Introduction: Jessica came to Moving On as a care leaver, ready to take the next steps of having a tenancy of her own. Before coming to Moving On, her placement started to breakdown as Jessica was getting in with the wrong crowd, this subsequently developed mental health difficulties resulting in substance misuse. This caused a lot of distress to all parties involved, so it was decided by Jessica to consider independent living with support still available.
Moving On’s intervention: When Moving On initially started working with Jessica, it was challenging to break down barriers to build the necessary trusting relationship required to provide substantial support. Jessica didn’t always engage in her weekly appointments. It has taken a lot of time and patience to be able to build a positive relationship with her Support Worker.
It was identified with Jessica that she needed support with budgeting, practical and financial support as well as emotional support including mental health. Jessica at first was relying on her Support Worker to support her with appointments as she found them overwhelming and lacked the confidence to travel there on her own. With reassurance and a lot of encouragement she now attends appointments independently. Most recently, Jessica built up the courage to engage with her mental health appointments and now attends regularly. These regular appointments have led to a diagnosis for Jessica and medication for this which has made a huge difference to her day to day life.
Progress and outcomes: Since being supported by Moving On, Jessica’s confidence has grown massively. She has enrolled onto a full-time college course and plans to go to university to study law next year. Jessica attends college daily and has enjoyed learning new things and creating new friendship groups who have a positive impact on her mental health and self-confidence. Recently Jessica has managed to get herself a part time job and is thriving in this environment, meeting new people and understanding the importance of time keeping and being punctual of which these life skills will set her up for the future.
It is inspiring to see the changes Jessica has made in her life which has led her on a path full of potential. She has become a very motivated young person with big dreams and hopes and her Support Worker has no doubt that she can achieve these goals. Jessica will soon be moving away from support accommodation into social housing and we wish her all the luck in the world.