I found myself homeless at Christmas, it can happen to any young person - Brittany Jackson

The New Year was sad. I was staying on the sofa in my uncle’s one-bedroom flat, there was no gas for hot water or cooking. Every day I was wishing I wasn’t here, I was depressed.

At that time, I felt like I was the only person going through this situation. And I didn’t know what I was going to do, or how I was going to cope. I had no GCSEs so I couldn’t get a job.

I thought I would end up on the streets or stuck on my uncle’s sofa for life. When I searched for ‘homeless teenagers’ on the internet, Roundabout came up. I called them and a man answered straight away - he really raised my spirits, and made me feel like I had choices. Within a few hours they had found me a hostel place.

The great thing about moving into the hostel was that Roundabout immediately started working on rebuilding my connection with my mum. We had one-to-one mediation and within a few weeks we were able to talk and understand each other’s trauma. Without that help, I don’t think I’d have spoken to my mum again.

That was in January 2016, but it wasn’t the only time I needed Roundabout’s help. In time I moved to a different hostel and got into an abusive relationship, which ended with us both being kicked out.

I was classed as intentionally homeless so we spent six months sleeping behind Sheffield Railway Station. It was traumatic.

The reality of sleeping rough is you can become an addict easily because it’s so cold. It’s bleak and you are emotionless. The only feeling you do have is despair. The one way to stop that is to numb it all away.

In 2018, I’d left the relationship, got back into a hostel and then found a council property. That’s when Roundabout stepped back in.

They gave me a tenancy support worker who helped me stay clean, find the mental health support I needed and when I found out I was pregnant, she came to all of my appointments. Roundabout stuck by me through all those difficult times and I knew they were always there.

It took me eight or nine months to even accept that I was worthy of anything. When my daughter turned two, I started volunteering in peer education, going into schools and talking about homelessness to tackle the stigma around it. After we talk you can often see the shock in people’s faces. It shows them that anybody can become homeless, for many reasons. It might be because of addiction or family breakdown or even moving countries.

You can see the true scale of youth homelessness that exists in South Yorkshire right now, this Christmas, through the Roundabout Roses campaign. All of the 1,800 steel roses in it represent a young person we have supported since the cost of living crisis began. The roses were on display in Sheffield Cathedral this autumn and people’s jaws dropped when they realised how many young people need our help. We still need to shock people, because there is not enough understanding about youth homelessness.

It can still be quite a taboo subject, despite demand for services doubling. When I became homeless I thought ‘this is my life now’ but that wasn’t the case.

I wish I’d had the tools to understand homelessness, that people had come into my school and spoken about it. It’s fair to say Roundabout saved my life. That’s why it is so important for people to support them. For you it might just be a £10 donation but to us it’s a life changed.

I missed a lot of school, so going to university was never in my plan, never mind working for one. But thanks to Roundabout’s support I was able to secure a job working on a university study project for a year. I was so proud of myself. Now I work for Roundabout as a peer education assistant. We have three young peer educators who have gone to university and are thriving. As am I, and my daughter.

So supporting Roundabout is more than a donation. It’s creating a chance for a young person who doesn’t think they have one.

Each of the ornamental Roundabout Roses represents a young person supported by the charity since the cost-of-living crisis. Mild steel roses (£25) and stainless steel roses (£40) can be ordered at roundaboutroses.co.uk or bought from various Christmas events around Sheffield.

Supporters can also buy a Christmas gift for a young person or Roundabout’s Christmas cards at roundabouthomeless.org/christmas-giving/

Brittany Jackson works as a peer education assistant at Roundabout.