Mercedes was evicted in October 2014 because the owner sold the property, and since she couldn’t find a new place that would accept Housing Benefits, she was given temporary accommodation for 2 months. She ended up out on the street in November. “It was cold, and horrible”, she says. She went to hospital because of the stress but she says when they found out she was homeless they wouldn’t let her stay. She found out about the 999 Club’s Night Shelter through Deptford Reach. She stayed in the Night Shelter for 3 months and received help from Alison, the Senior Advice and Support Worker. Alison referred her to Louisa, the Homeless Support Team Manager, Louisa referred her to Housing Justice, then Hope World Wide found her a place, after 7 months of being homeless. Mercedes says that she’s grateful to Alison and still comes back to say thank you. “Everyone who gets to know Alison is very pleased with her work. She advised me and accompanied me even though she has a little bit of time. She made time for me as I didn’t want to go alone. She was my advocate. Louisa also accompanied me to my PIP interview and did her best to advise me for it”.
Mercedes remembers that the time she spent without a home was very challenging and frightening. “Being homeless was the difficult part. I’d never slept on the street before. I slept on bin bags in the park in Deptford. Sometimes I had to wrap up so that no one could tell I was a woman as it’s so dangerous. Sometimes I would sit all night on the night bus, or go to 24 hour shops like Tesco as I was so scared to be a woman alone in the park.” One night she was attacked with her friend, who ended up with 21 stitches in his head as he protected her from harm. She explains, “he was on a bench and when we got near him, I made sure not to look at him in the eye as it intimidates people, and he had a hammer or an iron bar in a plastic bag and he started hitting my friend. I was just standing there screaming.” The 999 Club helped her after this incident also. “I came to the 999 Club the next day and told some staff people and got interviewed by the Police”. Unfortunately, because Mercedes had avoided eye contact with the man out of fear, and the CCTV camera was not working, the case was dropped.
After her trying time with being homeless, Mercedes is grateful for the assistance offered by the 999 Club: “I am very pleased with the help the 999 Club gave me. If I can help or give back, I want to. They’ve done their best to help me. I have a place, I’m off the streets, that’s the important thing. Even though my experience was really hard, I’m sure it can help others.”