This is my testimonial journey from when I began the training to where I am now. In November 2020 I was made redundant in my old role due to the pandemic. It was a tough time for me and my family as it meant competition in what has become a saturated market with people looking for work. I had to go back to the drawing board rewriting my CV and sending out, applying for jobs in my speciality. I had done nearly 12 interviews with no success. My wife and I were introduced to the Turning Point Homeless Options programme. Which I was really not interested given the amount the training was going to cost us because in the past I had done several short courses in Project Management and Marketing which yielded to nothing and so I felt this would be the same time waster for me. My wife convinced me to give it a trial see where it takes us.

The whole training lasted two weeks from 9am to 5:30pm with lots of breaks in between. I went for the tester still unconvinced about the whole thing yet again my wife did the convincing. The whole programme was intense and informative. My mindset started to change, and I became interested as each day came along. The tutors and mentees where very thorough, down to earth, and made each session very interesting. They had wealth of knowledge and each section opened my mind and made an impact. It was like I went in blind and came out seeing after the whole process. I became aware of what the responsibilities are for a Homeless Officer and the need to assist people who are made homeless as well as duties owed the applicants. To put it this way my life changed plain and simple the day I decided to take on the programme.

After the programme I redid my CV with the help of the trainers and started applying to keep the fire burning and not loose focus as my main aim was to get a job. I made sure I sent my CV out each day and applied to as many jobs there are in the field. I started receiving emails from companies and agencies which to me was a good thing. I did only two interviews. I got my job as a Housing Coordinator in the second interview. My journey lasted just over two months.

I am entirely grateful to God for the opportunity and to my wife who convinced me to get on board, to the entire team/trainers who made so much impact and kept pushing and encouraging us even after the training. I have started spreading the word out to people on my contacts and I want to also encouraged others after us who have doubts, it was worth every penny spent and the end surely justified the means in my own case. I am extremely glad I took this journey as it has changed my life for good.