New life after 20 years of addiction and crime

Twice a year, partners can nominate residents for the Pride of GP award, recognising their achievements and advancements. The award is accompanied by a grant to help pay for something that would help them move forward.

We are pleased to announce Nathan, resident at Lifeline, Harrogate is one of the deserving winners!

Nathan was living in addiction and crime for over 20 years when he entered Teen Challenge. Through this experience, he found his faith and from there continued to progress and achieve. At the end of the programme, Nathan then lived at Horizon Life Training for a year. He engaged with support staff regularly to help him prepare for the next step of his journey, and enrolled in a plastering college course in Leeds.

Since moving in with Lifeline, Nathan has always engaged with support and has stayed focused on his goals. He has completed his first year of his plastering college course and is starting his second year. During his summer break rather than taking time for himself he enrolled in a 6 week speed skimming course to further advance his skills. Nathan has sat several end of year exams and passed them all with distinction. This is a massive achievement for Nathan as he struggles with dyslexia. Nathan has also started part time work (2 days a week) at a damp proofing company. He has also applied for his driving license and is waiting for the next step in this process and is looking forward to starting driving lessons in the near future. Recently Nathan got to attend his Teen Challenge graduation which has been delayed due to Covid. Nathan went with another current resident and a previous resident of Lifeline and whilst there, Nathan got to share his journey and testimony. Nathan has a very positive outlook on life and is always smiling and laughing and very rarely has anything bad to say. He finds the best in people and things and even after a tough week of college and work he still is full of energy and ready for the next day and week. Nathan is very grateful for the opportunities he has been given through Teen Challenge, Horizon Life Training and Lifeline. He keeps an absolute focus on what he wants to achieve (pass his driving test, own a car, start up his own plastering company) and is mindful of things that could cause him to slip or fail to achieve his goals.

Congratulations to Nathan! We are praying for you as you continue to move forwards.