Meet Kristy, a Beneficiary

After years living in a hostel, Kristy was finally given a small flat. Having spent a lifetime in care, she was in desperate need of help. Her local SVP Conference stepped in to provide support.

When homeless people eventually find accommodation, it is usually unfurnished and often lacks a fridge or a cooker. The grants that used to assist people in kitting out a new flat are no longer available in the vast majority of cases. Many people find that they simply do not have the means or support to make independent living viable, and as a result sometimes end up back on the street. When Kristy was finally given her own small flat after months spent in a hostel or sleeping rough, the only thing in it was a new gas cooker that was not connected to the gas supply. After a lifetime in care, she desperately needed help. Her social worker wrote to the SVP and members quickly found someone to fit the cooker and also provided her with a fridge as well as a bed and bedding. Kristy has now managed to go back to college and to get a part-time job. She has also become a dab hand with a paintbrush and her flat, which she has decorated herself, is immaculate.