27/10/2025
Billy and Rebecca have been together for over three years. They were living in a flat but were evicted after complaints by neighbours and they became homeless in December 2024. “We had a bad relationship with alcohol and there’d often be arguments and shouting. The police would often be called out.”
For 10 months, Billy and Rebecca had been living on the streets. Rebecca recalls “It was absolutely horrible. You turn to drugs and alcohol as a way to just pass the day. At night, you can hear loads of noises and you start to worry whether someone is coming to attack you. It’s easy to get anxious and paranoid. You can fear for your life.”
The couple had been to the Garden House once before and a few days before being evicted, Billy’s cousin reminded them about going back. “It really helped that we knew there was a place to go for food, drink and support. We had people to support us” Billy explains.
Billy adds “We’ve had support with our Mental Health, been seen by the doctors and nurses, been given physiotherapy, had help from Change Grow Live, Aspire Peterborough to get off the drink, and the council have helped us to find somewhere to live. We couldn’t have asked for much more.”
In October, Billy and Rebecca were moved into accommodation. “We feel a lot safer and happier now. We can really get our lives back on track again.” Both would like to give back for the support they’ve received. Rebecca says “Teresa and Sam [Project Workers] and everyone else have supported us so much that it got to a point where we felt like we have to give back. We’d like to volunteer at the Garden House if possible.”
Billy took part in the 5km Fun Run at the Great Eastern Run this year and completed it under an incredible 27 minutes! He is now hoping to enter the London Marathon in the future to raise money and awareness for Light Project Peterborough. Billy says “In a year’s time, I’d like to be a lot healthier and get off all the drinking. I want to show people that it can be done. From being an alcoholic and homeless, to having accommodation and being sober. I want to prove people wrong, especially those who said it couldn’t happen.”
Whilst Rebecca says, “I want to build back the relationship with my family again. I didn’t have a strong relationship with them and my dad disliked my drinking because I’d get too drunk and would start blaming my parents for everything wrong in my life and the bad things that I had done. It wasn’t fair on them.
Now, my parents and sister have started to speak with me again and it’s felt good to have their support. I should be starting to work with my dad soon too. My aim is to volunteer at Wood Green Animal Shelter as I love working with animals, but I got to keep working on myself first, especially with the alcohol.”
Billy and Rebecca concluded “We just want to say thank you as we wouldn’t be where we are now without the Garden House. We gave them 100% of our trust and it’s paid off.”
If you feel encouraged by their story and would like to show your support, you can make a contribution to our GER campaign: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/lppgreateasternrun25
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