"I'm forever thankful for this place..."
My own gardening skills were quickly put to shame the first time I got to visit the allotment which Patti, 21, has spent the last year growing various and vibrant tomatoes, melons, kiwi, grape, cucumbers – and now housing chickens!
Similar to the big changes this garden went through, Patti herself has changed a lot whilst housed by The Benjamin Foundation. From living in Thetford Forest and “moving around places”, Patti arrived with “no documentations, no ID, no GCSE’s” – known as the “firecracker”, describing herself as “very explosive” and “very angry at the world.”
“From sorting out banking and my ID to helping me with colleges -they have supported me a lot.”
As with many young people who arrive at our supported accommodation, Patti lacked the life skills she should have picked up along the way. More than just providing a roof over their heads, The Benjamin Foundation endeavours on helping young people to develop and achieve these skills over the course of their time with the charity. “Even the simplest of certain things that parents should probably be teaching you, I got taught here.”
With 987,000 individuals between 16-24 out of education or employment (highest in over 10 years – ONS), a crowded job market is a problem creating barriers for young people in developing their independence. To tackle this directly, The Benjamin Foundation receives funding from EveryYouth to employ a Job Coach who supports young people in our services to access new opportunities in education, training or employment.
“All I have been wanting is a job. And now my next step is moving out.”
Patti is just 1 of 48 young people our Job Coach has helped at The Benjamin Foundation. Helping her achieve her Maths and English along with identifying a personal training course, which she has since completed and become fully qualified for.
But with year-long wait lists for social housing and limited affordable accommodation meaning that £130 is the lowest rent you could possibly pay in Norfolk per week (The Benjamin Foundation), those next steps to independence are more slippery than they appear. Although the problem is growing ever larger, our move-on and tenancy support services are actively helping young people and families to secure deposits and learn tenancy management skills to help them carry on independently.
Patti believes that the time she spends on the allotment is helping her own development too, preparing her for further independence when she leaves The Benjamin Foundation. “My Nan back in Poland, she always had an allotment, and I always enjoyed it. It really does help my mental health and just the feeling of growing your own stuff and then giving it out to people…there’s a lot of joy that it gives me.”
Seeing Patti confidently describing the benefits of her allotment whilst walking amongst the fruits and vegetables that she’s grown, nurtured and picked is all the evidence needed to highlight the momentous journey she’s been on since moving in those four years ago.
“I never really had a home, so this is a home for me…I’m forever thankful for this place.”