Issa first came to St Marys in January 2023. One of our community members had found Issa in the city centre and encouraged him to come along and meet people. Issa has found peace here, and thinks of St Mary’s as a lovely environment with caring people.
“I chose this place from lots of churches, it’s a really good place.”
During his travels from Somaliland, Issa has experienced a great deal of hardship and trauma, like so many of our asylum seekers. He has found that at St Mary’s he is not discriminated against, and has been shown love like a family, something he has wanted for a long time, “this like heaven”.
Volunteering as a café Assistant Issa feels is a better use of his time, than sitting around at home and particularly loves to help the more elderly people. Issa has even brought his friend who travelled from Somalia with him, over from Scarborough where he was settled, to share his experience of St Mary’s where he feels “is perfect”.
Since first coming to St Mary’s, Issa has been helped to find accommodation and is being supported with his application to stay in the UK with the Home Office. Issa is starting English Class here this autumn, he also hopes to attend a church service soon, once he has familiarised himself with the bible. Perhaps most importantly, Issa has been supported to pursue his dream of becoming a football and fitness coach, and is currently volunteering with the Umix centre.