From the streets to street soccer star

The final presentation we took part in on day 1 was “From the streets to street soccer star” by Jodie McEwan where she spoke about her story and experiences with homelessness, addiction and how she overcame these problems.

Jodie had a difficult family situation growing up. Her father was an alcoholic, her younger sister suffered from autism and ADHD, and her mother also suffered from mental health problems. Because of this, Jodie began to act out and caused trouble in school and outside.

She became homeless at 15, with an addiction to alcohol and found it difficult, at 16-18, to access services to help as she was in between child and adult services.

At 21, she spent 12 months in Phoenix Futures, which included supported accommodation and therapeutic input. Part of her therapy was to focus on an interest. She attended regular football drop ins which lead to her attending the Homeless Football World Cup in Amersterdam 2015.

Jodie described the World Cup event as a “mind blowing experience” with the rush of her scoring a goal, being a better high than she had ever experienced with drugs or alcohol!

After this, she set herself a goal – that she would become assistant coach for her football team. She achieved this and said that being employed by ‘Street Soccer’ had been a massive impact in helping her recover.

Jodie then gave the audience the opportunity to ask questions. When asked about what schools/teachers can do to help people in her situation in the future, she mentioned how she feels there should be a stronger link between schools and homeless/alcohol/drugs services.

Overall, Jodie McEwan’s story on her own experience from homelessness to success was incredibly humbling. She was confident and seemed to captivate the audience from the moment she began telling her story. It was extremely inspirational to see someone talk about such a personal experience so comfortably in front of a large audience.