From Plot to Pot

The first time I meet Martyn Burton, he’s chopping up vegetables at the speed of light. It’s like watching someone on MasterChef. It turns out he’s a trained chef. As I join him to help prepare the meals in YMCA Exeter’s Lighthouse Café for Food Boost, he kindly asks me to cut the spring onions diagonally.

I’m at YMCA Exeter’s Stage 1 supported housing in the heart of the city. Many of the young people living at Stage 1 have come out of homelessness and need the support of a loving community to move forward. But this isn’t just a place to stay. Through link workers, wellbeing sessions and group work, residents have the space and time to get back on their feet and develop their potential.

“I was in a toxic relationship and when that ended, my mental health took a big dip,” explains Martyn. “I ended up losing my house and living in a tent in a forest outside of Exeter for seven months. Honestly, I’d be in jail or dead if I hadn’t found YMCA Exeter. It was 100% the best move.

“My wellbeing has massively improved. Before, I felt lonely and my mental health was low. But being at YMCA Exeter has given me confidence and brought me out of my shell again.”

Today at YMCA Exeter’s Lighthouse Café, it’s a hive of activity. Young people come and go, helping to prepare food, tracking orders and preparing the containers ready for the evening delivery. Today is Friday Food Boost – imagine Deliveroo on a small scale. It’s a chance for residents to order and help prepare a healthy meal from scratch – some of the produce they’ve grown themselves. Up to 30 free meals are delivered to residents across the city every Friday night.

Throughout the week, residents at YMCA Exeter have the chance to join groups and take part in the Lighthouse Training – an in-house programme inspired by the Christian faith – to help them develop in mind, body and spirit. Many of these groups are focused around food and horticulture, and give residents the chance to explore different work-based skills. From learning to grow their own fruit and veg, to developing culinary skills in the kitchen and preparing fresh meals for the café using ingredients picked from the gardens.

Martyn was the first person to pass the Lighthouse Training Programme. YMCA Exeter’s Group Work Coordinator Tim Wells explains: “Martyn has completed over 50 hours of voluntary work during his Lighthouse Training Programme. He’s played a lead role in Food Boost, shifted over 20 tonnes of stones in the allotment and consistently led by example. Martyn has been an inspiration to all around him.”

Martyn isn’t one to shout about his accomplishments but, with a massive smile on his face, he says: “This training programme helped me to realise the skills I had. I was able to spend time matching them to a career with the help of my mentor, Bob. I can 100% say that my new work in landscape gardening came about because of this programme.”

A year on from arriving at the charity, Martyn has been able to move into YMCA Exeter’s new Stage 4 – independent living at Sidwell Studios. “If this time last year someone told me I’d have a place of my own and a new career, I would have laughed at them,” says Martyn. “It’s just so nice to get back to normality and be part of society again.”

There’s a beautiful spot around the back of YMCA Exeter’s Stage 1 accommodation, with views across the River Exe, up to Haldon Belvedere Forest. In this space, among the vegetable beds, residents have the chance to slow down, relax and get stuck into manual tasks. “Gardening opens up so many opportunities,” explains Sam Thomas, YMCA Exeter’s Community Projects Manager. “It’s a space where people are listened to as they carry out manual tasks. It’s a level playing field and creates mutual support between residents.

“From sowing to harvesting is a long process. Nothing happens fast. You have to plan when to plant and when to harvest. It’s a good way to talk to residents about how healing can also be slow and steady.”

YMCA Exeter resident Malik Elyassini is volunteering in the allotment and garden. “It’s a really nice view from the garden and makes me feel relaxed. We recently picked some tomatoes and they were tasty. I’ve also learnt to make pancakes from scratch to serve in the Lighthouse Café.”

Malik has been living in YMCA Exeter’s supported housing for seven months and has recently moved into the Stage 4 Sidwell Studios. “I used to have my own flat in London, but problems with my mental health meant I ended up being evicted,” Malik explains. “It’s been a few years but it’s really good to move into Sidwell Studios. It’s so nice to have my own space. I’m on the top floor and can see the football stadium from my window.”

Every year, YMCA Exeter provides supported accommodation for over 100 young people coming out of homelessness who need the support of a loving community to move forward.