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Before ACT, my life was run on self-will. God was around me, but I wasn’t open to him. I was using illicit drugs, a long-term relationship broke down and I became homeless.

Then I went to jail.

The first time I came out I ended up rough sleeping and five days later I was using again – then back in jail.

I got to know ACT's prisons pastor, Susan, and outreach & mentoring manager, Rob. So when I was coming up to release again I wrote to ask for support.

Rob came to pick me up at the gate the day I got out. We went for a cheeky McDonalds – it tasted so good after prison food. I was so nervous coming out, so seeing a familiar face massively helped.

We had a good chat about the days ahead on the journey to Oxford. ACT were great at liaising with my probation officer and my family – there was lots of communication.

A home of my own

Moving into a supported house made a big difference. The team were there for me – Jemma (ACT's housing manager) met with me on Mondays, on Wednesdays I’d go to the ACT family breakfast, on Thursdays a group of us would go do gardening work. Spending time positively like this really helped, and so did seeing people at different stages of recovery, journey and faith. I could see how much people changed if they really wanted to.

There have been lots of transformations. I’ve seen people who were addicts using less and less, and getting clean. I’ve seen people choosing not to commit crimes any more. I’ve seen people really change.

One thing that helped me a lot was not being rushed to move out. I could talk to people who know me, pray with them and look for discernment. There’s so much support behind the scenes that no one else would ever know about.

Moving out, moving on

I moved on from an ACT house last year. It’s not an easy time for anyone because of the pandemic. But ACT have been brilliant. Even though I’ve moved out I’m still 100% supported. I know if I’ve got a problem I can phone someone and we’ll get a coffee. The door’s not closed on me.

I set up my own business seven months ago, and ACT really helped me. I’ve done something similar before but this time it’s all done right – business accounts, money for the tax bill. I know good comes from that. I’ve taken on two lads and we’ve got four months’ work booked in. It’s beautiful to have a full diary like that. Some of it's my doing, but ultimately it's God.

It’s mad how things have changed.

Life is really good.

James* has been part of the ACT community for several years, and lives in one of our supported houses. He explains what this has meant to him in this very challenging year:

‘Before ACT, I'd spent most of my life in institutions.

I am now clean, a full-time worker, and I’ve never been in a better place.

This isolation and lockdown has been very hard. I KNOW without my faith and staff contacting me daily, sending food parcels – I know where I would be.

I'm so blessed, lucky – however you wish to look at it.

This is the family.’

*name changed

I worked in government finance for many years, where my work included mentoring. I’m conscious of the blessing my home is so I wanted to help a charity that provides homes for others – and mentoring seemed a good way to get involved.

I started meeting with Charles a few months ago.

He shares parts of his story with me as he feels he wants, so my picture is not complete and it doesn’t need to be. We’ve been working on confidence in group settings and getting to know the Bible better.

Talking it through

He’s quite shy and an introvert, and I am, too. We talk through strategies to use, thinking ahead to a group setting and talking through ways to prepare and approaches to use – how to behave, what he wants to say, what he doesn’t.

We're slowly opening up about more of our own lives as we get to know each other better. Sharing builds trust and trust leads to more sharing – it’s a virtuous circle.

A hope and a future

Charles's goal is to get more training and then secure paid employment once some specific circumstances make that feasible.

It’s a difficult time to get a job, and there will be knockbacks.

But I’m here to help him through that, to cope with it, learn from it, pick himself up and try again.

I took part in some very useful training mornings and have ACT’s handbook, which is a valuable reminder. It is important and reassuring to know that the backup of ACT is there were I to run into a tricky situation.

If you’re reading this and considering becoming a mentor, I’d encourage you to look into it. Join an ACT training session to find out more. Pray about it. It is a commitment and it can have challenges. But if you feel a draw, maybe it’s God.

I know I’ve enjoyed it.