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 accommodation, the case workers at First Base consider all the physical and mental health needs a client may have. This approach helped Jim get off the streets. Read his story below. “Before I came to First Base, I had lost my supported accommodation and was rough sleeping on the streets. On my first visit to First Base, one of their case workers asked me if … Read more

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, and who have no adults to look after their welfare when they arrive in the UK. We provide a crucial service for some of the most vulnerable people in our community, including victims of trafficking and domestic violence. This Is YL’s story. YL was living in Vietnam with her parents when tragically, when she was just 14, they both died within a short time of … Read more

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 alcohol and/or drug problem. They often suffered extreme neglect and, in most cases, severe trauma.

The nature of the work that we do at both the Detox Support Project and at the Recovery Project is to help clients to address safely the legacy of their core needs being unmet as children. By doing so, we reduce the chances of those issues becoming triggers for relapse, and they are able to rebuild their lives with the skills and self-belief they were not given as children.

Brendon is a 31-year old alcohol and cocaine addict who recently completed treatment within our Addiction Services.

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 UK with no adults to look after their welfare.

Baddar came to the UK in 2008 aged 15 fleeing persecution in Afghanistan. His initial asylum claim was refused. We assisted him with a further application to allow him to remain in the UK but this was also refused. After this, there have been numerous appeals with every decision seeming to go against him. We gathered evidence in support of his claim to show that he is particularly vulnerable as he has a learning difficulty and suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and depression.

We gathered country evidence to support the fact that he would be at risk if he returned to Afghanistan.

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 chef and lived in shared accommodation in Brighton. When the job came to an end, he struggled to find another job. His landlord would not accept housing benefit and he quickly became homeless.

He slept rough in doorways, struggling to find work and accommodation. He made a homeless application with the council and was referred to our Accommodation for Work Project. This was the first time in his life that Enes had been homeless. When he came for his interview, it was clear that he was in a state of shock. Mindful that he was rough sleeping, project staff made it possible for him to view a room the same day. Fortunately for Enes, a room had become vacant just the day before.

Mia, a 75-year-old Spanish woman, was living in sheltered accommodation and had been facing significant financial difficulties for approximately five years due to an ongoing issue with her National Insurance (NI) number. This issue caused her benefits to be repeatedly stopped and reinstated, leading to substantial gaps in income. Without consistent benefits, Mia fell behind on her rent, accruing significant arrears, and was at risk of homelessness. This is her story. The Initial Challenge The root cause of the problem was an error made when Mia first registered for benefits: she was assigned the NI number of another individual with … Read more

Homelessness is never part of anyone’s life plan and can completely derail the career path someone is on. Our Accommodation for Work project helps people whose lives have been derailed by homelessness access independent accommodation, employment and education. Arwa came to the project as an 18-year-old with the goal of becoming a dentist. However, domestic violence caused her to become homeless, and forced her to leave her dentistry apprenticeship. This is her story. Arwa lived in on the outskirts of London with her family but began experiencing domestic violence due to cultural and religious issues, which caused the relationship with … Read more

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 powerful testament to the long-term impacts of our services. Steve got in touch nearly ten years after he stayed at Phase One, our high-support hostel for people who are homeless in Brighton, where we work with people to address the root causes of their homelessness. This was Steve’s message to us.   Hi all at BHT Sussex, I just wanted to email you all as … Read more

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, another of BHT Sussex’s mental health services.

“Around five years ago my journey began in the Route One Project and from the bottom of my heart l am so thankful to you all for picking me up and dusting me off, ready for the new chapter l am in now. l am taking the skills and tools as l call it in to sustaining independent living in so many aspects. I moved into my council property in March 2018 and what we have achieved in the time in the project has been champion. I say we because that is what it has been – a team effort.

“I have Bipolar One and when l came to Route One l was in a state and l had just moved out of a hostel for homeless people. I am not putting down the great work they do but it was making my illness worse, resulting in me being admitted to hospital.

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 has multiple physical health difficulties. For a long period of his life, Paul’s closest companion was his dog Lil. As Paul explains in this account below, he was someone who other support services found difficult to reach, but he eventually managed to turn his life around with the support of BHT Sussex’s Addiction Services.

Having someone you can rely on to help you through difficult situations is essential to a stable environment. This is what we provide in our supported housing service in Mid Sussex. Our clients each have a dedicated support worker who helps them gain independent living skills and improve their overall wellbeing. Such stability and frequent one on one support can effect great change in our clients. This was the case for Josie who came to Mid Sussex Supported Housing following a long-standing history of severe mental health issues. This is Josie’s story. Josie is a young woman with autism who … Read more

Our Homes for Ukraine Sustainment Service not only supports Ukrainian refugees and their hosts throughout their placements, but we also support Ukrainians who want to move into the private rented sector. The housing system works completely differently in Ukraine, so many people feel lost and confused. One such person is Nadiya, who we helped find her own home after she felt ready to leave her host. Nadiya is a 40-year-old woman who was living with a host in Sussex after fleeing Ukraine due to the war. Nadiya wanted her children to come and live with her in the UK, as … Read more