Sylvester’s Fund supports people affected by homelessness to build their confidence and achieve their goals.

 

 

The people we work with are facing serious challenges in their lives. They may have survived living on the streets or have come from a traumatic home situation. They could be living with depression, anxiety and feeling like they have no worth. Most of the people we work with don’t have friends or family around and can feel isolated or forgotten. 

Our goal is to help people see their potential and give practical help to make positive changes. 

Sylvester’s Fund means we can buy small but significant items to make this happen. This could be something as simple as a new fridge to help someone settle into their new home or new shoes for a job interview. But it’s not only about helping people into housing and employment. We are here to promote self-worth, confidence and motivation. 

Sylvester’s Fund has paid for running shoes so someone could take part in a 10k run, a mobile phone to make sure someone could stay in contact with friends and even a book of Shakespeare plays to reignite someone’s passion for literature. 

Your donation will encourage people who have lived through difficult situations to think about their skills and aspirations. It will open up new opportunities and inspire people to take positive steps forward. 

Please give today to change someone's life.

Gary’s Story

Gary, a 32-year-old dad from Derby, was at rock bottom two years ago.

 

Diagnosed with ADHD, dyslexia and autism, he had been made redundant and could not afford to feed his family. 

 

Now Gary has managed to turn things around with the help of various organisations including Derventio, and has found his ideal job as a tiler. 

 

But in order to take part in the qualification course, he needed a pair of steel-capped boots which he could not manage to pay for himself. Gary was bought the boots costing £49.98 through Sylvester’s Fund. 

 

Gary said: “The last couple of years have been quite a journey for me. If I could rewind two years ago now, I was sitting in my garage crying my eyes out because I couldn’t afford to feed my family and my relationship had broken down. With hindsight, I wish I could lean over and say to myself: ‘You’ve got this. Don’t worry.’ But I was utterly alone.”

 

Gary was accessing help through organisations including Derventio and the YMCA, and one day a glimmer of hope arrived when he was helping a friend out who was fitting bathrooms. 

 

He said: “I had my first go at tiling and the customer did not notice. I thought, ‘I might be really good at this!’”

 

For Gary, tiling is an ideal job because it means working for himself and also provides a therapeutic activity for his mind. 

 

He said: “I have had more jobs than hot dinners – it’s a classic story of someone with ADHD! I’ve always been someone who wanted to earn my way through life and take responsibility for my own actions. I’m well into my year’s course in tiling now. I absolutely love it. I wish I could do it five days a week. It’s therapeutic..”

 

Gary said he would love to see many more people given the same start as he was, through donations to Sylvester’s Fund.

 

He said: “There are so many out there needing the opportunity to make it. The cost of the boots is irrespective of the value it creates in the long term. I don’t think anyone thinks any donation or contribution is too small. There’s not enough support out there. For a young man, the ability to get the support from any business to get people on their feet and learning a trade or skills of any form is beneficial to the whole country. 

 

“I think it’s paramount that businesses see that charity is helping others, it’s really important. It has been a long journey. It has been stressful. I have got the rest of my life stretching out ahead of me. I have the ability to be successful in my own right. Two years ago I saw myself in a hole I was never going to get out of, not living, just existing. Now I’m at the top of that hole, looking down, and I’m so grateful I’m not there anymore.”