Stories
The rain has stopped
Miss Z wanted a change of direction in life and found herself moving to Slough without stable accommodation. It was then that a friend suggested she contact SHOC. From the first moment Z walked through the door in her own words “it felt like standing under...
A real sense of achievement
A young lady was referred to the learning centre by the local drug support agency. She was on a drugs programme following many years of Class A drug abuse which had seen her losing her children and being estranged from her family. She came along and joined...
Self worth at an all time high
A 24-year-old man had been coming to SHOC since the age of 15 as his mother is a service user. He is now a father and living between his mother and his partner. He had been continually encouraged to use the learning centre but had showed little interest in...
A relationship based on honesty and trust
A young man grew up with his mother and brother and never knew his father. He became involved with the “wrong” crowd and started to smoke cannabis on a daily basis when he was 17, this made him feel good. His new friends soon got him on to heroin. He was...
Living in rented accommodation on my own salary
Mr P. Z. became a homeless person in Slough and began using SHOC’s daycentre for support. Initially he had very little command of the English language and so began attending ESOL classes which improved his communication skills. He was then able to take...
“If it wasn’t for SHOC I don’t know where I’d be” – Graham’s Story
It started when I became homeless due to circumstances beyond my control, I was also very addicted to Class A drugs at this point and I found out about SHOC from word of mouth and also through probation. Probation had been helping me get through my drug...
“I can laugh when I look back” – John’s Story
John first came to SHOC for help in 2008. Having been homeless for a few months, he found himself the victim of assault, which is sadly very common among the vulnerable homeless. Whilst at the police station to report the attack, he saw a flyer for SHOC....
From helped to helper – Vicky’s story
In February 2011 we were very pleased to welcome Vicky Cheeseman to the SHOC team as our advocacy worker. What made this appointment so special for us is that Vicky has arrived in this key role after a long journey that involved some very tough times. The journey took...