A man who spent a year on the streets of Leeds struggling with alcoholism and addiction has now managed to turn his life around.
Lauris Voitehovics, 23 and originally from Latvia, had a really hard time when he first moved to Beeston. He was originally living with a family member, but his struggles with alcoholism and his mental health eventually led to him ending up homeless.
But after months of work and help from Leeds non-profit Helping Hands UK, he is now in recovery and feels excited about his future. Lauris is currently in training for a future joining either the fire brigade or the army.
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Lauris told LeedsLive: "Being homeless was really lonely. I did have friends on the streets but the drugs and the drink got worse. I had friends that died and I just couldn't find any help. I was put into a hotel but there was too many drugs around and I ended up going back to the streets.
"I have been clean for months now and I am a different person with a big future. I feel happy. I still suffer with some mental health difficulties but when I wake up I finally smile and I feel strong again."
Lauris first made contact with Toni Mella Sweeney, who runs Helping Hands UK, through the non-profit's outreach efforts. Toni got Lauris involved in Helping Hands UK's outreach work, and he enthusiastically got involved in helping organise donations and food kitchens for homeless people across Leeds while the charity was supporting him in trying to get clean.
He had a place in a house in Armley at the time, but was particularly struggling with his alcoholism anytime one of the other occupants had a drink.
Toni, who has struggled with alcoholism herself in the past, saw how Lauris was struggling and invited him to live with her in Pudsey. She has provided accommodation for clients before as part of their journeys to getting back on their feet.
Lauris said: "When I started volunteering my life began to change and the team became like my friends and then my family. When I went back on the streets life seemed so empty and I nearly lost control again and then Toni invited me to stay with her and do the recovery programme.
"My life has changed completely since then - she gave me hope and I'm making it through."
"It was difficult when I was first looking after him," Toni said.
"But after one night of drinking I told him firmly that I had struggled with alcoholism and we needed to stop drinking or things would be harder for both of us. Something clicked that night, and he hasn't touched a drop since.
"Recovery isn't an easy process though, and at the start he was feeling really depressed."
After liaising with other groups that help people find work and training, Lauris was able to get onto a training programme that will prepare him to join either the fire brigade or the army - careers he's always dreamed of. So far he has been smashing his speed and fitness targets for both.
Lauris is also multilingual, speaking Latvian, Polish and Russian - and has recently passed his English exams too, his first with 96%.
Now, five months after he moved in with Toni in January, Lauris still sometimes struggles with his mental health, but is looking forward to a much brighter future. He's come so far he's been able to reconnect with his family member that also lives in Leeds while he continues to live with Toni.
Lauris said: "My dream is to be a firefighter. Toni has been helping me with my training and I'm starting to see my dreams coming true. I must keep working hard and keep focused. I keep thinking it's only a dream but it is really happening.
"This was my decision but I am so grateful to Toni's love and kindness and the whole team. I just want to give back now to help other people like me eat and stay safe and warm."
Toni said: "He's come so far and we're so proud of him. It's absolutely wonderful to see. Lauris has told me he'll never go back to before now he's on such a great path.
"It means the world to me and to him. I've watched the system screw countless people over lots of times and it's always nice to get a win and help someone build back. As I said, recovery isn't always easy so we're taking everything slowly. There's still struggles but we're getting on.
"I love to see him coming out on outreach and how much he enjoys helping others - he wold never let me or the people we support down."
Helping Hands UK supports homeless, elderly and vulnerable people across the city and has previously helped other people get on training courses or find employment. It's also expanding into helping people in Derby.
You can find out more about the outreach work Helping Hands UK does here on their website or go here to donate via their Amazon wish list.
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