the courage to go to the police station and report what happened, but he denied the assault and by then it was hard to find evidence on my body.
Shortly after this happened I became depressed, and one night after drinking with my friends I went to the River Taff and threw myself in. I had to be dragged out by police and paramedics.
At 18 I began taking ecstasy regularly. It was easy to get hold of it in my hostel and I began taking it every night. At the time I was in a relationship with a guy I met at the hostel, and things seemed to be going well with him. He got me pregnant, but he became violent during the end of the relationship and would attack me when he was drunk. He left me the day I miscarried.
However, from this I was able to rebuild my life and now have a lovely four-year-old son and a nice house in a nice area. I have found a wonderful partner who I have been with for a year. I have come a long way from homelessness and the bad experiences I went through, but now they have made me stronger and I hope that by sharing my experience I will give out a positive message to those that have been or are still homeless, that you can change your life and achieve the things you want in life, as I did.
Image Credit: 'Vancouver Alley' by Carlos Magaa
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2 Comments – Postiwch sylw
Sprout Editor
Rhoddwyd sylw 73 mis yn ôl - 27th April 2010 - 12:57pm
You are an inspiration!
emb789
Rhoddwyd sylw 73 mis yn ôl - 28th April 2010 - 18:04pm
Wow...
I can't even begin to imagine what your life must have been like. I feel so sorry for you! I just want to give you a cup of tea and a hug :(
Well done on getting through that, I would never be able to! If I'd been in that situation, I most likely would've ended up jumping into the Taff again after being dragged out. You are truly inspirational, absolutely amazing. Well done :)