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'I lost everything but now I'm looking to future'

Shirley Henry/BBC Emma Hall has short dark hair and is wearing a pink T-shirt. She is smiling at the camera as she stands over a hot stove with several pans of food on the hob. She is in a kitchenShirley Henry/BBC
Emma Hall prepares lunch for people living at Emmaus in Hull after the homeless charity helped her turn her life around

A former rough sleeper has said she would not be sober today had she not received help from a homeless charity.

Emma Hall, 42, spent three months living on the streets and was struggling with alcoholism before moving into Emmaus Hull and East Riding's residential community six months ago.

Fred Lazenby, progression worker at the charity, said the service was at capacity and was struggling to keep up with demand for rooms.

Ms Hall said: "It's given me a home [and] hope again and I'm starting to look to the future."

For much of her career as a chef, Emma was a functioning alcoholic, and at its worst she said she struggled to manage "a couple of hours without having at least a litre of cider or something stronger".

"Once upon a time I had everything. But slowly everything started to slip away," she said.

"My mum died. Covid affected my trade. There was no furlough pay to cover us... That led to a relapse in alcoholism, which led to homelessness."

A man with short dark hair and a trim beard talking to a camera. He is wearing a dark green jacket and a white shirt and is sitting on a chair in a room with a pool table and a weights bench behind him
Fred Lazenby, of Emmaus Hull and East Riding

After becoming homeless, Ms Hall would beg on the streets to get her daily alcohol fix.

She added: "Without the alcohol, I would have a seizure and be hospitalised. If I couldn't get it by begging I would have to steal.

"People would come out of nightclubs and they think you're a piece of meat. You're not human anymore. They urinate on you."

She said she had now been sober for a year – an achievement that would not have been possible without help from Emmaus.

The charity, which provides accommodation for 30 people at The Orchard in Lockwood Street, Hull, said it had seen a 30% increase in referrals over the past 12 months.

A brick-built accommodation block with a gravel garden at the front and small bushes
The Orchard in Lockwood Street, Hull, is Emmaus's homeless community

"At present we are full to capacity," said Mr Lazenby. "There's a significant demand and we are under strain."

The charity also has a rough sleeper outreach service and a second-hand furniture store, which is staffed by residents of The Orchard.

"The cost-of-living crisis has affected everybody. It affects those who are living reasonably comfortably but the most vulnerable in society have been affected terribly," Mr Lazenby said.

"In addition to that there's a lack of affordable housing. We need more, but also affordable housing with support provision, and that will hopefully engender change."

'National factors'

Hull City Council said it had seen a large rise in homelessness, and it planned to develop more accommodation in the city.

"The council takes its responsibility to support those who are homeless or sleeping rough very seriously and works hard to provide both temporary and permanent housing solutions," it said in a statement.

"Because of national factors like increases to private rents, mortgages and the cost of living, Hull has experienced an unprecedented increase in homelessness."

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