Brittany Jackson admits she had what she describes as a whirlwind upbringing – and one that she once even doubted she would survive. But at 24 years old, she’s a mum, she has her own home and job and she has an important volunteer role with South Yorkshire youth homelessness charity Roundabout. And she insists that is thanks to Roundabout that she has left behind for good a life of drugs, violence and living on the streets.
You say you had a whirlwind upbringing but what does that really mean?
I was always getting into trouble and not being a very good kid, so I ended up getting kicked out of the house when I was 16, at Christmas. It was Christmas Day and I went on a mad one, then I lost my purse, and came home in the middle of the night and had to wake up my brother and use his Christmas money to pay for a taxi. My mum was really angry and told me she didn’t want me there any more and kicked me out for the final time.
How soon after that did you meet the Roundabout team?
It was just a few days later, after managing to take refuge for a few nights with my uncle, that I first met the Roundabout team. I called their Prevention Service, went straight in to chat to them and within 4 hours I moved into their emergency hostel.
How did you find living in that environment?
I was really reluctant to go and stay in the hostel because I thought only tramps and druggies lived there. But one of the workers took me there to see it and there were actually people I knew there from school. It made a difference having some familiar faces there and the people were quite welcoming.
Can you describe how you felt during this time?
It as hard. I got involved in drugs, was always in fights, getting in a really bad way and I wasn’t accepting the support offered. I met a new partner and moved to a bigger hostel in Sheffield. We had a bad reputation and were eventually asked to leave, which meant there was just one alternative – rough sleeping. We ended up sleeping on the streets at the back of the train station for about six months, with some sofa surfing. It was really difficult and scary – we had to take turns staying awake to keep safe from abuse from people out on the street. They have nothing to lose and if you have something they want they will take it.
You say that it was Roundabout’s Supporting Tenants team who have helped give you the determination to leave the problems of the past and build a better future for both herself and her young daughter. How is that working for you?
I moved into my own tenancy, and the team help with your benefits, keeping track of your bills, making sure everything’s kept up to date and teach you how to maintain a tenancy on your own. But to be fair they’re so much more than that! I would talk to them about how I was feeling, how my daughter was making me feel, my worker would just sit there and listen to it all. Then at the end, we’d talk about how we can resolve the situation I was going through. Roundabout also helped me build a relationship with my mum because in the past we hadn’t understood each other – my mum hated me and I hated my mum and I didn’t think there was going to be a way back from that. But now we see each other at least twice a week, we go on holidays together and I can turn to her for support.
Roundabout have also helped you to find a job with the University of Sheffield. Can you tell us something about that?
Having left school with no GCSEs, I never thought that a job would be on my horizon but working with Roundabout and having them encourage me to be a volunteer gave me confidence. It made me see myself in a whole new light, and I know I can actually work in my own time and at my own pace.
How does this change of lifestyle make you feel?
Instead of looking at myself and my past and being disgusted I am proud now – look how amazing I am!
Do you have any plans for the future?
I have gone from rags not quite to riches yet but my dream is to own my own hostel. I want to be a social worker too and I know that I could do that now when it would never have seen possible before.
And are you still maintaining your links with Roundabout?
I’m now volunteering as a Roundabout peer educator. It allows me to tell my story to younger kids in schools and show them that if they ever did go through this, then I can say there are ways out of it and I can show them where to go for help. I had the drugs, I had the friends, I had the lifestyle but I was never once happy. Living like that is actually just so depressing and you don’t have time for yourself because you have to make time for all the other things you have to do. I had got to my breaking point but Roundabout got me to talk about my plans for the future and helped me to look at my life – they gave me a purpose to actually live.