“Hope is about being able to see that there is light despite all the darkness.” 

Pete. 

During lockdown, we have been saddened by tragic stories of loss. Beside these are also stories of giving and support as our partner churches house the homeless. It is our dream though that a safe home and the loving support of a church community enables a tenant to also be the best they can be.   

We want to share with you just one story of extraordinary loss and hope. When Pete (we’ve changed his name) moved into his Hope into Action house in late January, he could hardly imagine what lay ahead for him. His world fell apart in 2019 when he received a conviction. He lost his family, his home and his livelihood.  

He started his journey with Hope into Action determined to make a fresh start. During his first few weeks, he scoured local charity shops for items to create a more homely environment. Then he transformed the garden into a beautiful, peaceful space. He created new herb and flower-beds and now enjoys the birds who visit to feed from his garden.  

However, in the early weeks of lockdown Pete received news that two of his closest friends had succumbed to the virus. He responded to this loss by signing up to become a volunteer driver for the NHS. As he put it: 

“When we all sit back and talk about this and what’s gone on I want to be able to say I’m one of the ones that helped not one of the ones that hoarded toilet rolls…” 

Pete’s urge to reach out and help others has not diminished. Many of our church volunteers are shopping for our tenants. Pete has turned our model on its head by offering to shop for his church befrienders!  

He has set up a What’s App group with other members of his probation group so they can support one another. Before the lockdown Pete had started volunteering in a local café recovery hub supporting people coming out of addiction. He is now contemplating a new career as a peer support worker.  

Pete relishes drawing on his own experiences to help others. He feels that it helps him put a “positive twist on the negative stuff” that has happened in his own life and believes that you can find the positive side of bad situations if you look hard enough. 

“One has to be positive. When you’re positive, good things happen.” 

If you are moved by Pete’s story and would like to support our work with people like him as we move beyond lockdown, then please do donate to our Coronavirus Appeal here.