Scott’s Story
My name is Scott. I turned up at Launchpad’s door homeless and I was a drunk. I was 53 and I’d been an alcoholic for ten years. I came to the coloured doors, you let me in and that was the start of me getting my life back. I was born in Reading and grew […]
Stephen’s Story
This is Stephen’s Story Stephen has lived in Reading his whole life and has strong family connections across the town. Stephen started working as soon as he left school and had many jobs which he enjoyed – including being a tree surgeon, and a landscape gardener. Stephen reflects: “I got on well with family, I had […]
Brian’s story
This is Brian’s story Brian is 65 and has been a Reading resident for 35 years. He has been homeless many times over many years. Brian had an extremely difficult early family life. For a long time he was resilient to the challenges he face, but in 2022, things became too much for Brian and […]
Dave’s story
This is Dave’s story Dave was at rock bottom when he came to our drop-in service. He’d suffered a nervous breakdown and left his job, and was facing eviction. Nikki, a floating support specialist officer at Launchpad, assessed Dave at the time and said: “When Dave first came to us, he was physically quite withdrawn, […]
Frank’s story
This is Frank’s story After confusion and lack of support with his benefits, Frank became street homeless when he was in his 60s. Within 24 hours, Launchpad housed him. “I came to live in Reading in 1988 and was in private rented accommodation for many years before I got my name on the council house […]
Bob’s story
This is Bob’s story When 57-year-old Bob’s marriage broke down and he lost his business – he turned to drink to numb the pain and soon found himself homeless. He even considered taking his own life. “I set up a small gardening business and employed a friend to help me run it, and he took […]
Claire’s story
This is Claire’s story Claire became homeless during the pandemic, having spiralled into class A drug addiction. She lived in the woods before Launchpad helped her rebuild her life. “I’d used drugs in the past but when I progressed to crack and heroin, it was like dominoes. Everything falls apart extremely quickly – far, far […]
Dean’s story
This is Dean’s story After holding down three jobs, struggling with his mental health and caring for a close friend withdrawing from a drug addiction, Dean suffered a breakdown. He found himself unemployed and on the brink of homelessness, struggling to make ends meet. After four years, he has now come full circle and volunteers […]
Hayley’s story
This is Hayley’s story After going through the emotional trauma of losing the right to care for her children, 33-year old mum of four Hayley became homeless. Hayley had a chaotic upbringing and went on to suffer in an emotionally and physically abusive relationship in her early […]
