”I went from Hollyoaks to helping the homeless”
Soap star Jazmine franks, 28, tells how helping rough sleepers get back on their feet has been a life lesson
Leaving Hollyoaks in 2018 after eight years was a huge turning point for me. I went from being busy and constantly in demand to everything suddenly stopping.
With auditions few and far between, I decided to throw myself into working full-time at the homeless charity where I’d been volunteering for a couple of years.
Based in Manchester, near my home town of Bury, Barnabus runs a drop-in centre where rough sleepers can get a hot meal, shower and clothing, as well as help with getting into hospital or finding accommodation.
I’m lucky as I come from quite a privileged background where we never really wanted for anything and I’d always felt like I wanted to give something back. I started volunteering with Barnabus in my free time in 2016 as I wasn’t filming every day at Hollyoaks.
I fell in love with the place. Listening to the stories of the people who walked through the door, I realised my problems were minute. There’s a misconception that people become homeless due to issues like drug use, but that usually comes after they’ve been through something traumatic.
It could be the breakdown of a relationship, their parents throwing them out for being gay or just falling on hard times – you can go from being made redundant to not being able to afford the mortgage to having your house repossessed. All of a sudden you’ve gone from having a life and a family to nothing. That’s when people usually turn to drugs.
I became a patron for Barnabus and, as well as raising awareness for the charity, my day-to-day role was to look after all the volunteers and run sessions at the drop-in centre. But when the coronavirus crisis hit, everything changed. Suddenly we had to close our doors and change tack.
Pulling together with lots of other charities, such as Reach Out To The Community, we moved to a local church from where we can supply meals to more than 200 rough sleepers who were moved into hotels and B&BS all over the city by the council. Our days involve preparing all the breakfast and lunch bags, then our delivery driver takes them to all the homeless people who are in temporary accommodation. Loads of companies have donated food, while furloughed chefs from top Manchester restaurants like Albert’s Schloss and Gorilla are giving up their time to help us, which is incredible. So, luckily, our guys and girls are getting a break from tuna pasta bake, which is what I was making them every day!
It’s been so difficult not seeing the people we were helping day to day because I feel like I’ve abandoned them. I liked being a constant in their lives and if I didn’t see someone for a few days, I’d think, “Oh, I hope they’re OK.”
fragile mental health
Luckily, a few weeks ago, I went on outreach – where teams go out in the evenings to meet rough sleepers and build relationships – and I didn’t see that many people, which means the rough sleepers are taking the opportunity to stay in hotels. That’s huge because a lot of them would struggle to go into accommodation after living on the streets, as their mental health is so fragile.
We have records of where each person is staying, so when I recognise a name, I make sure to include things I know they’ll like in their lunch bags. I class a lot of them as friends and although we have to keep our boundaries, if I can do something extra, I will.
At first, I struggled massively with switching off at the end of a shift. I was taking a lot of work home with me and worrying about
‘I’ve always been lucky so I wanted to give back’
certain people, but my manager always says to me, “Jazz, you can’t save everyone, you’ve got to take your cape off.”
If I’ve had a bad day now, I’ll come home and talk to my partner Danny, 38, who’s a PT. He’s great with things like that.
I moved in with him at the start of the coronavirus outbreak because I was living with my parents Leslie, 63, and Gary, 64, who used to run a post office, and my 88-year-old nan. When it all kicked off, I was petrified of going home as I was coming and going from Barnabus and could never live with myself if someone in my family got sick.
It’s been tough not being able to see my family and my dog, but I’ve got back into training and that helps keep me sane. If I’m in a bad mood, I’ll lift some weights or go for a run. Keeping active is my biggest release.
Though it’s tough sometimes, the good always outweighs the bad. I’m just glad I’ve been doing something useful during this time.
I look at people who haven’t been able to work recently and think, “I couldn’t sit around and do nothing.”
Doing something so far removed from working on a soap, I feel like my eyes have been opened. If I went back to Hollyoaks now, I’d do everything a lot differently.
I used to live way beyond my means, buying things just because I could, but I would never be so extravagant again. The crap I used to spend my money on when there are people who need it so much more.
Now I’m earning less and, like lots of people, I’ve had to put a pause on my mortgage, but I’m in a much better frame of mind. I feel fulfilled by hearing the success stories of the people we help. When you meet someone at rock bottom, build trust with them and then manage to get them into accommodation and working again, that’s the most rewarding thing for me.
Sometimes they’ll even come in with thank you cards and gifts. One lad gave me a little box of chocolates.
Even though we can’t see them at the moment, some of the rough sleepers have our phone numbers at the church, so a couple have checked in. And do you know what? They ask how you are, when they’re the ones going through an ordeal.
Working with Barnabus has changed me. I used to have a shield up because I thought people only wanted to speak to me because I was on Hollyoaks. Now I’m a lot more approachable and I feel I’ve had a life lesson.
everyone needs a chance
I’m not going to lie, probably 10 or 12 years ago I’d look at someone begging and go,
“Why sit there?” But now I realise they’re there because they know that’s a prime spot to get money. They just need a chance – that’s it. I want everyone to realise these people are just like me and you. They’ve just fallen on the worst of times. It can happen to anyone.
I’d love to start acting again – it’s my passion and I miss it. I’ve started taking classes again. I’ve joined We Audition, where casting directors give open talks, and I’ve told my agent that I’d really like more auditions.
But as a patron of Barnabus, I want to continue being a voice for those people who need services like ours, which are meeting basic needs like food and clothing. Then it’s up to the people in power with the big pot of money to take it further.
It’s great that the rough sleepers in hotels and B&BS are starting to look after themselves because they’ve got somewhere safe to keep their medication without it being stolen like it would be on the streets.
But I’m so worried about when this is over. What happens then? Will they just get thrown back out?
I think it’s so important for people in the public eye to raise awareness of these issues. If you’ve got a platform, please do something
positive with it. I’m so glad I did.
For more on Barnabus and to donate, go to barnabus-manchester.org.uk