Kevin’s Story

Kevin has been working intense hours since the beginning of the pandemic. He works with a homeless charity that helps place people in suitable temporary accommodation and working with them to help them to gain employment. The aim is to highlight their strengths and enable them to make a CV for their desired profession. One strange consequence of the pandemic is that due to student accommodation lying empty, Kevin’s charity can house 180 people rather than being restricted to their usual 20 beds. At the start of the lockdown he was working a 37 hour week, a challenge for anyone attempting to work from home. He is also a single parent, splitting up his workday with 2-3 hour breaks to do worksheets with his son. The situation was pressurised by their living situation as they were quarantining in a studio apartment. Kevin had one space to work, play and educate his son. His main advice to other parents is to always be flexible with yourself and loosely stick to your routines. A lot of his socialising during the pandemic was organised through his church, from Zoom-Come Dine With Me to dancing sessions on Instagram Live, these events have been reuniting the community. In May, Kevin and his son moved to a bigger house, and he describes the relief the added space has given them. Kevin spoke about the house as a blessing in the toughest of times. He has returned to a normal work schedule and gets additional support from his family on the weekends so he can do the chores that are hard to get to in the working week. Kevin has been an active, core member of the FAB group since 2016 and looks forward to the time he can volunteer in person again. For now, you will find him and his son watching Dragon Ball Z together or an action movie once his son has gone to bed.