From homeless to housed: a story of new beginnings
In between a parade of shops in the Royal Arcade in Bournemouth, sits what seems to be just a café. But it isn’t just a café. It’s a special place that Natalie Collins calls her ‘safe space' and her 'saving grace.’ Gabriella-Mae Mitchell visits to find out why this is so special.
Drugs, alcohol, sex and hunger was what Natalie Collins’ life consisted of. All until she turned her life around with help from charity: Safe and Sound Dorset. A transformation from ‘nothing to everything’ in a period of eleven months.
Her story needed to be heard.
Natalie Collins and daughter Bethany Collins. Photo by Natalie Collins
Natalie Collins and daughter Bethany Collins. Photo by Natalie Collins
The Royal Arcade, Boscombe, Bournemouth. Photo by Gabriella-Mae Mitchell
The Royal Arcade, Boscombe, Bournemouth. Photo by Gabriella-Mae Mitchell
It was a cold, miserable, wet Monday morning in Boscombe where the violent winds blew and echoed with an evil sense of confidence. No light seeped through the skylight in The Royal Arcade, making it appear a very unwelcoming setting that shouldn’t be disturbed. Not somewhere you'd expect to find a bustling women’s support group.
There was an illuminating, inviting light pouring out of The Well Coffee Lounge which displayed women half-way through a yoga session. Some attempting a tree-pose, others just doing some arm exercises: but still trying their best and all with smiles upon their faces. “Do what you can ladies, give it your best shot,” encouraged the yoga instructor over the top of the calming music that played.
Many socialised with each other when the yoga finished, gossiping over Thai curry; seeming to not have a care in the world. Others slumped upon the café tables with the weight of the world upon their shoulders. The ones that slumped, although silent, had the hardest stories to tell. Their pasts still haunted them, but the space allowed them to escape the cascading trauma that muted them and when they left the session three hours later, it was like they had been reborn, all-brand new and smiling.
'The ones that slumped, although silent, had the hardest stories to tell.'
In the corner of the café sat 29-year-old Natalie Collins, sipping a hot chocolate mounted with cream and marshmallows and chocolate digestive biscuits. She was showing off her newborn Beth with the widest grin on her face.
This was the first time Natalie and I met, but I knew it wouldn’t be the last. She was one of those people that just intrigue you – her story needed to be heard.
The Well Coffee Lounge. Photo by Gabriella-Mae Mitchell
The Well Coffee Lounge. Photo by Gabriella-Mae Mitchell
Women's Group Members. Photo by Gabriella-Mae Mitchell
Women's Group Members. Photo by Gabriella-Mae Mitchell
The Well Coffee Lounge. Photo by Gabriella-Mae Mitchell
The Well Coffee Lounge. Photo by Gabriella-Mae Mitchell
Waitress at The Well Coffee Lounge. Photo by Dot Pickett
Waitress at The Well Coffee Lounge. Photo by Dot Pickett
A week later we are sitting at right angles to each other in Natalie’s cosy autumnal themed lounge. Natalie is cradling her child with an overwhelming sense of love, affection and pride which is filling the room to the brim. The positioning of the ‘L-shaped’ couch allows Natalie to sit directly looking across at me, eager to tell her story.
“I want to inspire other women to believe that they can turn their life around- no matter how impossible it feels or how insignificant you think you are, you can do it- just like I did.” She looks down at her prized possession Beth, with a gleeful chuckle that followed her grin
There was more smiling and chuckling to come throughout the few hours that we met for, which was very infectious. We met for Natalie to share her story. Her story of how she went from being homeless on the streets, to now having a house of her own that she shares with her daughter Beth. “Without the help from the volunteers at Safe and Sound, and their encouragement to get me to go along to the women’s group that they run, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Natalie Collins. Photo by Gabriella-Mae Mitchell
Natalie Collins. Photo by Gabriella-Mae Mitchell
Women's group member at The Well Coffee Lounge. Photo by Gabriella-Mae Mitchell
Women's group member at The Well Coffee Lounge. Photo by Gabriella-Mae Mitchell
Heavily drinking and getting involved with drugs was what Natalie said forced her onto the streets in 2020. Moving from hostel to hostel in the Bournemouth area was ultimately what her life involved. “No food, nowhere to wash or have access to water” were just a few of the issues she faced daily. “When I was living in hostels, I never lasted long. I’d get kicked out often and each time I told myself ‘I must behave and do better.’ But I never did. ‘Sex-work’, as she called it, was her “only option and only possible way out.” So that’s what Natalie did.
Natalie first found out about Safe and Sound when she was staying in a hostel and was advised by a worker of a place, she could take her washing and have a warm lunch.
By just showing up that following Monday, Natalie took the first steps of turning her life around - not that she knew. It was at the café that she was encouraged to come every week to the women’s support group. They gave her some new clothes, warm meals and hot drinks but most importantly provided a safe space for Natalie. “The women’s group gave me a way to start socialising again. I met so many amazing women who all have their own stories of how they’ve also turned their lives around for the better. It made me feel like I wasn’t alone.”
"I wasn't alone".
Craft day at The Well Coffee Lounge. Photo by Gabriella-Mae Mitchell
Craft day at The Well Coffee Lounge. Photo by Gabriella-Mae Mitchell
Safe and Sound manager, Dot Pickett, runs six sessions a week for women who are isolated or at risk in the community:
“We use The Well Coffee lounge regularly for the sessions, and do ‘outreach’ every week, where we go out to girls who are on the street and most vulnerable and do all we can to help.”
Natalie is among hundreds of women who have benefitted from the help the charity has provided over the six years the women’s sessions have been running. From being homeless on the streets to now being a clean and healthy “proud mummy” to Beth.
One of Natalie's friends said: "I'm so proud of Nat, she really has turned her life around".
“One day I was advised of somewhere I could take my clothes for washing and have a cup of tea. It was Safe and Sound. I’d never have guessed that that cup of tea would be the first steps to turning my life around.”
Eleven months ago, Natalie was ‘one of those women who slumped at the café table’. She didn’t join in with the yoga, crafts or even the small talk. But now she does. Natalie has completely transformed her life with the help from Safe and Sound.
“I never saw a foreseeable future - but now I do, and I'll be forever grateful.”
If you are a woman in and around the Bournemouth area and need some support, please visit Safe & Sound Dorset
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