I cried myself to sleep every night when I lived in a homeless shelter at 16 – now I’m a successful business owner

A WOMAN has revealed how she went from living in a homeless shelter to having a successful business.

Jess Normanton, now 29, found herself homeless at 16, with no money and no parents to support her.

Caters

Caters

However, she turned her life around after she was fostered and decided to follow her dream of owning her own successful business.

She said: “I literally came to work today and I thought, I love my job and I love my life so much.

“If only I could go back and tell 16-year-old Jess, living in that homeless shelter, crying herself to sleep nearly every night, that she’s going to be all right.”

As a teenager, Jessica became homeless due to circumstances out of her control, with no clothes, food or roof over her head.

Before this, she had lived in an unsafe environment, where she would sit in the dark, with only a candle to light up the room.

However, when Jessica was privately fostered, things started to change for her as she decided to take the risk and go after her dreams.

She has since been able to open her very own Brazilian waxing shop, which she said has become very successful.

Jessica said: “The first house I ever lived on my own at 16 years old, I had no floor, no bed, I had nothing in this house.

“It was that bad that one of my neighbours peered through my window and noticed that I only had concrete on the floor and she donated me some carpet tiles.

Sharing advice to others, she said: “If you want to do something but you’re a bit too scared, and it’s a bit of a risk and a bit scary for you to put yourself in that environment, just do it.

“Just do it because I can tell you now, you will sit back and look and think, I’m so glad I did that, I’m so glad I took that risk.

“I have gone from being homeless to now running a business that I love.

“I love my job. I never get up and think, I’ve got to go to work and I’m not even just saying that, I genuinely do.

What to do if you're made homeless

In England, your council must help if you’re legally homeless or will become homeless within the next 8 weeks.

You may be legally homeless if:

• you’ve no legal right to live in accommodation anywhere in the world
• you cannot get into your home, for example your landlord has locked you out
• it’s not reasonable to stay in your home, for example you’re at risk of violence or abuse
• you’re forced to live apart from your family or people you normally live with because there’s no suitable accommodation for you
• you’re living in very poor conditions such as overcrowding

There are different types of support your council could offer you. For example, they may offer you advice, emergency housing, support to find longer-term housing or help so you can stay in your home.

If you are looking for advice you can contacting housing charity Shelter for advice, Citizen Legal Advice for a legal aid, and speak to your local council for help.

“I’m so grateful for everybody that supports me and for all the clients that walk through that door.

“The old Jess lives inside of me and every single day she’s grateful for the life that I have now.”

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