A contribution from a guest from season 7 (2011)

All my life I have wanted to dance. After recovering from breaking my lower back and being paralysed due to the help of an alternative health therapist, I felt I had been given a second chance in life, as the hospital had given up on me recovering fully. With his help I more than recovered and in 2010 was called by Simon Cowell’s company about dancing in a kind of promotion/advert for their show which I did, as I had just started dancing again. I thought that it was a good start, although I was told they could not pay me for it. As I was brought up to believe that dancing and sports were evil and I was therefore an evil person as I wanted to be an athlete, I danced in secret coming 4th in a world breakdance championship and doing adverts for MTV and music videos for artists like George Michael. After my mother died and my brother became schizophrenic mysteriously, I lost my family as only my mother supported me, due to my passion for dancing and sport. I felt very isolated and alone and I soon found myself homeless. I think due to depression I was an easy target for physical attacks. After being attacked at gunpoint in my area for my money, which I only survived due to the police turning up at the last minute, and as where I was last living I could not relax or feel comfortable due to the drug and alcohol and mental problems of the other residents in the house. I decided that I should leave the area and soon found myself homeless due to lack of money and depression. Ironically while I was homeless I felt a lot better. However I knew I could not make myself financially stable from living on the street which was very depressing at Christmas time . When Jamie called and said I had a place at the shelter, I felt as though I had been saved, although I was apprehensive at first. After seeing how warm, friendly and caring the atmosphere and people running the winter shelter were, I felt like I had been saved by God and was very surprised to find more people who could offer so much care and support. I felt like I had been given, yet again, another chance. Since being given a place on the winter shelter I have been helped to get a studio flat and am waiting to start dance work which I have been offered by a number of companies.I would like to say thank-you although words cant express how grateful and happy I am for the help I have received from C4WS.