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Housing at No.3

Being Oasis’ oldest project, Housing @ No. 3 does a great job of modelling what Oasis is all about!

 

Resident at No.3

Providing temporary accommodation to young women who find themselves homeless, Housing @ No.3 is a beacon of hope in it's community. Since its opening in 1990 Housing @ No.3 has been a home to over 279 young people between the ages of 16-21. Lives have truly been transformed; read Carrie's story below.

As well as providing a vital refuge for these young women, Housing @ No.3 ensures that each resident leaves with all they need for independent living at the end of their stay (usually between one year and eighteen months).

Having identified each residents needs at the start of their tenancy, staff work hard to develop a tailored programme of support to meet these needs. This can be hard work – but when you hear stories like that of Carrie, it is extremely rewarding, and there are literally hundreds of similar

We currently have a volunteering vacancy for someone to assist us in translating into French. For more information, please contact the HR department of Oasis.

Carrie's Story

Carrie moved into Oasis Housing @ No3 in May 2007, after being kicked out of her home.

Carrie was physically and sexually abused by her father from the age of 8 until she turned 16. As she grew older, starting to understand more about sex and what was happening to her, she began to smoke cannabis. She was soon smoking so much that she no longer felt the impact of it and began to use crack. By the age of 13 she had tried heroin. By 14, Carrie was working in a brothel owned by a neighbour.

When Carrie's mother found out about her drug use, she began to refer to her as 'crazy' and a 'psycho'. She blamed Carrie for the family breakdowns, and labeled her a troublemaker. It was at this point that Carrie attempted suicide for the first time.

After Carrie admitted to a friend that she had suffered abuse from her father, Carrie's mother threw her out of their home. Social Services became involved; her family did not believe her, telling Social Services that she was lying. There were increased arguments with her mother, and occasions where Carrie was injured.

During these years Carrie felt that she wasn't worth anything - simply a piece of meat that people could do what they wanted with. She didn't feel there was anyone she could trust. She became very angry, and is still now working through the effect that all of these things had on her.

Speaking about coming to Oasis Housing @ No3, Carrie said, "I felt like I didn't need to hold back. I can't identify what it was about the project, but I felt that I was in a safe place, that was more like a home than a hostel. I felt that I was in a place where people cared about me, and I learnt that it's ok to care about others, and that they care about me. It meant so much to be given advice, but not be treated violently. The staff never gave up on me."

Carrie is proud of herself, for what she has achieved, for seeing her time at No3 through to the point that she has been resettled. After 18 months with us, she recently moved into a one bedroom flat which she is in the process of decorating and making into her own home. We continue to support her.

 

Your support

The vision of Housing at No. 3 is to provide much more than a roof over a young person’s head, we aim to assist young people to achieve their goals and potential, whilst supporting them to deal with things that may challenge their progress along the way. Please consider partnering with us in this vital work by making a donation today.
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