Jurga’s story

Jurga always believed that if life became difficult, you simply kept going.

She had built a life through hard work, spending years as a cleaner and taking pride in her independence. Asking for help was never an option.

But within a matter of months, everything Jurga had built began to unravel. What followed was a journey through illness, homelessness and recovery that would lead her to rediscover herself and help others do the same.

Building a life

After moving to the UK from Lithuania in 1997, Jurga threw herself into work.

“I worked hard. I was always a good worker,” she says. “I was a cleaner. It was tough, but I loved it. Good times.”

Growing up, Jurga had watched her mother carry the weight of the family while her father struggled with alcoholism. It taught her to rely on herself, no matter how difficult life became.

“You have to do things yourself. You have to fight,” Jurga says. “The spine is from my Mama.”

That determination helped her build a life here, but it also meant she carried every struggle alone. Over time, Jurga found herself drinking to cope with childhood trauma.

“My father was an alcoholic, and I found myself struggling too,” she says. “I wanted to hide from all the problems of life.”

When everything fell apart

The drinking eventually took its toll. Jurga’s health deteriorated, leaving her in hospital and too ill to work. Almost overnight, her income disappeared.

Instead of being able to focus on recovering, she found herself fighting to keep her home.

“My landlord kept saying, ‘You have to move.’ I told him, ‘I’m in hospital. I can’t do anything right now.'”

With no income coming in the pressure became unbearable. “I just lost myself,” Jurga says.

One day, as she broke down crying in hospital, a nurse overheard her.

“She came over and said, ‘Don’t worry. We’ll help you.'”

It was the first sign that she didn’t have to face everything alone.

Soon after, Jurga was put in touch with the Council about her housing.

Survival mode

Jurga hoped life would begin to settle after leaving hospital. Instead, it grew even worse.

Every day brought another phone call from her landlord, another demand to leave, another reminder that she had nowhere secure to call home.

“You’d wake up in the morning, and it was just, ‘Go away. Go away,'” Jurga remembers.

Despite advice from the Council not to leave her flat, Jurga came home from a night shift at her new job to find herself locked out by her landlord.

With nowhere else to go, she used the little money she had left to pay for four nights in a hostel while the Council helped her find somewhere permanent to live.

Looking back now, much of that time is a blur.

“It’s like everything was deleted from you. Only survival instincts are working,” Jurga says. “I was like a zombie. Just tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”

Life became about getting through the next hour.

Finding somewhere to sleep.

Making phone calls.

Trying not to fall apart.

Learning to accept help

Through the Council, Jurga was introduced to her support worker Michelle from Single Homeless Project. It proved to be a turning point in her life.

But it wasn’t always easy. Jurga had grown up in a household where asking for help simply wasn’t an option.

“It was difficult for me because I’d always done everything myself,” she says. “I’m an adult woman. I have hands. I’m not stupid. It felt humiliating.”

What made the difference wasn’t just what Michelle did, but how she did it.

“When I realised this wasn’t about people doing everything for me, but helping me do it myself, everything changed.”

For the first time, asking for help didn’t feel like losing her independence. It became the thing that helped her regain it.

“I felt like there was a supportive wall behind me,” Jurga says. “I didn’t feel alone. I felt safe.”

Find herself again

Michelle’s support went far beyond housing. She helped Jurga believe in herself again and take the first steps towards rebuilding her life.

Determined not to return to the life she’d left behind, Jurga made the decision to stop drinking.

“You can’t play with your health anymore,” she says.

Looking back, Jurga says the difference has been remarkable.

“The result? Amazing. Your eyes open wide. You see colours. You hear music.”

With her confidence returning and her health improving, Jurga felt ready to embrace new opportunities. One of those being our ArtHouse programme.

What began as an opportunity to try something new soon became a place where Jurga could rediscovered herself.

“Single Homeless Project gave me a chance to restore myself and feel confident again,” she says. “I’m myself again. I’m not lost, not confused and not scared. I always feel that people are behind me, ready to help, advise and guide me.”

Through ArtHouse, Jurga discovered a side of herself she never knew existed.

“It opened my artistic side that I never knew I had,” she says. “Now there are exhibitions, trips, museums and theatre. So many things have opened up that I never knew were possible.”

Giving back

Today, Jurga is a peer mentor, using her own experiences to help others take their first steps towards rebuilding their lives.

“I remember myself when you’re new. You don’t know what to do. You don’t feel very confident,” she says.

“I tell people, ‘Don’t worry. There can be mistakes. Do whatever you feel. Do whatever you want.'”

Jurga knows she wouldn’t be where she is today without the people who stood beside her when she needed them most.

“Thank you is not enough,” she says. “I’m trying to continue what you’ve done for me by helping other people.”

“You made me feel needed. You made me feel useful. You made me feel human again.”

Today, Jurga has a home, a community and a renewed sense of purpose. The woman who once believed she had to face everything alone now spends her time helping others rebuild.