When you finally succeed in a bid for council accommodation it’s a happy moment, but you never know what you’ve actually got, and what problems will arise. However, sometimes you may be pleasantly surprised.

When we (my partner and I) were recently awarded accommodation, it was extremely stressful. Everything happens very fast and the place was in a state without flooring or any decorating done; and no cooking facilities or furniture, even no bed.

However, the area seemed somehow familiar. It is very near to a beautiful church surrounded by well-kept churchyard and nice residential streets. I have quickly realised that this was the church which had hosted a homeless night shelter on Wednesday nights in 2017 when I was a homeless customer of theirs.

I kind of liked the familiarity but was feeling a bit stressed and anxious to actually have to face the place again. However, I liked the pretty area, so a few months after moving in I started going for walks near the church.

I have also eventually made some pictures of the flowers planted everywhere and the church itself. Here are some of the photos.

Photos of flowers and church

 

I started visiting the place regularly for a walk and actually enjoyed it. But I was still apprehensive about stumbling across the place where the night shelter had been.

I eventually found it. It was not in the main church. It was in a separate side building.  I could even see and remember the entrance to the building and remember going every Wednesday through the pretty glass door entrance. I still remember where the dining room was, where the men slept, and where was the little room where women slept on the floor. I still remember the room where we were served breakfasts and also the place where the toilets were. It was a friendly night shelter. However, being homeless and depending on a night shelter was always stressful, despite the friendliness and camaraderie of the place and the other customers/homeless people.

I have taken some pictures of the place from the outside. However, I took the pictures during a lovely sunny day. It is nothing like the cold, dark, stressful evenings, when it was often snowing or raining.

Photos of night shelter building

I tried to retrace my steps and found the path through graves where we used to walk to the night shelter on cold dark Wednesday evenings with a heavy suitcase, exhausted from being out all day. Here is the view we saw on approaching the shelter. However, this picture is a far cry to what I remember seeing. This is because walking around casually with a camera on a sunny day, a short walking distance from my home, is a very different experience from the feeling of a homeless person hoping to get a place at a night shelter on a freezing night. Here is the picture.

Photo of the path with graves

It is amazing how the same place can look and feel so different if you are in a very different situation. I actually enjoy walking between the graves taking photos of flowers nowadays. I was not enjoying walking there back then.