Selina pays tribute to trust for helping turn her life around

An Ilkeston woman who was once homeless and a self-confessed alcoholic is now living independently after support from Derventio Housing Trust and her local church.

Selina Baylis, 44, said she is now the woman she was always meant to be after the supportive team at Derventio and Arena Church in Ilkeston helped her get her life on track.

Describing herself as having been an alcoholic since her teens, Selina is now living in her own flat after getting sober and moving past the trauma of her past.

She said: “I’m just back to who I am now – who I was supposed to be, and who God created me to be.”

After a tough start in life, Selina joined the Army at 16 and with access to alcohol freely available her battle with drink began.

Following many moves around the world she came back to the UK and found herself homeless in Derbyshire a couple of years ago.

That was when she was referred to Derventio Housing Trust, which annually provides accommodation to more than 1,000 people in five UK counties who would otherwise be homeless.

She said: “I realised that I couldn’t keep doing the same thing, I couldn’t keep on moving around. At some point, no-one would help me unless I helped myself.”

Selina’s life began to change thanks to the support of her housing and support officer at Derventio, Katie Greenfield, who believed she could live independently and remain alcohol-free.

The other life-changing influence in Selina’s life has been The Arena Church in Ilkeston, where she now volunteers at its ‘Hub’ group, supporting other alcoholics on their journey away from drinking.

Katie said: “I believed that Selina was going to thrive and so supported her to move on into her own independent accommodation.

“Our role at Derventio is to support people who come to our service regardless of their past. I couldn’t be prouder or happier to see how far Selina has come.”