{"id":4790,"date":"2022-06-14T16:56:49","date_gmt":"2022-06-14T15:56:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.depaul.org.uk\/?post_type=stories&p=4790"},"modified":"2023-05-25T17:52:50","modified_gmt":"2023-05-25T16:52:50","slug":"xenias-story","status":"publish","type":"stories","link":"https:\/\/www.depaul.org.uk\/stories\/xenias-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Xenia’s story"},"content":{"rendered":"
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After coming out as trans, Xenia suffered abuse in her family home from her brothers and dad. When her mental health deteriorated badly, she was forced to sleep rough.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI was living in East London. My step-mum didn\u2019t particularly like me or my brother, and was emotionally abusive until she evicted us. Then we were living in a hostel for about two or three months before my dad got a place.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I came out as trans, as you might expect, a lot of my family didn\u2019t react in a very positive way. If I wore something feminine like a skirt I would be judged by my brothers or my dad. After a while, it made me really depressed living at home. Then me and my dad had a massive falling out and I moved out.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cOne friend had a place I could stay, but every so often I would leave to give them some space. I would just walk. I would find a place where the wind wasn\u2019t blowing and I would just stay there. That happened for about two months. It was just a really rough time.<\/p>\n

Xenia was eventually referred to Hotel 1824, our youth- specific emergency accommodation service for young people at risk of, or experiencing rough sleeping. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI moved in at the end of September. I\u2019ve been here around 7 months now. It\u2019s nice to actually be in a place, where I don\u2019t have to do it by myself. It\u2019s a nice change.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that it\u2019s for young people is really great. I met a few here who are LGBT. I\u2019ve met some lovely people who have been really good friends. As a trans person, to have my own bathroom is amazing. When I lived with my mum and my step-dad they used to think of me as a boy, so they would come in to use the toilets and I would hate it so much.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has helped my mental health a lot. I wouldn\u2019t be doing my hobbies as much as I am. They run workshops here and I did a spray paint workshop and absolutely loved it. They\u2019ve paid for my first set of spray paints and have given me a desk to do it on. It’s a great way of lowering my anxiety. Whenever staff come into my room, they love looking at my art.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a bartender but obviously due to my mental health, I\u2019ve had to stop working. Eventually though I want to open up my own bar, a Caribbean style bar, particularly Trinidadian style bar with proper traditional west-Indian food and traditional drinks!<\/p>\n

\u201cDepaul has been amazing, honestly, I\u2019ve never met a charity as good as them. They have restored my trust in people. I\u2019m a lot more accepting now that some people are actually nice and want to help me and are not going to leave me when things get hard.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, I don\u2019t know where I would be without them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Watch Xenia tell her story<\/h2>\n