From Personal Experience to Supporting Others: Nikos’s Journey at Ithaca

Some jobs are shaped by what you learn. Others are shaped by what you’ve lived through.

Nikos is a driver and a member of Ithaca’s Mobile Unit team. For him, this work has a deeply personal meaning. Having experienced homelessness himself, he knows what it means to navigate everyday life without stability or security, and without always knowing what comes next.

Today, through his work at Ithaca, he is daily alongside people facing similar difficulties. His personal experience helps him better understand their needs and support them with respect and genuine understanding.

“It’s not just clean clothes”

“I know firsthand how important it is to have a clean change of clothes. Access to clean clothes and hygiene care are basic necessities for daily life on the street. A clean set of clothes isn’t just about appearance. It makes you feel better, helps you maintain your dignity, and is also important for your health.”

Why he chose Ithaca

Nikos found something meaningful in Ithaca’s work, as well as the way the team operates.

“I chose Ithaca for the service it offers, but also for its people. From the very first moment, I felt accepted and an equal member of the team. There’s a room where everyone can express their ideas and work towards a common goal: to offer support to people who need it. That’s when I realized that from this position, I also want to contribute.”

At Ithaca, work is about more than having a job. It is a significant step towards stability, self-confidence, and social reintegration.

Nikos’s journey shows how a personal experience can become knowledge, understanding, and ultimately, a way to support another person.

The peer-to-peer approach creates a different relationship with the people we support. In practice, this means that personal experience can create a different way of communication: more direct, more human, and based on understanding.

“Homelessness is not a choice”

“Homelessness is not a choice. It can happen to anyone, when they least expect it. People from different backgrounds, who until yesterday had a completely different daily life, can find themselves on the street. What someone needs at such a moment is support and access to basic needs, so they can get back on their feet.”

Homelessness does not have one cause or one path. And behind every person on the street, there is a different story.

That’s why support needs to start with the individual and what they need at that given moment.

From the Field to Daily Life

Today, Nikos continues his daily routes with the Mobile Unit, offering support, along with our team, to the people they meet in the field.

And outside of work? Music, reading, discussions about social issues, and excursions on his motorcycle, with people he loves.

Perhaps that is the most meaningful part of his story: what he has been through has shaped the way he sees and connects with the people he meets. It has taught him to listen closely, to understand what may be difficult to put into words, and to meet people with empathy.

Because social reintegration isn’t just about finding a path again. It’s also about having people by your side who can help you take the next step.

💙 Nikos, we are glad you shared your journey with us. Welcome to the Ithaca team.