Centrepoint manager who was once homeless speaks out about helping young people

Matt Carlisle tells how his own experience being homeless helps him support Centrepoint residents 
Matt Watts|Amy Ashenden19 December 2016

Matt Carlisle knows what the pressures are when you are homeless - he lived on the streets himself when he was a teenager and considered taking his own life.

In 1982, aged 16, he was forced to leave a dysfunctional family home in Manchester where his parents fought alcohol problems.

He accepts he made things worse, treating life “like a game”, drinking and taking drugs at school.

He came to Woolwich to try to live with relatives but was kicked out after a few weeks and ended up sleeping rough on the streets of the capital for the next 18 months.

Homeless campaign: Matt Carlisle, who is a former homeless person and is now regional manager for Centrepoint for central and west London
Alex Lentati

He begged and lived in squats when he could as he battled alcohol and drug addiction. He would self-harm, often waking up with cut hands in hospital.

Now 49, and working as a senior manager at homeless charity Centrepoint, he said: “I was absolutely desperate, thinking about ending it.

"I thought about taking pills and hoping I wouldn’t wake up. It was a horrible place to be.

“It’s coming from that place that makes me realise how important the work we do for these young people is and how much support they need.”

Centrepoint champion: Prince William presented him with the Contribution to Society Award at Kensington Palace

Just before he turned 18, Mr Carlisle was referred to a homeless shelter in Lewisham.

He says there was less pressure on housing at that time and that today he might not be so lucky.

The hostel got him back on his feet and into an apprenticeship scheme, and he ended up returning there as a volunteer after it was taken over by Centrepoint.

The father of six has been working on the frontline for the charity ever since and over the past 14 years has helped other young people turn their lives around.

Last month, Centrepoint’s patron Prince William presented him with the Contribution to Society Award at Kensington Palace.

Mr Carlisle said: “I have a lot of empathy and a lot of time for people who other people might write off. I have never met bad kids.

“I’ve worked with kids who have been murderers, gang members, been shot or have shot people, those who are violent, aggressive.

Experienced mentor: He now works with young people like himself

"But if you look in the background it has all come from where they come from, they are carrying some emotional bricks from a time which has brought them out that way.

"As soon as you start giving them better opportunities, they turn it around.

“No one wants to be this aggressive, horrible person, it’s just a matter of giving them the tools to sort out whatever issues there are.

"The emotional side of it is massive. It’s not just about housing or a job, if you are carrying some memories which have really scarred you then you have got to delve into that to put it back together.

“I don’t tell the young people where I have come from unless I need to, but sometimes when they are struggling it is good to be able to say, ‘I’ve been where you are and look where I am now’.”

He said helping people from the street to a flat of their own is key to the over-arching service Centrepoint provides.

As regional manager for central and west London, he oversees getting that support to hundreds of young people.

Living in Lewisham, he finds short and long-term accommodation for young single parents, young people leaving care and those escaping violence and abuse.

Centrepoint staff: Matt oversees education, training and support for young people

He makes sure they are given mental and physical health assessments and support, and oversees their education and training to live independently and find a career.

He said the charity’s experience and knowledge of services across London and how to navigate the system to get the best chance of support for young people fighting homelessness is why the helpline will be so important.

About 30,000 people are turned away from their local authority every year with little or no advice.

It is feared that many end up long-term homeless or living in an unsafe environment, invisible in official data and oblivious to the services that could help them.

Homeless helpline: The Standard is raising money for a phoneline that will support young people

Mr Carlisle said: “The helpline can be as big as Childline — it’s going to be massive, a lifeline for thousands of young people.

“People who ring Childline know what they are going to get at the other end of the line, someone who is supportive, someone who can give them good advice, that’s something we want to replicate around youth homelessness.

“At the moment the information is so poor at the point of contact. Someone who has just become homeless can queue up for six hours to get a list of outdated numbers and be sent back on the street.

“How demoralising is that? These are people at risk of sexual abuse, drugs, self-harming. It’s vital we help them.

"They are often homeless through no fault of their own, just that they have been unlucky in life.

"Nowadays being homeless isn’t a big enough issue in itself to get housed — how sad is that? — but we need to make sure they get the best possible support and advice to help them.

“I think it will uncover maybe 50,000 homeless young people we didn’t even know about because they’ve never been picked up by the statistics before.”

The Evening Standard's Homeless Helpline appeal is raising money for the Centrepoint Helpline, a brand new support service that will save young people from ending up on the streets.

To donate please visit our Just Giving page.

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