Our people

“In six months time, I hope to be happy like now, and still going the same way, moving forward.”

 

How long have you been at Sheffield Station Foyer?

I've been here since November 2007. I was staying in Doncaster in temporary accommodation. I have a friend who used to live here and he told me what they do here and advised me to apply.

What support do you receive?

The staff are very, very kind. Really, really good. They taught me how to reach targets and helped me overcome problems by myself. Learning, jobs, assisting me with that. How to carry myself in meetings, react in different situations - it is a different culture. I've gained a lot of experience being here.

I have English lessons every Thursday and have job training. I've had training for food health and safety and they taught me how to behave and what is anti-social behaviour. It is a different culture so it has helped to understand.

What do you like about the support?

I think what they do here is help us prepare for the future, so if we have a problem we can sort it on our own. I'm now ready to move. I feel I now have everything to move on my own and I can't wait to move to my own place.

What's for the future?

In six months time, I hope to be happy like now, and still going the same way, moving forward. I've a 5 year plan and want to continue to follow that. I'm studying at college and I've found a part-time job at Marks & Spencers.

And I've applied for an access course to go to university to study business, so I hope to be at university.

Before I came to England I studied sociology at university. The system is different to back home. Your family there choose what you will study. I've seen how things work here and I chose business. And I feel it's better for me."

Nico gave this interview in August 2008 when he was a resident at Sheffield Station Foyer. He has now moved to his own flat, has completed an access to university course and is looking forward to starting a degree in business at Sheffield University.