Corey, 26, who spent a year sleeping rough after a relationship breakdown before he moved into Charter Row, which supports men experiencing homelessness, said: “It’s helped me massively, it’s my happy place.
“It’s helped me change my attitude. Now if I have problems I go to the gym for an hour, think about how I can resolve issues, and I feel better. A problem that feels massive at the beginning of a session seems less of a problem by the end after I’ve had time to calm down and release my anger in a positive way. It’s a way of dealing with things rather than drinking and taking drugs. I know if I’ve been to the gym that day I’ve achieved something.
“I’m looking to the future now and hoping to do a gym instructors course. My plan is to start small but use my experience to help others. I eventually want to set up a boxing gym for teens that are hanging about on the estates, who might have found themselves involved in something and don’t see a way out, because as a child I felt like that, so I want to help someone else and give them what I didn’t have.
“When I was homeless, I thought ‘I’m never going to bounce back from this, I’m washed up’, but along the way I met decent people that have helped and done a lot to guide me. The Salvation Army has done more than just open doors for me, they’ve helped change my mindset, they’ve encouraged me. Huggy has been telling me ‘Corey you can do this if you put your mind to it’. I had no real positiveness in my life before that.”