Picture the scene, you have just been discharged from hospital and you have no home to go to. You are standing at the bus stop, the sun disappearing behind the clouds. The cold chill wind catches your face. You feel slightly peckish and you put your hand in your pocket and pull out some change. You thought there was a tenner note in there, but there isn’t. You dig around the mound of change with your index finger and find there is just enough for your bus fare and a bag of crisps. Now that bag of crisps is your dinner.

Your mood dips at this realization at the change in your circumstances and you shuffle your feet on the damp muddy gravel beneath your feet. The strange cars churn by, they know they are heading somewhere warm and you don’t. The bus eventually pulls up, you ask the driver how much for a single to your destination. It turns out the fare is less than you expected and you can afford a bar of chocolate on top of the crisps. Already things are looking up.

If you find yourself homeless in North Ayrshire the first place you should head for is the housing office in Irvine. There you will be greeted by a member of staff who, after filling out a few forms, will direct you to accommodation. You then present yourself to the hostel. The person you are seeing is the hostel manager, Jill Todd.

Jill: “I think people are nervous and intimidated because they don’t know what to expect when they come into hostel accommodation. I’ve worked in the hostel for nine years and we have people from all walks of life coming in here. I like helping people, it’s a difficult process and people are very wary and its good to make them feel that there is help for them and support.”

The rooms in the hostel are very spacious. You might get lucky and have an en suite, washing machine, cooker, fridge bed, TV and a sea view. Not bad. There is a free breakfast and the food in the ASDA is going cheap at closing time. Those 9p noodles look a good bet. After you lay down your things a member of staff comes in and asks if you’d like to see around the hostel.

Jill:  “Its quite an intense atmosphere so we like folk to be good neighbours but its difficult to get to know people really well in such a short space of time. Its good that people have experiences that they can share. But folk have their own issues to address and it’s sometimes better to keep themselves to themselves.”

You have been at the hostel for a few days now; if you are low on funds I would recommend storing up the free breakfast you receive although you might find yourself with a fridge full of milk. The jobseekers allowance is about to appear in the post and you look forward to treating yourself. Until that day arrives it’s a mixture of cereal and fruit. If you are getting bored hanging around your room alone there is a communal room with board games and a TV. You walk in and there are a couple of fellow lodgers. You take a seat and strike up a conversation.

Jill: “People don’t tend to mix that much due to the short-term nature of their stay. Sometimes friendships develop thanks to the communal area in the hostel. It’s quite an intense atmosphere so we like folk to be good neighbours but it’s difficult to get to know people really well in such a short space of time. Its good that people have experiences that they can share. But folk have their own issues to address and it’s sometimes better to keep themselves to themselves.”

The people you are chatting with aren’t the usual folk you would mix with.  It’s hard to maintain a blether with them due to your fragile nature and the deafening noise of the quiz show Goldenballs on the TV. You feel like the outsider as they are getting along fine. One of them has drug issues; the other was being beaten up by a partner.

Jill: “There is no one definition for a homeless person. It can be relationships, floods, fire, prison release, hospital discharge, or a young person who has fallen out with parents. It is a variety of reasons. Single males between ages of 25-35 are more likely to be homeless. I don’t know why that is.”

There are a lot of young guys around, shifting around in their tracksuits. There is the odd occasion as you slide past your fellow lodgers in the corridor that you will hear some boisterous behaviour. Raised voices and such, but you can always retire to the sanctuary of your room.

Jill: “Part of the job is dealing with people with mental issues who display challenging behaviour. But I don’t feel threatened in my work. It’s a chaotic and distressing time, the key to it is to reassure and keep them calm. Ensure that you are there to help them. You need experience of working with people and the personality that a member of staff needs in this kind of work. You look beyond what their immediate needs are and what they are trying to say. I think it’s a mixture of education and hands on experience when it comes to dealing with people. You need literacy and communication and computer skills that you are taught but you need to be able to respond well to people that are in crisis. “

Your time at the hostel is almost at an end. The council has been in touch and they have arranged a temporary furnished flat up the road. You gather your things together and say farewell to the staff, you duck past the TV room. Still unable to make eye contact with strangers, but that will change.

Jill: “I am very lucky to have a staff team that is very committed to the work that they do. If you have the skills and the patience I would recommend to somebody to do it because it is very rewarding. It can be difficult and frustrating like any job. It’s just a job but it’s also a vocation. A calling in your life if you have a natural empathy for the people you work with. I get a sense of satisfaction when I put someone through the process.”

Scott Gibson