Mo, 26 lives in Oldham with his wife and child, who is three years old. In 2019 he became completely homeless, with nowhere to go after sofa surfing with friends and relatives became impossible as it had gone on for too long, and things had to change.
“I became homeless aged 21 because I was living with my siblings, and after several arguments over bills and some personal family issues, I had to leave.
“I finished college with a motor vehicle engineering level two qualification, but couldn’t find an apprenticeship, which made life very difficult as I wasn’t able to support myself. I found a part-time job as a security guard, after completing a four-week course to gain my licence, but again, it was difficult to find work at the time, because even though I had a licence, I didn’t have any experience. I went with an agency who gave me a shift a week – but it wasn’t enough to pay for rent or bills. At the same time, I was also looking for a job at a car garage but, again, it was hard with no experience.
“With nowhere to go, and no means of supporting myself without a job, I went to the council who referred me to Nightstop.
“Once the charity did the relevant checks, they placed me with a host family, who I stayed with for the night – they helped me out a lot, and the charity gave me bus passes and helped me look for jobs. The first hosts I ever stayed with were as welcoming as the last, and all those in between. They all had everything I needed like towels, and the house was homely, I always felt safe and happy.
“I was with Nightstop for around five months and met lots of lovely people during that time – there’s one host couple who I remember well. They were an elderly couple, and I used to cook meals for them, which wasn’t expected of me, but I insisted as I really enjoy cooking. They loved it – I know how to make a good curry!
“Another host took my recipe as she liked it so much. We cooked together, and it was nice to make lovely nutritious food from scratch. I remember she also had a projector, so we watched a film after dinner, and it was like being at the cinema.
My point is all the hosts have been so welcoming and I can’t believe there’s people out there who really want to help others in this way. It’s wonderful.
“During the time I was with Nightstop I stayed in touch with the council as I was still officially homeless. I did my housing application, and eventually they offered me a place which I’m currently living in now. It’s a one-bed ground floor flat which I’ve made my own.
“My confidence and wellbeing have grown so much since I got this place. It’s full of lovely second-hand pieces too like a sofa, dining table and other things, thanks to a range of people who helped me set up home.
“Shortly moving in, I met my wife through relatives, which is the norm in my culture. We fell in love and got married in 2020. She moved in and then her parents started to help us out too. We had our daughter a year later and are very happy together.
“Things have really levelled up over the last few years, since I got my place, I’ve also got a full-time job I love, so you should never give up.
“Using my experience in security, I started a couple of security contracts, but I knew it wasn’t something I wanted to do as a career. And having a good career has always been important to me. But as a result of this work, and taxi driving part time, I was able to save hard – enough to undertake a HGV course. I got my license in 2022 and am now a full-time and qualified HGV driver.”
*The story is told in Mo’s own words. An actor was used in the photography and film, and names have been changed to protect their privacy.
Hear from Mo in his own words:
