Hostel offers homeless a haven on the way back to normal lives
LAST November, Chris Gethin found himself homeless after a relationship breakdown. The 33-year-old spent some time sofa surfing and staying in a bed and breakfast before being offered a place in the YMCA, a homeless shelter for men aged 16 to 35 in Port Talbot, in February.
Mr Gethin, from Neath, said being offered a place in the hostel was lifechanging for him, adding he was really grateful, as he was losing weight and not looking after himself.
Mr Gethin, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), continued: “They are fab here.
“The bedroom is so me now.
“I have also been using the gym and got involved in the different projects, such as photography, gardening or a mindfulness course.
“It means everything to me that I got a place here.
“Being here must have done something to me because everyone is telling me how good I look.”
Mr Gethin said he is looking to rebuild links with his family, adding he has not used drugs for six months and he feels he now has the power to say no to drugs.
“I would like to be a drugs counsellor – I want to help people as I think I can give people good advice,” he said.
“Being here has given me time to reflect on my life and my problems. I was feeling suicidal at one point but now all I can think of is the future.
“I think that, after being here, I am going to be better off when I move out.
“My new year resolution is to stay abstinent and get a career.”
Andy Brown, chief executive Officer of the Port Talbot YMCA, said the shelter had 14 bedrooms split into three hostels.
In each room, they have a fridge freezer and, then, each hostel has its own shared kitchen and bathroom facilities. Two hostels have five bedrooms and the third one has four bedrooms.
He said they had been carrying out refurbishment work over the past few months to help with the service users’ mental health.
For example, they have been changing the colours of the bedrooms to colours such as green or yellow that have been shown to help with mental health issues.
All their staff have been trained on mental health first aid as well.
“We notice more people come to us with mental health issues so we have to tailor to them,” he said. “People have more complex issues now so we are much more informed.”
Carl Davies, who moved into the YMCA three years ago this Christmas after becoming homeless due to a rela-