Homes for Cathy member, One Housing shares how Leo went from sleeping rough, to becoming a teaching assistant.
Arlington resident, Leo is on track to achieving his goal of qualifying as a teacher in the UK, thanks to the help of our Employment & Training (E&T) service and Beam crowdfunding enterprise.
“My life was crumbling before my eyes and I felt helpless. The dedicated staff at Arlington believed in me and gave me the resources I needed to pursue my goals of getting back to teaching and serving the community.”
So says 47-year-old Leo, a teacher from Brazil. Having moved back to London after living abroad, Leo struggled to find work. Before long he found himself sleeping on the streets and struggling with depression. He moved to Arlington about a year ago after being referred to us by Focus Homeless Outreach, an outreach service for street homeless people and homeless people in hostels.
Since moving to Arlington, Leo has attended several of our training programs that have helped him to get back on his feet.
Training Coordinator, Santiago, worked with Leo to pursue his goals of being a teacher for children with special needs through a series of personal development training sessions. The Employment & Training service sponsored Level 1 and 2 of the Teaching Assistant programme. Leo passed both courses successfully, and is now working as a part-time teaching assistant at a school for children with special needs.
“Leo was keen to attend our training sessions and re-build his confidence after his mental health problems. He’s a proactive resident who loves to participate in our programmes and is great to have around”, commented Santiago.
Leo’s passion to get back into teaching and back to a steady life also excited one of our partner agencies, Beam. This is a new online platform that uses crowdfunding to get homeless people into training that will help them find good opportunities. Leo worked with Beam to set a target of £725 to cover his courses. Within a month, he attracted well-wishers to donate to his cause, making him the first successful member of Beam to get funded for the advanced level 3 programme of Council for Awards in Care, Health and Education.
Once completed, Leo will be eligible to look for full-time teaching work in the UK and move on from Arlington.