Without this support I’d be back on the street...

PHIL, a former labourer, has had spells living on the streets of Bristol, Newcastle, Lancaster, Morecambe and Preston. He came out of prison after serving a sentence for assault almost three years ago and immediately returned to the streets.

“I go wherever there’s somewhere to get my head down,” Phil, 58, says.

When he left prison he got on a train and came to Manchester, bedding down outside the shiny new Co-op offices in the city centre. That decision led to him getting a life-changing chance.

After 18 months living rough he ended up getting help from the city’s Booth Centre and Shelter before being referred to the SIB. He has been living in a flat in Hulme since May – and has made it his own.

“At first I was sleeping on a mattress,” he says. “It was not like it is now. I didn’t have carpets, just floorboards and magnolia walls. It was grotty, the walls were mucky. It was completely empty. I redecorated it, painted the whole flat.”

During Phil’s first night in his new home he slept in the sleeping bag he had used on the streets. Now he is doing a catering course and volunteer work and has a plan for his future.

His support worker Jackie Bleasedale, from One Manchester, visits him three times a week.

“Rather than just sticking a plaster on things Phil is getting involved in the community,” she says.

“This gets you off the street and gets you somewhere to live,” Phil adds. “Without the support I’ve had I would have been back out on the street.”