REAL LIFE: Building sandcastles in the lounge

Fifteen years ago, Gus Hawes was a trained preacher, before his financial situation forced him to take stock and rethink what God was calling him to.

 

YMCA Norfolk's Chief Executive John Drake was, he says, 'an answer to prayer,' offering him a job as night security at their Norwich hostel, and even paying his first wages early to help get him back on his feet.

 

Now he has discovered a new ministry as a support worker to homeless young men in Norwich, in need of much time, care and support to assist them on their journeys to independent living.

 

"I don't exactly come over as Mother Teresa," says Gus, "and it's a different world here. A real world, for certain." Rather than being up at the front, Gus's day now consists of being alongside young people who have nothing left, nowhere to go.

 

Gus will interview applicants, most of whom are sleeping rough, for rooms. His philosophy is to be as honest and direct as possible, especially about what the YMCA can or can't do.

 

"Young people need a 'yes' or a 'no', plus a reason. The relief you see in them when they arrive; living at the YMCA isn't the best, but it's a roof over their heads.

 

"They need a little time to settle down and find their feet. The great thing we have to offer them here is to be part of the YMCA community, but for some that is very threatening to start with. They just aren't used to it."

 

With the immediate problem of homelessness temporarily solved, it's often not long before other issues emerge. Drug and alcohol abuse have often contributed, but it's the break-up of relationships that is one of the biggest causes of homelessness amongst men. Once he's lost his wife or girlfriend, and with her, his home, things fall apart very quickly. Gus does not try to tackle the problems though, waiting for his charges to come to him for help and support as they see the need.

 

"Some you can catch and save, some you can't. We're not going to sort them out. Each individual has to find their own way through. It's an enormous test of faith, requiring the patience of a saint.

 

"I wouldn't be here without the love of Jesus," he affirms. "I can't see any other way of dealing with it, not as a prop, but seeing the value of Jesus working in these young people's lives. Jesus knows what these guys are going through, he's been through it all himself. He's closer to them than a brother.

 

Gus tells of how he spent one Christmas Day with a group of young men, building sandcastles in the TV lounge, the entire floor covered with sand.

 

"Christmas Day is a hugely significant time for our young men," Gus says. "We have to be constantly on our toes for them. They are missing their families, their kids. Many become extremely morose, sitting alone in their rooms, so we try to provide activities to stretch them, make them think about something else, something not Christmas."

 

"When they walk through the sand and leave footprints, it's a symbol of the marks that we leave as we walk through life. One of the residents read aloud the 'Footprints' story of Jesus and the sets of prints in the sand. 'Some of them began to question why we were doing all this, and put together their own answers."

 

"We had a 35-year-old man with significant mental health problems, on huge amounts of prescription drugs. He had a great time building sandcastles at Christmas; it was the first time he'd ever made one."