Meet Vinny

Vinny moved into Restore in 2022 and stayed with us for about a year before moving into his own flat.

Before he joined Restore, Vinny had been living in his van for several years. He began to realise the negative impact this was having upon his physical and mental well-being, so he reached out for help. The Salvation Army found him a bed in a local hostel, where he stayed for a few weeks, before being offered a room at Restore. From that offer, things moved quickly and he was in a Restore shared house the next day.

Vinny describes himself as ‘a bit of a loner’ so it took him a bit of time to get used to living in a house with other people, but the shared experiences of being homeless helped him to form a connection with his housemates and they became good friends. They would talk to one another about what had brought them to Restore, and he says this helped them to bond. Vinny praises his housing support worker for encouraging him to get out and integrate with society more. She helped him to access medical help, set up a bank account and get himself back on track. It restored his faith in humanity and gave him hope. Vinny has been in his own place just over a year now, and he feels like it’s a new chapter in his life. He volunteers with Restore doing some handiwork and enjoys being able to chat to current residents and encourage them using his own experiences.