Substance abuse led me to homelessness. Now I’m 20 years sober and in love with giving back

Peter Merrifield had a career as a property surveyor. He had a front-row seat as Right to Buy started to tear housing away from the public. “I witnessed the loss of social housing way back in the 80s and 90s. I also witnessed the gentrification of areas like my home, Hackney, and the housing booms that created more division,” he recalls.

Merrifield had grown up the child of Windrush generation Caribbean migrants who came to the UK in the 50s. There was, he says, nothing in his background to suggest what would happen to him next. 

“Like a lot of people, I started to dabble in substance use in my early 20s,” he says. Unlike others, however, he says he didn’t come to a point where he packed it in – he became dependent.

“That dependency robbed me of my ability to continue my career as a surveyor,” he says. Homelessness followed, and a nearly two-decade period where he did not have a secure place. The catalyst for recovery came in someone he knew: another Black man, from a similar background, who had also been gripped by addiction, got well.

“He started to share with us his experience,” Merrifield says. “Actually that man was responsible for encouraging five people to all try out what he had to suggest, which was a programme of recovery.”

As we speak, he is on the verge of celebrating 20 years sober. Inspired by his own experience, Merrifield runs SWIM Hackney offering support in housing, addiction, criminal justice rehabilitation and more.

Backed by finance from Big Issue Invest, which has allowed SWIM to buy a property in Hackney, Merrifield is an example of how social lenders can step in where conventional backers might turn away.

“When I was going through it, I remember services saying to me, very early on, that they never had treatment for the substance of my choice” [crack cocaine], he says. “Back in those days, these were substances that were more used within Black communities. It meant that section of the community were less provided for.”

After coming out of rehab in Bournemouth, Merrifield began a new career working in the treatment centre that supported him. “I fell in love with the idea of wanting to give back and see others get well,” he says. This turned into 13 years of building skills, managing addiction treatment services. But it also opened his eyes, witnessing differences in how different groups were treated.

For example, he says, if a Black man walked in with an elevated voice, “it would be termed as though he was being aggressive. There would be a perception about what type of service that person would get.” But, says Merrifield, “I saw something different.”

That led him, in 2019, to set up SWIM – Support When It Matters. It began with an initial loan of £5,000; he and his daughter doing outreach work; and has grown to an organisation with 35 full-time staff offering support in 13 London boroughs. Their support – initially targeted at older men from African and Caribbean heritage in Hackney – aims to recognise that people struggling with substance use will usually face more than one issue as a result, whether that’s housing, family breakdowns, criminal justice or poor health.

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SWIM offers peer-to-peer support groups, providing a secure space to open up about experiences for people from cultures where there can be stigma about doing so. They work with people in prison, getting inmates ready for life outside prison, and will even be there at the gates to meet them as they are released. “That’s where people are at their most vulnerable,” says Merrifield.

“It allows us to be of maximum help to people when they really need it. It’s an uplifting moment, it makes everything worthwhile.

Much of it comes back to housing, though, and with that back to what Merrifield witnessed as a surveyor in his previous career. “I saw that perfect storm happening. When I set SWIM up I recognised the impact of poor housing on those who were on the edge of care,” he says. They have 70 beds on offer, with supported accommodation for those with lower needs, and a Housing First-based model for those with higher needs, with two multi-occupancy homes that are staffed 24/7. 

Merrifield’s company is in the process of becoming a registered provider of social housing, and is in the planning stages of building a brand-new block of flats which could house 20 people in London on longer-term tenancies at social housing rents.

It was a loan from Big Issue Invest which allowed Merrifield to buy their second supported accommodation property this year, a six-bedroom house in Hackney. He found typical banks and lenders often did not understand the world of community interest companies, and struggled to find financing for the purchase.

“There’s a lack of understanding in the commercial world of what that structure is. They either understand a very commercial arrangement or a very personal arrangement,” he says. “Social investors are particularly useful because they’re likely to be much more flexible.”

With that property, people can come from prison or hostels into a warm, clean room of their own, Merrifield says – often saving the council on more costly solutions to homelessness. “Having that property, gosh, has enabled us to get people out of unhealthy, unsafe large hostels, into good-quality homes,” he says.

“It’s enabled us to actually support people to not only find a safe home, and continue their journey of rehabilitation, but to plug people into local services.” He adds: “That investment from Big Issue Invest has helped to transform other people’s lives.”

How a little investment leads to big things

Backing grassroots football

Any Manchester United fan will tell you the Glazer family’s 2005 takeover was a dark day. But it kicked off a different story for a group of hardcore fans who broke away and founded FC United of Manchester. Sir Alex Ferguson wasn’t a fan, branding it “a bit sad”. But FC United is owned by 2,537 of its members, and with a vow never to have a shirt sponsor, it has rejected commercialism. 

In 2019, Big Issue Invest stepped in with financing. Now, Broadhurst Park is not just a football ground, it’s a club with a social conscience that runs coaching in schools, works with vulnerable adults and hosts community sport events. 

A vital college for young people

Everything was going well for Great Oaks College. It had just received an Outstanding grade in its Ofsted report and provided education for more than 100 young people with special educational needs in West London. Then came the eviction notice, giving them just two years to leave their purpose-built site.

With a £3.2 million loan from Big Issue Invest, their future was secure. It means the college’s impact can continue: each student gets 791 hours of support each year; 50% are from low-income families.

From derelict building to music venue

For anyone in Dalston of an evening, it’s a common sight to see a queue on the street, gig-goers getting ready to shuffle into EartH. The venue is a fixture on London’s gig scene, with this autumn hosting acts ranging from Newton Faulkner, Gwenno and Anna Calvi to Djrum, Leon Vynehall and Ben UFO.

It used to be derelict, unloved for 30 years after its former life as the Savoy Cinema came to a close. BII’s support was key to turning it into what it is now. Now EarTH and sister venue Village Underground are vehicles for widening access to the arts. 

“We are grateful for Big Issue Invest’s support to lead us out of difficult times allowing us to reopen bigger and better than ever before,” said VU x Earth CEO Auro Foxcroft.

Fair for You

Ethical lender Fair for You is behind Iceland’s Food Club, offering shoppers an alternative to pay-day loans and a means to afford basics, supported by Big Issue Invest.

Newquay Lighthouse Project

Funding from Big Issue Invest helped Newquay Lighthouse Project open a seven-bed supported housing service in Penzance for women overcoming drug and alcohol addiction.

Ushaw Historic House

Visitors to Ushaw Historic House in County Durham will be able to park in a brand-new all-weather car park, thanks to investment from Big Issue Invest – widening access to a community asset and cultural space.

Lightning Reach

Getting the help you need amid rising bills and a mystifying benefits system can be hard – but Lightning Reach’s portal helps users to easily access thousands in vital cash they’re entitled to.

The One Earth

Big Issue Invest’s very first investment, back in 2005, was into The One Earth, an energy-switching tool.

Belu

Sparkling or still? One of BII’s first projects was Belu, the bottled water company which works to change the way people see water.

Covid support

Big Issue Invest offers flexibility where other lenders might not – during Covid it provided 61% of its investees with repayment holidays and provided £3.2m in grants. 

Homes For Good

Homes for Good transforms empty homes in Scotland for people on low incomes. They’re now expanding to London, teaming up with homelessness charity Crisis to open Good Place Lettings. 

If you are an investor looking to create social impact, or a social enterprise in need of funding, get in touch with Big Issue Invest.

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