Raimonds

"When I first came to Brighton I managed to get a job in a gym as a cleaner. But I had no savings for a deposit or rent in advance so I ended up rough sleeping in a tent. I also had trouble with drinking and gambling.

"Without an address I ended up losing my job. The RST had someone who spoke Lithuanian and they gave me information about support available in Brighton and found me accommodation for two weeks. This gave me time to save up some money for a hostel. The RST helped me to understand the support available to me and linked me up with Brighton Housing Trust to help me find a home in private rented accommodation.

"Now I live in my own flat. I am volunteering and looking for a job. My drinking is under control and I haven’t gambled for over a year.

"The RST supported me to move on in my life. At the moment my English is at a good level but when I came I couldn’t do many things on my own, such as booking appointments, attending the Job Centre or making phone calls about job interviews. Workers from RST were there to help with all these issues."

* Name and photo has been changed to protect the identity of the service users who shared their stories with us.