One Woman’s Story Of Homelessness

I just thought I’d say a little bit about myself. You probably think who is this Amanda Evans, I don’t really know her?

Well, my husband and I moved up from Kent six years ago. I had helped my husband run his own business while living there and in my spare time I was a long-distance runner. Running was my life and I loved it. I had entered many races over the years and I was training for an ultra marathon. I had raised lots for charities with the running.

One December on a very cold and frosty night I was out on a training run when I noticed a man sitting in a doorway of a derelict building. Being a woman on my own in the dark I crossed the road and carried on running thinking no more of it.

The next day on the news I heard he had been homeless and he had died of hypothermia. I was so upset. He had meant no harm that night when I passed him, he was just trying to keep warm. He was in his thirties and he died with just a dirty sleeping bag and a few personal possessions with him. Most people probably thought “Oh, that’s a shame” and moved on, but with me it struck a nerve and I have never forgotten.

I carried on with my training and like a fool ran in all weathers. That’s when the running came to a sudden halt, I got pleurisy – inflammation of the lining of the lung. The pain was unbearable and it left me with permanent nerve damage in my chest. I wasn’t aware but I had a problem with my immune system and the pleurisy triggered reactive arthritis and so, on top of that, I got terrible joint pain thrown in as well. My health remains much the same and I have been like this for over 10 years now.

It’s been difficult adapting to life here in Pembrokeshire. It’s been so different to life in Kent. Family and friends said you must find something to throw yourself into but I didn’t know what, I certainly couldn’t run anymore. Then in December 2017 I remembered the homeless gentleman in Kent who had died of hypothermia, and I came up with the idea of helping the homeless. I didn’t want his death to have been in vain.

With Christmas fast approaching I came up with the idea of knitted hats, it was quick and easy. I asked a few neighbours and the wider Pembrokeshire community via Facebook and tried to learn to knit myself. I didn’t think I would get many hats but Pembrokeshire knitters soon sent hundreds my way.

So that’s how this group formed back in 2017, but a lot has happened since then. With determination and hard work, we have gone on to become a registered charity and have had a lovely van donated by GRS Motorgroup (Steve Grimes) and an office supplied free of charge for three years by Jemima Properties (Jerry Evans). Homeless Pembrokeshire is run completely by unpaid volunteers, including me.

Then, in 2020, I became homeless myself, I won’t go into detail, but I have experienced the hell many go through. I felt I couldn’t approach the services for help as I would have been a laughing stock – I ran a homeless charity, and I was homeless.

I have experienced the struggles, fought the system, read the book, and worn the T-shirt. I’ve used food banks, survived on benefits, been cold, hungry, depressed, and thought the nightmare would never end. I helped clients and they never knew I was homeless as well. I had worked hard to build Homeless Pembrokeshire and I wasn’t going to lose it. Only a handful of people knew and for two years I kept HP going while sofa surfing.

Thankfully I have accommodation now and my little dog, Eric. I’m having to learn how to live again and start afresh, having lost nearly all I owned. This time these are my things, and no one can take them from me.

I can live how I want to, when I want to

Homelessness can really happen to anyone.