Life can flip on you in a second. One day things feel steady, and the next your whole world is on the floor. If you’ve been homeless, if you’ve slept on a mate’s sofa, or if you’ve walked the streets wondering where you’re meant to be, then you already know how fragile things can be.
So does Merlee. She didn’t just survive homelessness. She didn’t just rebuild her life. She came full circle from a customer here at Concrete, to Peer Mentor, to staff member. This is her story.
When things fell apart
Merlee didn’t plan on ending up homeless. No one does. After splitting up with her partner, she suddenly had nowhere to go. She ended up staying at her mum's.
Then she found Concrete’s young person service. And for the first time in a long time, she wasn’t just fighting alone. “I was surrounded by people going through the same stuff. And I had staff and a support network around me of people who actually cared.”
She made friends – real ones. The kind who challenge you, push you and want better for you. Losing one of those friends later on was a difficult moment, but it also reminded her how important it was to keep moving forward and make the most of her life. “I was suddenly reminded of my own mortality, and didn’t want to leave this life having not achieved anything”.
That quiet promise to herself became the reason she refused to stay stuck. She fought to battle addiction. She started thinking about her future. She grabbed hold of hope and didn’t let go.
Someone mentioned Peer Mentoring. She didn’t think she was good enough. She didn’t think she had anything to give. But she sent the message anyway.
She joined right before lockdown hit. Calling people and just being a listening ear, and someone who wasn’t going to judge or lecture. Someone who actually got it. “I used my own experience to help people open up. Even just listening to them made a huge difference.”
That’s when she realised, supporting people wasn’t just something she was good at, but it was something she was meant to do.
Life didn’t magically get easy for Merlee. She worked, lost financial support, fell into debt, and had to take a step back, but she didn’t quit.
Six years after first becoming a Concrete customer, she finally got her own permanent home, her own space, her own key, and her own future. She picked Peer Mentoring back up. She took a job supporting people with disabilities, and she worked hard, proper hard for two years.
Then one day, her mum spotted a job at Concrete. In the Young Person’s Service. The very same service that helped her survive all those years ago. She applied and got the job, and suddenly, she was standing where someone once stood for her. “It was a pinch-me moment. I really had come full circle.”
Now she’s a Duty Practitioner in a 24/7 Concrete female-supported scheme in Stoke. She’s the first point of contact for customers. The first voice someone hears. The first person who can look someone in the eyes and say, “I’ve been there, I understand, and anything’s possible if you want it”.
Why Peer Mentors matter
When someone’s been homeless, when the world has let them down time after time, the hardest thing to do is trust. Professionals can help, but Peer Mentors break down walls.
Merlee knows better than anyone. “When I tell people I was in their shoes, the barriers drop. They know I’m not chatting rubbish. I’m there because I care and because I got through it.”
That’s why Peer Mentors matter. They’re proof. Living, breathing proof that homelessness isn’t the end of your story. And she’ll say it straight, “if you’re thinking about being a Peer Mentor, just do it. You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to be real”.
Today, Merlee is engaged to be married, thinking about planning a family, and planning her future. She’s a strong, capable member of staff. She’s travelled. She’s grown, and she’s rebuilt everything she’s lost.
She is living proof that you can come out the other side. Bruised but not broken. Changed, but stronger. Scarred but standing tall.
(Pictured: Peer Mentor Coordinator Lisa, and Peer Mentor and Duty Practitioner Merlee)
You can come full circle too
If you’ve been homeless, you’ve already got what it takes. Your experience isn’t something to hide, it’s something that can change someone else’s life.
If you want to give back, grow, and help someone take their first step out of homelessness, Peer Mentoring is your chance to come full circle too.
Get in touch with Peer Mentor Coordinator Lisa and see where Peer Mentoring could take you:
[email protected]
www.thisisconcrete.org.uk/volunteering
0330 094 5558
