Sometimes, the real first step isn’t work, it’s money. Only then can we begin to imagine what comes next.
We’re often told that getting a job is the first step to getting our lives back on track. But for many of us trying to stay afloat, it’s not always that simple.
Meet Craig
Craig, 34, had been through a lot before finding his footing again. After a high-stress career pushed him into multiple mental health breakdowns, he left the UK to seek treatment for bipolar disorder abroad. When he came back, recovery became even harder.
Craig was scraping by. “I was sofa surfing and didn’t want to call my grandparents to stay with them because I felt everyone was exhausted by my situation.” Living on the bottom rate of ESA, with no fixed home, he relied on food banks, friends, and whatever help he could find. “I already know because it was the advice they gave me before I got the diagnosis: ‘go stay in a homeless shelter.’”
Once he had a formal diagnosis, the response changed and he was put into temporary accommodation. But the experience of support services left him feeling isolated and frustrated.
A helping hand
Everything shifted when Craig met Amaya, a coach from Clean Slate’s Quids in! programme. “She’s awesome. She brightens every single day I spoke to her. She lifted my mood for days afterwards.”
They didn’t start with job applications or CVs. They started with what mattered most: money. Together, they tackled the basics: grants, food, bills, essentials for his new flat. “I was sat like all I had was a camping chair and a bed and a table. It was just grim.”
Amaya helped him access what he hadn’t even known was available. “No support worker had mentioned that to me, no government official, no one… There’s so many grants available for people in really unique scenarios.”
From Struggle to Stand-Up
And once Craig had a little financial breathing room, other things started to feel possible. “We spoke about things that could immediately help me, what might be helpful in the long term and… what stuff I might enjoy doing after the course was done.” He laughed, “I think I’d be a good stand-up comedian… I’ve got enough silly stories.”
Amaya was key in encouraging this newfound dream. “She pointed me in the direction of stand-up stuff as well… she just went out of her way to be amazing,.” Now, Craig is planning to perform at open mic nights in Bristol and London. “I’m looking forward to that a lot… just trying to make people laugh.”
When we aren’t spending all our energy just surviving, we can finally ask ourselves: What next?
Image: Piotr Piatrouski / Shutterstock
