REAL LIFE: Street-wise Karla

Karla may be just 19, but she is pretty street-wise. She knows how to look after herself, because she has had to. Karla left school at 15 and started a hair-dressing and beauty course for a year at college. But it did not work out and neither did her home life. She was kicked out of home when disagreements came to a head. Karla ended up homeless and sofa-surfing with friends. She managed to get a place in a homeless hostel in King's Lynn, but was kicked out of there too for not keeping up with her rent.
YMCA Norfolk’s Woolstencroft Avenue house took her in and now she feels as if she has really come home. "It is great," said Karla. "It is clean and the people are nice and welcoming. It is peaceful and quiet and more like a real home. They try to help you out and have a laugh with us. "You can talk to them about anything and they will still support you. They will help you fill in forms and point you in the right direction." Life at Woolstencroft Avenue is putting Karla back on the right road. "I am eating properly again now and am learning to cook, even roast dinners for ten. "I have started on a Street Life Soccer course at Lynnsport. They are teaching us about the theory of the game and how to play it."

Karla is also now able to look towards the future and start thinking about some plans. "I want to be a door supervisor at a club or a store detective. I really fancy that."

(Author: )

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