PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO READ COLIN’S STORY.
AN EX ROYAL ENGINEER AND PTSD SUFFERER WHO HAS FALLEN ON HARD TIMES.
COLIN RECOUNTS HIS RECENT STRUGGLES IN HIS OWN WORDS.
WE ARE PLEASED TO HELP AND GLAD THINGS ARE LOOKING UP FOR HIM AND HIS SON.
COLIN’S STORY:
My name is Colin Pearson ex Royal Engineers. I`m 49 and live alone but have my son Josh 12 stay at the weekends.
due to family stresses and me as yet undiagnosed with PTSD officially.
I had to move out of my partners’ house in Sheffield and move back to Bradford. I was sofa surfing for a while till I managed to get a caravan to rent on the moors. I got agency work to fund myself but this dried up just before Christmas.
I had no choice but to claim job seekers allowance. but due to the caravan park not accepting housing benefit, what money I received from the JSA had to be used to pay my rent. leaving me with no money for food or gas. the weather took a turn for the worse by snowing and due to the holes in the caravan, it started snowing inside. the average temperature inside the caravan was -3. so cold my eyes began to freeze over. my son was not allowed to stay over due to the inhospitable environment so I had to just spend a few hours on a Saturday.
I had no money to take him anywhere anyway. just days before Christmas as the snow was pouring in my home I was huddled in a sleeping bag I found my phone was due to be cut off as I had no money to pay my bill. In desperation, I told my sapper friend in Sheffield of my plight. I felt with the temperature and lack of food, money, and heating it was just a matter of time before I succumbed.
My friend put out an SOS on a sapper site on Facebook. my sapper family jumped into action and that day enough money to pay my bill and buy gas was put into my account .also that day my unit pals brought me food parcels to stock up my cupboard I was then introduced to Dave Cooke who asked me what he could do to help. a few days later I was informed by a local housing association that a flat had become available just 3 miles down the road in Shipley where I grew up, but due to essential repairs, I had to wait 6 weeks before I could move in. the guys made sure I had enough food and money to get me by until then.
Dave asked me to make a wish list of all the things needed for the flat. I had only my clothes and personal effects so i needed everything. i was inundated with donations from all over the country. i was overwhelmed. then Dave told me he had received a cheque from Team Endeavour this paid for a brand new fridge freezer so i could now eat fresh food. Also, it paid for a brand new washing machine. i had been unable to wash my clothes in 3 months so as you can imagine i reeked to high heaven. in the caravan, I had no water, couldn’t shower or flush the toilet.
Moving to the flat in January meant i could have josh overnight again but i had nothing for him to sleep on so money from the Team Endeavour cheque paid for a brand new sofa bed for josh. he is so happy now back with his dad.
Team Endeavour has helped me turn my life around and helped me give what my son needs, for this i am eternally grateful to all at Team Endeavour. this is a fantastic charity and does great work to change the lives of veterans up and down the country.
A big thank you,
Colin Pearson
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