Case study by Forest Churches Emergency Night Shelter
April 29, 2026
George became homeless after a relationship breakdown and a period in hospital in Summer 2025. He came to stay in our shelter in October at a time when he was destitute, with no possessions, no status and no access to ID or funds. 69 years-old, he was the victim of the Windrush generation,had worked all his adult life, was self-employed and contributed to tax and national insurance. At the point of becoming homeless, no statutory support was open to him. He stayed in our night shelter from October til March. Ramfel supported his application for status, resulting in a certificate of British Citizenship. FCENS helped him to apply for state pension and pension credit, with support from the local MP. Despite multiple systemic delays, George has now received full pension credit backdated to the time he reached pensionable age. He has been supported for compensation through the Windrush Scheme. On 31st March, the Local Authority provided a self-contained flat in Waltham Forest as temporary accommodation, pending a more permanent move to sheltered housing.
George is a people person and he loves company. At the time he was homeless, he says that he was saved by the adult early help team at the library. They connected him with street outreach and with FCENS. They provided community. A regular at the library, he got to know the people round and about, sharing stories. At the night shelter, George became a centre of the community. He worked with the Peer Coach team both to support him with his own needs (form filling, attending medical appointments, making sure he had his medication), and with being part of the group activity. If he could make it he would attend – meditation workshops, storytelling workshops, art, mindfulness, world spirit day. He took part in the 17-second movie Haiku workshop to produce his own Kineku – he chose to honour the staff at the library, saying they saved his life, and recognising that we should enjoy life, and homelessness can happen to anyone. George says if he has money, he would set up his own school and put his energy into community work, so people have a chance to connect and learn from each other. George is a founder member of FCENS lived experience board, which meets monthly to review values, practice and strategic focus at FCENS, provides feedback to the board of trustees, and contributes to FCENS governance.
The community interventions programme paid for a caseworker and a lived experience peer coach to work with George during this time, and it paid for the social inclusion workshops that were provided for the shelter guests. George’s story shows how this work can serve to bring someone out of destitution and into independent living, providing the necessary steps to make life possible. Just as important, it provides the connections to help people to live in community, and not in isolation.
While George was staying with us, he suffered a collapse due to insulin deficiency caused by Type 2 diabetes. Guests at the shelter stayed with him while an ambulance was called to get him to safety. After a short stay at hospital he returned to the shelter with support of community nurses. We are all thankful that George is around today, with the help of his community, to share his life-affirming story.
Forest Churches Emergency Night Shelter ( FCENS )
Please note the image and name used in this case study do not belong to ‘George’.
