During this period, he began to suffer from severe depression and anxiety, attempting suicide fourteen times. And to help him sleep and forget his situation, he became hooked on the legal high Spice. In January 2015, an outreach team found him in a doorway, suffering from hypothermia, and they put him into emergency accommodation. But, still battling addiction, he was soon asked to leave and then spent another three months in prison.

Rhyss’s running journey started while he was staying in a hostel in Newcastle. The manager of our pilot programme there took him for a run in the park. It was dark and wet, and they had to run with head torches, but Rhyss found the experience amazing.

Weekly runs led to him making changes to his social circle to avoid temptations into harmful behaviours. And over the following weeks and months, Rhyss transformed himself into a strong, competitive runner. But the benefits were more than physical; he grew in confidence, started making different choices, and began to believe in himself. He even went back to college and moved into his own flat, where he’s now happily settled.

After graduating from our programme, he took part in our series of Young Ambassador training workshops. He also finished his first 10K race in a blistering 37 minutes and completed the Great North Run.

Since that first run, Rhyss has worked tirelessly to become a better version of himself and help others along the way. He now supports our work in the North East and will be attending an England Athletics Run Leaders course. And using his lived experience of homelessness and addiction, he’s supporting others in similar situations in his role as a mental health support worker with a local charity. In December 2018, he won an NHS Service User Council ‘Inspiration Award’ to mark his incredible journey.