Over the next 6 months or so I settled into the place. I had a room in the main hostel and there was a sitting area. The staff seemed nice and they had things on sometimes to get involved in like craft groups. There was one girl I avoided who stayed there. She always took up the whole kitchen by cooking and when I had said hello to her she told me that I didn’t need to talk to her, so I didn’t for the rest of the time I was there. Sometimes we were in the same room as there was a quiet room we both liked to use sometimes and she would sometimes hold the door open for me but she never spoke and spent most of her time either running or cooking. I knew there was something wrong with her. I just used a different kitchen when she was in it. I got a keyworker during this time to speak to about any issues. I also got asked if I wanted one of their flats which were 8ust over the road as I would have my own space. I didn’t mind being in the hostel as there was always something going on but I felt I had to accept more space and at least I wouldn’t have any run- ins with the girl. Everyone else seemed okay and I just went into the sitting area now and again. I spoke to my keyworker and they told me about things going on locally. There was a church in the city centre which had a place you could get food for a fiver or something that was about to go out of date and there were also classes on so I went and signed up for arts and crafts and I would usually go and get some food too. There was a local food bank I went to but you could only use it 3 times a year and I preferred paying something for fresh food. There was also a little cafe where you could get cakes and a cup of tea for not that much and they had some classes on. I didn’t really join anything there but I was sitting having a cup of tea when a woman joined me. We were talking and she told me about a group at the YMCA. I didn’t think that existed anymore. I only knew the song! But she gave me the number of the woman that ran it so I contacted her and she said I could come along. They had different things on like arts and crafts and there was a guy that came in who specialized in fears and phobias. That was quite interesting. It was a good group and I connected with some of them online and looked forward to going in. The flat was okay, I tried to cook sometimes in my kitchen, sometimes I would get some food from the donations or the stock cupboard occasionally and sometimes certain members of staff cooked something like sausage pasta or something. There was also a polish staff member who cooked some polish food for us. There were some nice dough ball things I really liked. The city centre was about a 40 minute walk but I sometimes got the bus, and I could get gym or swim passes when I wanted. I wasn’t ready for the gym but i quite often got a swim pass. I liked the pool there. It was a good size and it had a nice cafe area I would sometimes sit in. I knew I would be putting weight on as there was always sandwiches that people brought in for us and there was bakery night too which we all looked forward to as they did some good sausage rolls, but at least I was doing some exercise. I went to the housing executive during this time and explained my situation. It was a waste of time and the guy clearly wasn’t interested in hearing about why I left Scotland. He just said I wasn’t a priority for housing even though I spoke about some of the intimidation I suffered, which was difficult to do. I got some things off them for my new place. Some of them functioned better than others but it was something.
Time went on and I got asked things about my income and how I thought I would manage in a private rented place or something else. I honestly didn’t know. I got 125 pounds every fortnight, which I had got increased slightly by 10 pounds by saying I shouldn’t be paying for water as it was free in the north. A staff member had told me so I had chased it up. They also helped me get a one off payment of just under 100 just to help with daily costs. The woman on the phone had asked me if I was seeking refuge in northern Ireland so I said yes. I also got some vouchers from Vincent de Paul because my keyworker put something forward for me. I got some Primark vouchers and a voucher for some toiletries out of Gordon’s the chemist, so I bought some new clothes and some nice things from the chemist, which helped a lot. Christmas there was nice too as they had a lunch at St georges market and I went with a couple of staff members and some other residents. The food was good and there was some live music there, which was nice. We were all given a 25 pound love2shop voucher by the people organizing it. It was a good day. Christmas day we just had lunch in the place. It was the first Christmas I had spent alone but at least I could sit and have a Christmas dinner.
The beginning of the year I just carried on with the usual routine. I had to go to the doctors for some back pain and got some codeine. They didn’t really help the back pain but they were good to have. I carried on with my groups and everything until about April when I got called to see my keyworker. They were going to give me one of their Simon flats, they said I kept the place clean and tidy and they had put my name down for it and I could go and see them as there was 2. I did over the coming weeks. The area wasn’t perfect but they were ground floor flats. I chose the one a bit further out, I had my reasons. It took a few more weeks to sort things out but I moved into a flat in North Belfast on the 18th of may 2020.
Living with Neurodivergence 