Life after homelessness: ‘I was once housed in an old police station. My room? A cell’

I had a really difficult upbringing. My life at home was very dysfunctional and I ended up living with my nan. I became an alcoholic and used heroin. I went to rehab in 2014, but when I got out I broke my leg, lost my job and my nan died, which meant I had nowhere to go.

I must have lived in more than 50 temporary accommodation placements in the four years I spent homeless. A lot of these places were very rough and full of drugs, which made overcoming my addiction problems impossible.

A broken leg made things worse, because I couldn’t get work. One of the places I was housed in was an old police station. My room? A cell. I thought: I am not staying here, so I opted for the streets. On the streets, I started smoking mamba – synthetic cannabis. That blocked everything else out, it numbed the pain and it kept me warm.

Even so, I found it easier to clean up on the streets. Living in hostels, there was temptation everywhere and I couldn’t function.

One day, someone told me: “True life begins when you are 40.” I was profoundly embarrassed by this, because I was 40 – and my life was in tatters. It really stuck with me. I felt ashamed. The person who said it won’t know this, but what she said changed my life.

I approached a family member and asked if I could stay with them. I got clean and started attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings. With help from Shelter, I got into supported accommodation and began volunteering. After that, I applied to become a peer mentor – and I got the job.

Currently, I am working with Shelter on their Housing First scheme in Birmingham. I have my own home, I live with my partner and five weeks ago we had our first child – a boy.

If you are worried about becoming homeless, contact the housing department of your local authority to fill in a homeless application. You can use the gov.uk website to find your local council

For more stories of life after homelessness, read Guardian Cities’ the empty doorway series

Follow Guardian Cities on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to join the discussion, catch up on our best stories or sign up for our weekly newsletter