History: Jen became a tenant in February 2023 after a short stay in 24 hour supported accommodation. It was unclear at this stage what level of support Jen would need so we carried out an initial assessment which identified primary support needs including setting up her new home and addressing a physical health need. We managed to assist Jen with applying for funding to set up her home.
Moving On intervention: It became apparent that Jen’s needs were higher than we, and herself, had anticipated. Jen had secured employment but this abruptly ended. Personal hygiene and home conditions declined and as she became more isolated and previous mental health issues arose. Jen found it very difficult at this stage to accept she needed help and she certainly wasn’t ready to open up and accept support from others.
As a result, a lot of time was spent building up a trusting and open relationship with Jen through regular and consistent visits and support with ongoing emergencies that were a result of her mental illness. She was provided with financial assistance to top up her utilities, food parcels and referrals into wider support services. Self-harm and substance misuse became a coping mechanism for Jen and she found it difficult to manage any day to day tasks. As waiting lists for mental health services are extremely long, staff became increasingly concerned for her wellbeing. Despite levels of concern, Jen did not want to return to previous 24 hour supported accommodation. Moving On therefore provided additional visits including our internal mental health Support Worker to ensure she received sufficient support along her journey.
As these relationships developed, Jen became more open and trusting of staff. We worked closely together to identify any and all avenues of support that would enable her to have more independence and manage her mental health difficulties. Additional benefit applications and requests for a care needs assessment were made. Support to access appointments in the community, collect prescriptions and complete day to day tasks was also provided. There has been improvement of her mood, a reduction in self-harm, much improved hygiene and home conditions, effective use of budgeting skills and excellent engagement in community support groups.
Today, Jen now has a network of professionals working together to meet her support needs and more importantly, she is able to take control of her own care by identifying and working towards personal goals and continuing to engage with her support network.
The most positive outcome from this journey is that Jen is now looking forward to the future. She plans on returning to education and has long term career and housing goals. We look forward to seeing what she can achieve in the near future.