On World Refugee Day, Omar shares his journey to the UK and reflects on the support he received, which helped him find stability, and begin creating a brighter future for himself.
My name is Omar* and I came to the UK as an asylum seeker from Iraq when I was 22 years old. I left my home country because of social and political problems and travelled for months through different countries.
The journey was difficult and I was worried about my future. I was eventually granted refugee status in the UK and told to leave my temporary accommodation, so I had nowhere to live.
I felt bad staying with a friend, but knew I had to start looking at other options. I went to my local council for help and they told me about my local EveryYouth charity in Sheffield, Roundabout.
Roundabout helped me find a room in supported accommodation, as part of EveryYouth’s Future Builders programme. I worked part-time and paid rent weekly for just over a year until I found full-time employment.
My experience was very good in Future Builders. It felt like home. I shared a house with two others. They were very quiet and respectful, and we shared a kitchen and bathroom.
Roundabout helped me to secure full-time employment with Amazon which helped me move out of Future Builders and afford my own council accommodation.
I’m not sure about my future but I am happy to be working at the moment.
My advice for anyone in a similar situation is to be patient and try to do the right thing. Try to be responsible. Think about everyone around you.
Find out how you can help more young people like Omar access the support they need.
*Name has been changed for privacy reasons.
