From life on the streets to a New Beginning: Charlie’s Story
- Shrewsbury Ark
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
When Charlie first came to The Ark in August, he was 19 and living in a tent in Shrewsbury. He’d lost his job, his confidence, and very nearly his hope.
“I was terrified to come into the Ark,” Charlie says. “I thought it would be embarrassing — being a young lad and asking for help. But from the moment I walked in, everyone was so welcoming. I felt at home straight away.”
At The Ark, Charlie found more than just a safe space. He found people who believed in him. Staff helped him look for work through Enable, sort out housing, and supported him while he got back on his feet.
“They always had my best interests at heart,” he says. “Some days I’d come in and just chill and rest in the beds. Other days, I’d be busy all day writing my CV and applying for jobs.”
But it wasn’t just practical help that changed Charlie’s life — it was the conversations.“The best thing was talking about mental health and meditation. The staff shared their own stories, and it made me realise I wasn’t alone. That helped me more than I can say.”
“There's a lot of stigma around homeless people but they’re just normal people, going though a bad time and I didn't think it would happen to me, but it did, and it could happen to you or anyone you know.”
Today, Charlie has a job, a home, and a future he can believe in again. “I went from living in a tent with no job to earning a good wage and having a roof over my head. I honestly don’t think I could have done it without The Ark.”
Help Us Change More Lives Like Charlie’s
The Ark Day Centre is a lifeline for people facing homelessness. It’s a place of warmth, dignity, and new beginnings — where someone like Charlie can turn a crisis into a fresh start.
Every night on the street impacts a person's ability to turn their life around. Mental health and addiction go hand in hand with homelessness and early intervention is key to ensuring a short term crisis does not turn into a lifetime of vulnerability.
This is what the Ark does day in day out in our community, preventing long term issues for the people who come to us.
But we can only do this with your support.
By becoming a regular donor, you help us make sure there’s always someone there to listen, to offer a meal, to guide a person through the hardest days of their life — before rough sleeping and trauma take hold.
Please join our Friends of The Ark programme today.Your regular gift, no matter the size, helps young people like Charlie find safety, rebuild their confidence, and take their next steps toward independence.
Because homelessness doesn’t have to be a life sentence — not when we stand together.