Real Life Stories

Many clients who seek help from First Base, our day centre for people who are sleeping rough, have multiple and complex needs. When helping a person move away from rough sleeping and into more secure ...

As an organisation, one of our core missions is homelessness prevention. One way we do this work is through our Housing Advice and Legal Services. One of our clients, Diane reached out to us after ...

At BHT Sussex we are known for our resilience and ability to persevere, despite significant setbacks. This is demonstrated by our Immigration Legal Service, who helped a young man achieve refugee status after a six-year ...

BHT Sussex is a member of Pathfinder West Sussex - an alliance of organisations working together to enable people with mental health support needs, as well as their carers, to improve their mental health and ...

There can be many factors that build up to cause someone to be insecurely housed. For Jacqui, the loss of her job and the breakdown of her marriage led her to become a member of ...

Maintaining employment whilst being insecurely housed is difficult and can have a negative impact on someone’s mental wellbeing. Our Accommodation for Work project was set up to help people like Zehra, who came to us ...

After going through the difficult journey of recovering from addiction and sleeping rough, being in secure employment can offer purpose to someone’s life. This is the story of Ross, who turned their life around with ...

The Court Duty Scheme is a little known but incredible service which provides last-minute emergency advice for people who are facing eviction. When repossession cases are being heard in Brighton, Lewes or Hastings Courts, our ...

Struggling to find employment despite incredible effort can have a big impact on someone’s health and wellbeing. This was the case with Scotty, who found it difficult to identify a clear path into work after ...

Living day to day Last year, I was living a hectic life in Brighton and Eastbourne - to escape that I turned up on my mum’s doorstep, and I wasn’t looking well because I’d been ...

Poor mental health is both a cause and consequence of homelessness. BHT Sussex understands the importance of good mental health for preventing homelessness, which is why we have a number of supported accommodation services that ...

Although BHT Sussex began in Brighton, our support services extend to much of East, West and Mid Sussex. In Mid Sussex specifically, we have supported accommodation services which deliver much needed practical help and mental ...

BHT Sussex’s Immigration Legal Service has helped hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers with legal support. Many of those we work with are ‘unaccompanied minors’; young people and children who have often endured unimaginable suffering, ...

Sometimes people who we have supported contact us years after their time with us just to say thank you. It is always wonderful to hear from people who have turned their lives around, and a ...

Our Court Duty Scheme provides free last-minute advice and court representation for people who are facing eviction, when repossession cases are being heard in Brighton, Lewes or Hastings courts. The courts closed for a period ...

Terry had been long-term homeless and a regular visitor to First Base, our resource centre for rough sleepers in Brighton and Hove. Staff at First Base seized the opportunity presented by the extra support available ...

Paul is a 49 year-old man who was street homeless in Brighton for four years, suffering from heroin, crack cocaine and alcohol addiction. He also had multiple physical health difficulties. For a long period of ...

Neil started sleeping rough around two years ago. He was suffering from physical and mental health problems that had been exacerbated by life on the streets. When he first started coming to First Base, Neil ...

Martha was referred to Shore House following an intentional overdose of prescription medication that nearly proved fatal, and which resulted in a hospital admission. As Martha was too physically unwell to travel, the Shore House ...

The Whitehawk Inn is known locally for being a valuable community support resource and adult education centre, but also provides services beyond this, for example offering specialist debt advice. Helen was referred to us by ...

For most of us we get our identity and status from what we do.  BHT Sussex’s Intern Programme was set up to prepare people with a history of homelessness, mental ill health or addictions to ...

Every year our advice services in Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings prevent hundreds of families and individuals from becoming homeless. The impact of this is huge: fewer people on the streets, less demands on local council ...

For some it comes as a surprise that BHT Sussex runs an immigration and asylum legal service.  The overwhelming majority of those we work with are ‘unaccompanied minors’, young people and children arriving in the ...

The Hastings Young People’s Service does what the name suggests, providing accommodation and support for homeless young people in Hastings and St. Leonards.  Frankie came to the service in October 2016.  She had held a ...

Over the last couple of years, BHT Sussex’s Addiction Services have noticed an increase in the number of ‘second generation’ addicts.  They were children who grew up with one, or both, parents with a severe ...

Not all BHT Sussex’s mental health services are residential.  The Threshold Women’s Counselling Service provides a lifeline to many women.  This is the account of one of them. "I found out about the service through ...

Recovery from mental ill health and moving into independent accommodation can take several years and requires individuals rebuilding many parts of their lives.  This is the account of one client from the Route One Project, ...

Mental health problems are a common thread amongst many of BHT Sussex’s clients and we have a range of specialist mental health services, including the Archway Project in Hove. Simon moved into the Archway Project ...

Shore House provides accommodation and support for people with multiple and complex needs.  That means they will have a combination of alcohol and drug addictions, mental health problems, and other chaotic or destructive behaviours.  Often ...

Increasingly we are working with people who are in work or who become homeless having lost their job. Our Accommodation for Work Project was set up to help people like Enes.  He worked as a ...

Helping someone off the streets is not as simple as just providing a roof over their head.  Becs was referred to our 52 bed hostel, Phase One, in April 2013 having lost her accommodation. She ...

Around half those sleeping rough in Brighton and Hove have a local connection.  Others come to Brighton for many reasons: the image of the city that has attracted many of us, perhaps a happy childhood ...