Former homeless Lancing dad wants to help others fight mental health issues and turn their lives around
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Shoreham-born Glen Clayton, 28, wants to use his own personal experiences to help others finding life difficult.
“I’ve had loads of messages from people explaining their issues,” he said.
“I just want to be there for people.
“If it helps one person, then I’ve done my job.”
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Hide AdWhen Glen was 18 and living in East Worthing, his mum, Heather, took her own life ‘out of nowhere’. He said the tragedy ‘completely split the family up’ and he ended up sofa-surfing.
His life got back on track when he got into a relationship at the age of 23 and had a daughter, now aged five.
However, after splitting up with his partner, and losing his job, Glen ended up homeless once again.
Explaining his story on a Crowdfunding page, Glen wrote: “Ever since my mother passed I had kept all of my emotions in, dealing with grief, anxiety and my mental health turned for the worst once again.
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Hide Ad“I wasn’t able to work, I lost hope in myself, nothing felt right, which turned into the spiral of losing everything I once built myself up from, crashing to the ground.
“Faced with the biggest situation I could find myself in, I was once again back on my feet without a home.
“I was left without anywhere to turn, I felt emotionless, a man battling with his own thoughts with regrets on his shoulder, I didn’t want to become a burden to anyone else’s life.”
Glen still had contact with his daughter, who he said was the ‘main real push’ to help him carry on.
“I had no real sort of help,” he told SussexWorld.
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Hide Ad“I had never reached out before to anyone. With men, there’s a pride issue and asking for help from friends and family. You don’t want them to worry about you.”
After the pandemic started, Glen sought support from local charity, Turning Tides, which helped him find accommodation at a hostel. He has since moved into a permanent home in Lancing.
He said: “Before that, I was constantly trying to help myself but there was no real support.
“I was thinking that there was no real help for people struggling with homelessness.
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Hide Ad“There was no real information or knowledge around Worthing about where to go.”
Glen said he ‘felt it was my calling’ to change that.
And with that, a new initiative, called We Talk Together, was born.
“I have built this charity over the last month,” Glen said.
“The idea was in my head over the past year.
“I spoke to people close to me and they encouraged me to create mental health awareness over West Sussex and get people to talk that need the help.”
With the help of his new partner, Glen is planning to organise events and groups for the local community.
He said: “I wish I had something like that.
“I want to get people out and about of all ages.
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Hide Ad"I am trying to get the message across for people to come together.
“There’s a lot of good things in the community in Worthing and a lot of good people, with the same mindset, who do great things.